New logo and basic programme known for the Commemoration du Circuit des Ardennes 2025

As recently announced, the Commemoration du Circuit des Ardennes, organised from Bastogne, has passed into the hands of the Royal Automobile Club de Spa. A move that is fully justified, given the ties that bind Pierre Delettre and his team to Bastogne and its region, and the fierce desire to preserve the heritage of what was the first event organised on a closed circuit in Belgium...

Since the official announcement of the takeover, the minds at R.A.C. Spa have been racing. The aim is twofold: to follow in the footsteps of the previous organisers, but also to move forward by injecting a new dynamism into the event, which magnifies cars and motorbikes as they were conceived between the early days of their rich history and the mid-1970s. This is already reflected in the new logo, which takes care not to deny the past, and which sets the tone for the evolution underway.

“The next few weeks will enable us to make progress in putting together the programme, but it is already a given that the Commemoration du Circuit des Ardennes 2025 will start on the afternoon of Friday 11 July and continue on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July, comments Pierre Delettre. In addition to the welcome and the administrative and other formalities, participants will be invited to a Garden Party at the end of the day on Friday, which will be held in a place that is above all symbolic of the region crossed by the Circuit des Ardennes, which was created in 1902...”

As in the past, the Commemoration du Circuit des Ardennes will consist primarily of a drive, now spread over the two days of Saturday and Sunday. "As far as the driving is concerned, the main part of the event will take place on Saturday, explains Eric Chapa, who is in charge of designing the route. The route will be adapted to the vehicles that turn up at the start, and will feature a number of stops with entertainment, which will be detailed later. On Sunday, a shorter loop will be proposed in the morning, before a final return to Bastogne's Place McAuliffe at lunchtime..."

Then comes the most convivial and interactive part of the weekend, with an exhibition of the participating cars and motorbikes in the heart of Bastogne, giving the public a chance to enjoy this journey back in time and immerse themselves in a nostalgic atmosphere.

"In the middle of the afternoon, an official prize-giving ceremony will take place on the McAuliffe Square, with a lively and musical atmosphere,’ explains Vincent Franssen, who is in charge of communications and events. A jury of experts will have the tough task of choosing the most interesting and/or surprising vehicles in each category, while a number of prizes will be awarded to honour crews who have travelled a long way or whose clothing is in keeping with the period, and so on. We'll be using our inventiveness and originality to make this moment of sharing between the participants and the public more dynamic, on McAuliffe Square, which is so close to our hearts, and which will be decked out in its old-fashioned finery for the occasion..."

"The Circuit des Ardennes was the first episode in the history of competitions on closed circuits in Belgium, before the concept moved to a small village between Spa, Stavelot and Malmedy, called Francorchamps’, continues Pierre Delettre. This exceptional heritage is of vital importance to R.A.C. Spa. Through the Commemoration du Circuit of the Ardennes, we will continue to pass on this prestigious past from which everything else has sprung. Since the announcement that the team around me would be taking over this event, we have been approached by future participants who are full of good ideas. Now we need to continue the groundwork, to win over and surprise. I can assure you that the motivation is enormous..."

Between now and the end of the year, more precise information will be distilled via the various R.A.C. Spa media and the event's already numerous partners. History is definitely in the making...

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