The rebirth of the Trophées d’Auvergne takes to the Circuit de Charade from 10th to 12th July, featuring 12 races from nine grids.

Seven Motor Racing Legends series will be in action, including the return of 2-Litre Sportscars to the famed French venue.

The Circuit de Charade is located in a UNESCO World Heritage site, and referred to by Sir Stirling Moss as “the most beautiful circuit in the world”.

The Trophées d’Auvergne were born alongside the Charade circuit, on 27 July 1958. For two decades, they welcomed some of the best endurance drivers and teams each year. To mark the arrival of Motor Racing Legends in France, the ASACA (Association Sportive de l’Automobile Club d’Auvergne), the original organiser of the Trophées d’Auvergne, has agreed to revive the name of this legendary event.

Located in the heart of the Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Nature Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Circuit de Charade is the last active mountain circuit in Europe. This exceptional setting is matched by an extraordinary sporting history.

Designed by Jean Auchatraire and Le Mans winner Louis Rosier, the Charade circuit immediately captivated competitors when it hosted the first Trophées d’Auvergne on 27 July 1958, starting with the winners Innes Ireland and Maurice Trintignant. A few days earlier, Stirling Moss had visited the track in his personal Mercedes 300 SL to assess the layout and famously declared, “I don’t know a more wonderful track.” This opinion was later shared by Henri Pescarolo, who described the track, with its 51 bends and 180-metre elevation difference, as a “mini Nürburgring”.

The circuit, often known as Clermont-Ferrand in deference to the nearby town, hosted four Formula One French Grands Prix between 1965 and 1972, as well as multiple two-wheeled Grands Prix and the World Sportscar Championship.

In 1989 the circuit was modernised, with the more-dangerous road section removed. What remained was a reduced length, 8.055 to 3.975 km, permanent circuit that hosted top national championships, including super touring and FFSA GT, in the 1990s. With its spectacular elevation changes and dense vegetation, it offers a breathtaking driving experience unlike any other in Europe.

Julien Chaffard, Classic Racing School: “Charade has been a motorsport dinosaur since 1958. The current track remains highly technical. It alternates fast curves and tight corners, some of them blind, at the crest of steep climbs with gradients reaching 9%. The ideal line is not always intuitive. For example, you almost have to run out toward the gravel trap at the entry of the Marlboro hairpin in order to get on the throttle early and stabilise the rear end through the sequence of corners that follows.”

The rebirth of the Trophées d’Auvergne takes to the Circuit de Charade from 10th to 12th July, featuring 12 races from nine grids. Seven Motor Racing Legends series will be in action, including the return of 2-Litre Sportscars to the famed French venue.

In the early 1970s, the Trophées d’Auvergne was part of the European 2-Litre Sportscar Championship, and Motor Racing Legends’ 2-Litre Sportscars will revive that spirit at Charade. The grid, modelled on the European series, welcomes lightweight sports racing cars from 1962-1976. Look for the likes of Lola, which took Helmut Marko and Guy Edwards to victories here in the early 1970s, March, and Chevron.

The Trophée d’Auvergne was first held in 1958, won by Innes Ireland in a Lotus XI. Alongside the likes of Jaguar, Lister, and Cooper, Innes’ machine would be welcomed to the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy and Stirling Moss Trophy grid. Willy Mairesse’s Ferrari 250 GT SWB, winner in 1961, could join the HMRN Pre ’63 GT grid, while the new-for-2026 Pre-’66 GT Sprint will be home to a wide variety of top marques.

Clermont Ferrand has more than a century’s worth of history with motor racing, starting with the 1905 Gordon Bennett Cup. Early-20th century racers will join the revived event, too, with Pre-War Sports Cars. Charade’s flowing circuit will suit these cars superbly, and they’ll be a source of joy and fascination for local fans just as they are at any event.

• Pre-War Sports Cars
• Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy
• Stirling Moss Trophy
• HRMN Pre ’63 GT
• Pre-’66 GT Sprint
• 2-Litre Sportscars

Three support grids, well-known to Motor Racing Legends, join the event. the Formula Junior Historic Racing Association and Historic Grand Prix Car Association bring a total of six historic single-seater races to the Circuit de Charade.

• FJHRA Lurani Trophy
• HGPCA – Front Engine
• HGPCA – Rear Engine