Rally Bulgaria () is the most prestigious and also the oldest rally event in Republic of Bulgaria. It was confirmed for the 2010 World Rally Championship season as the seventh of all thirteen planned events. Year 2010 was also the first and so far the only one that Rally Bulgaria has been in the World Rally Championship, having previously hosted races for the European Rally Championship instead. The application of the country was accepted by the FIA despite the fact that Rally Bulgaria's candidate event in July 2009 ended in an accident which killed Italian co-driver Flavio Guglielmini and seriously injured Swiss driver Brian Lavio. Bulgaria was the only new candidate for the 2010 World Rally Championship season, although Rally Argentina had made a reserve application just in case Bulgarian rally failed.
The latest HQ of the rally is the town of Samokov (2013–2015) and the route of the event contains special stages in Bulgaria's Sofia Province and Pazardzhik Province. The route, including some of the special stages, passes through the famous Borovets ski resort which was HQ from 2002 to 2012, meaning that it has also hosted the 2010 World Rally Championship season event.
A brief history of the Bulgarian Motorsport Through the years Bulgarians have always been interested in the motorsport in one way or another. For the first Bulgarian Motorsport event is considered the 1914 race held around the capital Sofia and the winner there was Bulgarian Dimitar Pehlivanov. Many years of various motorsport events followed after this first try and every time the races grew bigger and more complicated than the previous ones.
Initially only Bulgarian, year by year, the events acquired international status because of the participation of pilots firstly from the Balkan Peninsula countries (Romania, former Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey), then from the former Soviet Union countries (like Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, etc.), and later – from most of the West European countries (West Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, etc.).
The first years of the Bulgarian Motorsport have been the years when the car, as a necessity, was not a normal thing as it is today. In this initial period (from the end of the 19th Century until the mid 20th Century) the motorsport in Bulgaria was a privilege only for limited number of people – dealers, owners of factories or service-stations, and some enthusiasts (mechanics, chauffeurs, etc.).
The second period of nation's motorsport development had begun in the mid-1950s, when the automobiles in Bulgaria were already comparatively widespread. The newest history of the Bulgarian Motorsport dates back to 1958 when the Bulgarian Automobile Tourist Club (BATC) was established. A year later, in 1959, the first true rally event has been organised. Its start was in the capital Sofia and the itinerary covered 275 km in the West and North-West of the country.
In the next 1960 it has been decided that the Bulgarian Rally Championship for that year would be proceeded as a "Circuit of Bulgaria". The first motorsport activity, which shows the interest of the Bulgarian women in the sport – the inaugural ladies' rally "8th of March" – was held in 1961. The first Kart Race has been organised two years later – in 1963, while in the following 1964 the Renault Factory in Plovdiv (the second biggest town in Bulgaria) opened its doors having great positive influence in the Bulgarian Motorsport later on.
One by one, different rally events appeared some years later and several of them became traditional rounds of the Bulgarian Rally Championship:
Rally Stari Stolici – established in 1970; existing nowadays; translated: Rally Old Capitals; counts for the Bulgarian Rally Championship; HQ is town of Shumen; Rally Hebros – established in 1972; not organised in 2014 for the first time in its history; in the recent few years it counted for the Bulgarian Rally Championship only, but in the past it was also part of the European Rally Championship with coefficients 5 and 10, and later on the event counted for the then European Rally Cup (now European Rally Trophy) with coefficient 5; HQ is town of Plovdiv; Rally Sliven – established in 1976; existing nowadays; counts for the European Rally Trophy with coefficient 3 and for the Bulgarian Rally Championship; HQ is town of Sliven; Rally Tvarditsa(-Elena) – established in 2005; existing nowadays; counts for the Bulgarian Rally Championship; HQ is town of Tvarditsa; Rally Sredna Gora – established in 2004; existing nowadays despite some problems with the organisation lately; name in the period 2004–2011: Rally Trayanovi Vrata; counts for the European Rally Trophy with coefficient 2 and for the Bulgarian Rally Championship; HQ is town of Panagyurishte (HQ in the period 2004–2011 – town of Kostenets); Rally Vida – established in 1971 and held up until 1989, reborn in 2007 as part of the Bulgarian Rally Championship, but nowadays counts for the Bulgarian Rally Sprint Championship instead; HQ is town of Vidin; Rally Boruy – not existing nowadays; HQ was town of Stara Zagora; Rally Osogovo – existing nowadays as hillclimb race; HQ was town of Kyustendil;
But preceding all of the above-mentioned rallies, in the summer of 1970, the first International Rally Zlatni Piassatsi (translated: Rally Golden Sands) has been organised in the famous Bulgarian summer resort of the same name, as 36 crews from Bulgaria, Poland, former Yugoslavia and East Germany took the start. In the following years the rally has changed its name several times (Rally Zlatni, Rally Albena, etc.), while in 2002 it has also generally changed its location as well – from the glamorous and sunny Bulgarian coastline to the heart of the gorgeous Rila Mountain – some 500 km to the West – in the Borovets ski resort. Since then (despite in 2013 the HQ moved another 10 km to the North-West in town of Samokov) the rally is known as Rally Bulgaria.
From Rally Zlatni Piassatsi 1970 to Rally Bulgaria 2015
Rally Bulgaria is the oldest and most prestigious motorsport event in Republic of Bulgaria. There are evidences that the first unofficial edition of the rally was in 1965, but the first ever official Rally Zlatni Piassatsi (translated: Rally Golden Sands) has started on 12 June 1970 in front of Hotel International which is located in the sea resort of the same name – Zlatni Piassatsi (Golden Sands resort). Just year and a half later the rally commission of the then Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) confirmed it as a part of the European Rally Championship. The rally was the first event to run a closed (circuit like) special stage – a characteristic feature of the rally included in its first official running back in 1970.
In 1975 the rally was awarded with coefficient 3 (the highest then was coefficient 4). Another three years later and on 10 October 1978 the rally commission of FISA awarded it with the 4 "stars" of difficulty after the fact that the Bulgarian rally has gathered a total of 123.5 points. On the same date the event was also included in the 10 super European rallies, which determined the European Rally Championship of that time. After all the positives, in 1979, FISA took back one of the fours stars, because of "weaknesses in the organisation", as the observers have written on the past rally report.
In 1984 the HQ of the rally moved from Zlatni Piassatsi sea resort to its neighbor resort Albena (both held near third biggest town in Bulgaria – Varna). Four years later FISA awarded the Bulgarian rally again with the highest coefficient of difficulty, which by this time was already 20. Since then, until 2003 including, the rally was fixed in the highest group of rallies with coefficient 20, which made up the calendar of the European Rally Championship. From 2004 to 2009 including the rally continued to be part of this highest group of rallies, but FIA decided to remove the coefficients and the championship was named just European Rally Championship, while the coefficients were left only for the then European Rally Cup (now European Rally Trophy). In both 2008 and 2009 Rally Bulgaria was also a World Rally Championship Candidate Event.
As a matter of fact, in all runnings of the event until 2002, less than 1/5 of the itinerary was based around the HQ resorts. The most of it was rather located in the Balkan Mountains around towns of Sliven and Shoumen with their emblematic stages like "Stara Reka" (translated: "Old River"), "Bulgarka", "Tvarditsa-Elena", "Varbitsa", and many others...
The big change had to happen after the observers of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA – the new name of the international motorsport federation) recommended to avoid the long road sections which connected the seaside with the mountain stages – between 150 and 250 km in one direction.
So, from 2002 on the rally changed its name one more time and from Rally Albena (the last name from 2001) it became Rally Bulgaria. This also came with the change of the location of the event as well – after 32 years on the seaside, the new HQ was based about 500 km to the West – in the ski resort Borovets, which is located in the Rila Mountain. The route of the rally, of course, was completely new which caused many discussions among the participants and keen rally fans whether the change was good or not. Despite that, over the years, the rally "created" its new famous places like the so-called "Turkish Parking" and the road along the picturesque Belmeken Dam.
Year 2010 marked the pinnacle of the Bulgarian rally sport – Rally Bulgaria became part of the World Rally Championship calendar for the very first time. It was long-awaited achievement and at the end all people involved were satisfied that it has finally happened.
For 2011 and 2012 the rally went back to the European Rally Championship, while in 2013 it counted only for the then European Rally Cup with coefficient 20 which name was changed to European Rally Trophy for 2014. The coefficient was also changed – from 20 it became 4 (as in the old times), but it was equal, of course, to 2013's already former coefficient 20. In 2015 Rally Bulgaria will count one more time for the European Rally Trophy with the highest coefficient – 4.
A bit earlier, in 2013, Rally Bulgaria changed its HQ one more time, but on that occasion it was just 10 km to the North-West of Borovets – in town of Samokov. The HQ was there also in 2014 and will remain there for the 46th edition of the event this year – 2015.
Validity of the rally Year(s) Valid for1970–1971Bulgarian Rally Championship1972–1974Bulgarian Rally Championship European Rally Championship for drivers
Soviet Union Rally Championship1975–1976Bulgarian Rally Championship European Rally Championship for drivers (coefficient 3)
Soviet Union Rally Championship – Cup "Peace & Friendship"1977–1981 &
1982–1983Bulgarian Rally Championship European Rally Championship for drivers
(with coefficient 3 in 1977–1978 and 1980–1981,
with coefficient 4 in 1979 alone and from 1982 on)
Soviet Union Rally Championship – Cup "Peace & Friendship"
Romanian Rally Championship
Turkish Rally Championship
Greek Rally Championship1984–1986Bulgarian Rally Championship European Rally Championship for drivers (coefficient 4)
European Rally Championship for Group A drivers
Soviet Union Rally Championship – Cup "Peace & Friendship"
Romanian Rally Championship
Turkish Rally Championship
Greek Rally Championship1987Bulgarian Rally Championship European Rally Championship for drivers (coefficient 4)
Soviet Union Rally Championship – Cup "Peace & Friendship"1988–1989Bulgarian Rally Championship European Rally Championship for drivers (coefficient 20)
European Rally Championship for Group N drivers
Soviet Union Rally Championship – Cup "Peace & Friendship"1990Bulgarian Rally Championship European Rally Championship for drivers (coefficient 20)