A roll call of rally and racing legends is heading to Corsica for the 26th edition of the Tour de Corse Historique, which runs from October 3 to 10, 2026. With an entry list including six-time Tour de Corse winner Didier Auriol, former Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen and six-time French rally champion Yoann Bonato, the 2026 event promises to be memorable.
Those big names are among more than 440 crews hailing from 24 countries taking part in the 2026 Tour de Corse Historique. Entries span 33 manufacturers, ranging from Alpine and Audi to Lancia and Ferrari. The majority are entered in the Competition category, with nearly 190 in Regularity and a handful in the untimed Légende class.
The rally gets underway in Calvi following scrutineering on October 6. The five-day 1000km route circles the Mediterranean island and includes 413.7km of timed stages.
Auriol returns to Corsica to compete in a Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione, built to the same specifications as the car he drove to a record-breaking six WRC wins – including the Tour de Corse – during the 1992 season.
“Some opportunities simply can’t be turned down,” Auriol says. “Coming back to the start of the Tour de Corse Historique in a Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione inevitably has a very special flavour for me. Despite the years, the desire is still there to give everything and fight for victory.”
Auriol previously competed in the 2018 Historique, driving a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth to second place. This year, he aims to go one better with co-driver Fabrice Gordon.
Auriol’s Lancia is being run by the Milano Racing outfit, which is also fielding a second 1992-spec Delta for Bonato, who convinced Auriol to compete in this year’s event. Bonato is defending his French title this season in a Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale.
Several previous Tour de Corse winners are set to make their Historique debuts this year. Francois Delecour won the Tour de Corse in 1993 on his way to a second place finish in the WRC drivers’ standings. Delecour will drive a BMW E30 M3 with his wife Priscille co-driving. Gilles Panizzi – nicknamed ‘Tarmac Master’ – won the Tour de Corse in 2000 and 2002 but hasn’t competed in Corsica since 2005. He will be driving a Ford Escort Mk2 and promises to “have fun and put on a show”.
Bruno Saby’s return comes 40 years after his 1986 Tour de Corse victory in a Peugeot 205 T16 – a car he will be reunited with at the Historique. Saby became French rally champion in 1981, achieved a second WRC win in the 1988 Monte Carlo Rally in a Lancia Delta HF 4WD and won the 1993 Paris-Dakar in a Mitsubishi Pajero. Saby is competing in support of the cancer charity Espoir Isère Contre le Cancer.
Completing the group of former winners on the 2026 Tour de Corse Historique is Corsican driver Pascal Trojani, who won in 2009 driving a Peugeot 307 WRC. He returns in a BMW E30 M3 that’s similar to the car he rallied during the 1990s. Trojani finished third in the 2025 Tour de Corse Historique and won three other events in his debut Historic motor sport season.
Other highlights include Raphaël Astier, a two-time FIA R-GT Cup winner and French two-wheel-drive champion. He makes his Historique debut in a Porsche 911, co-driven by Denis Giraudet, who partnered Didier Auriol on the 1995 Tour de Corse. Philippe Gache, winner in 2011 and 2012, starts his 11th Historique in another 911, with a CV that also includes ten Le Mans starts and an Indianapolis 500 appearance.
Verstappen finished 21st on his Historique debut in 2024, tackling heavy rain in a Porsche 911. He returns this year as Belgian rally champion, again with Renaud Jamoul alongside him, but in a newer BMW M3 that he believes will suit him better.
Five Triumph TR7 V8s bring a British flavour to the entry list, with several sporting period Works liveries. Four are entered by Philippe Galland’s Lange Competition, with the remaining car being driven by British rally champion Mark Higgins with Carl Williamson co-driving. The TR7 made its competitive debut at the 1978 Tour de Corse, where the Works entries of Tony Pond and Jean-Luc Thérier both retired within the opening stages after losing their sump plugs.
Former Triumph Works driver John Buffum will also be on the island. Buffum drove for the manufacturer from 1977 to 1981 and remains the only American to have won a European Rally Championship round. He returns to compete in his second Historique and to celebrate his 83rd birthday on October 4.
The BMW E30 M3 is honoured as the event’s featured car on its 40th anniversary year. More than 40 E30s competed in last year’s Historique, with Olivier Capanaccia driving his to victory. The model’s association with the island began in 1987, when Bernard Béguin competed in a Prodrive-built E30. He led from the first stage and held on to win after snow and hail struck at the Col de Vaccia while he was on slick tyres. It remains the M3’s sole WRC victory.
The famous drivers will face a strong contingent of Historique regulars. Five previous Competition winners return to this year’s event, as well as the four most recent Regularity-winning crews.
Competition begins with two stages around Calvi on October 6, before heading east to Lucciana on a day with three stages of more than 25km. Thursday October 8 heralds the longest test of the rally with the 40.8km Chiatra-Feo, followed by the Col de Sorba and the Col de Verde, which rises to 1289 metres.
Friday October 9 will be spent in Alta Rocca, whose Aullène–Zicavo stage recalls Claude Balesi’s famous 1987 drive, when he beat all the Works entries in a Renault 5 GT Turbo. The final day of the event runs from Ajaccio back to Calvi, including an Evisa stage that is downhill all the way. The rally ends on Notre-Dame-de-la-Serra, run south to north, a first for the Competition class in the Historique’s history.
Spectators can soak up the atmosphere at the free-to-enter Tour de Corse Historique village in Calvi. Set across six hectares around 250 metres from the beach, it brings together the service park, parc fermé, scrutineering, exhibitors and food outlets, and is open from 9:00am to 8:00pm from Saturday October 3 to Tuesday October 6.
The official presentation takes place there at 11:00am on Monday October 5, followed by a public autograph session from noon. That evening, the village hosts a free opening party with DJ Philippe Corti, along with a drone light show.
Once the rally leaves Calvi, spectators can see the cars at free parc fermé stops in Lucciana on Wednesday, Propriano on Thursday and Ajaccio on Friday. The Calvi village reopens from 1:00pm to 8:00pm on Saturday October 10.
Click here for more details on the 2026 Tour de Corse Historique.
