In bright sunshine on the first day of the 24th RAID, starting number 1, a Bentley 3 Liter from 1924, set off punctually at 12:30 on August 28, 2014 for an unusual destination. The remaining 133 participants of the exceptional RAID, which for the first time and exceptionally did not have Paris as its destination but Brussels, departed at one-minute intervals.
Day and night
The route first led through beautiful landscapes through the Black Forest, past picturesque villages, where the teams were greeted by traditional Black Forest costume wearers and released into neighboring Alsace via Schauinsland.
The finish of the first day of the rally was in Strasbourg, where the 21 drivers in the Sport category still had to complete a strenuous night stage in the darkness of unlit forest and side roads. A short night lay ahead for these hardy drivers.
Not just sunshine
On day 2, the first rain appeared. Past northern Alsace, through very beautiful areas of Luxembourg and the south-east of Belgium, the teams were challenged with a variety of special stages. The roads, some of which were not very nice, caused one or two technical incidents. Thank goodness a breakdown service was organized.
On the evening of the 2nd rally day, after almost 400 kilometers of rallying, the destination was Liège.
Challenging third day
The start of the third day took place in a mystical, disused mine. The usual order did not prevail at the start, and the route to Brussels was made more difficult by some roadworks and many cyclists, which manifested itself in Ferraris, Jaguars, Austin Healeys, Mercedes Benz and Alfa Romeos wandering around helplessly. Nevertheless, with a time difference of over three hours between the first and last finish, almost all participants made it to the Belgian capital.
The gala dinner and awards ceremony at Autoworld Brussels, where around 400 classic cars built between 1886 and 1980 are on display in Cinquantenaire Park, built by Prince Leopold II, was an exceptional event.
Youth wins
The youngest team ever won the overall victory with its Triumph TR4. The pairing of Olivier Schneider and Mike Müller also scooped two further prizes. In general, the English were in the majority in this RAID and just left the prospect of a trophy to a very early VW Passat from AMAG as a non-Brit.
In the veterans' category, Lorenz Imhof and Beat Fankhauser took first place in the magnificent Lagonda LG 45 DHC from 1937.
Bojan Pojic and Brigitte Pojic-Eggspühler in a 1978 Lotus Esprit S2 came out on top in the sports category.
The winners of the team classification are also noteworthy, as the pre-war team "Route Nationale 7" with a Fiat 1100A, a Lagonda LG45 CHC and a Packard 120 Six came out on top.
Wide range of vehicles
Around 120 well-kept classic cars built between 1924 and 1980 made the journey from Basel to Brussels. Among them were some rarities that you don't see every day. For example, a Saab Sonnett II from 1967, a Gilbern GT 1800 from 1964, a Mercedes Benz 600 from 1965 and a Railton Fairmiles from 1937, to name just a few examples.
It is also worth mentioning that super classics such as the Mercedes Benz 300 SL will be competing with former bread-and-butter cars such as the VW Beetle or the Passat at the RAID.
Challenging, but beautiful
In terms of scenery, the 24th edition of the RAID offered a beautiful backdrop for the rally participants, even if the roads were in poor condition in places and the many convertible drivers usually had to drive with the top down due to the wet weather. And it was a sporty rally with relatively high average speeds, which demanded concentration and stamina from the teams.
The 25th edition will once again be held in Paris, which many of the loyal RAID participants are certainly looking forward to.
Participants and overall ranking
The following table shows the participating vehicles and their rank in the overall classification.
| St-No. | Vehicle | BJ | Nat. | G-Rank | Penalty points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bentley 3-Litre | 1924 | CH | 82 | 2935 |
| 2 | Jaguar XK 120 OTS | 1954 | CH | 999 | 3185 |
| 3 | Studebaker Commander Big Six | 1927 | CH | 27 | 1050 |
| 4 | Rolls-Royce 20/25 | 1930 | CH | 79 | 2723 |
| 5 | Alvis Firefly Special | 1933 | CH | 31 | 1170 |
| 6 | Alvis Speed 20 Special | 1934 | CH | 28 | 1098 |
| 7 | Bentley Le Mans | 1934 | CH | 101 | 4370 |
| 8 | Riley TT Sprite | 1934 | CH | 67 | 2227 |
| 9 | Rolls-Royce Phantom II | 1935 | CH | 11 | 391 |
| 10 | Lagonda LG 45 DHC | 1937 | CH | 3 | 133 |
| 11 | Packard 120 SIX | 1937 | CH | 6 | 273 |
| 12 | Fiat 1100 A | 1939 | CH | 7 | 317 |
| 14 | Buick 8/40 Special Roadster | 1938 | CH | 62 | 2033 |
| 15 | Railton Fairmiles | 1937 | AT | 999 | 3397 |
| 16 | Bentley Mk VI Standart Steel Saloon | 1951 | NL | 100 | 4338 |
| 17 | Citroen 11 BL | 1949 | CH | 65 | 2189 |
| 18 | Mercedes-Benz 170S | CH | 54 | 1751 | |
| 19 | MG TD MK II | 1953 | CH | 94 | 4032 |
| 20 | Bentley MK VI | 1951 | CH | 102 | 4371 |
| 21 | JaguarXK PANTS DHC | 1954 | CH | 49 | 1540 |
| 22 | Citroen Light Fifteen | 1955 | CH | 81 | 2924 |
| 23 | Chevrolet Bei Air 2dr Sedan | 1955 | CH/DE | 61 | 2016 |
| 24 | JaguarXK140 | 1956 | CH | 26 | 966 |
| 25 | Chevrolet Bei Air Sport Sedan | 1956 | CH | 83 | 2942 |
| 26 | Chevrolet Corvette | 1956 | DE/CH | 51 | 1652 |
| 27 | JaguarXK140DHC | 1956 | CH | 42 | 1339 |
| 28 | Austin Healey 100 M | 1956 | CH | 45 | 1409 |
| 29 | Austin Healey 100 SIX | 1957 | NL | 23 | 835 |
| 30 | Aston Martin DB II | 1953 | CH | 33 | 1212 |
| 31 | JaguarXK150S | 1958 | CH | 19 | 761 |
| 32 | Austin Healey 100/6(BN6) | 1959 | LU | 48 | 1510 |
| 33 | Jaguar XK 150 DHC Convertible | 1959 | CH | 56 | 1787 |
| 34 | Austin Healey 3000 Mk 1 | 1960 | CH | 80 | 2745 |
| 35 | Mercedes-Benz 190SL | 1961 | CH | 76 | 2487 |
| 36 | Porsche 356 | 1961 | BE | 55 | 1759 |
| 37 | Maserati 3500 GT | 1961 | CH | 93 | 3987 |
| 38 | Maserati Indy | 1968 | CH | 99 | 4311 |
| 39 | Ferrari 250 GTE | 1963 | CH | 103 | 4440 |
| 40 | Chevrolet Corvette Split Window | 1963 | CH | 69 | 2281 |
| 41 | Triumph TR 4 | 1963 | CH | 1 | 40 |
| 42 | Peugeot 404C | 1963 | CH/DE | 24 | 841 |
| 43 | Volvo 122 S | 1964 | CH | 77 | 2602 |
| 44 | Porsche 356 C | 1964 | CH | 52 | 1656 |
| 45 | Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray | 1964 | CH | 58 | 1872 |
| 46 | MG Magnette | 1957 | CH | 17 | 691 |
| 47 | Gilbern GT 1800 | 1964 | CH | 15 | 614 |
| 48 | Mercedes-Benz 600 (W 100) | 1965 | CH | 35 | 1218 |
| 49 | Jaguar MKIII | 1966 | CH | 66 | 2193 |
| 50 | VW Karmann Ghia | 1967 | CH | 53 | 1710 |
| 51 | Triumph TR3A | 1961 | BE | 36 | 1224 |
| 52 | Chevrolet Corvette | 1959 | CH | 63 | 2056 |
| 53 | Chevrolet Corvette | 1974 | CH | 112 | 8617 |
| 54 | Jaguar XJ SC | 1986 | CH | 71 | 2324 |
| 55 | Cadillac Coupé | 1962 | CH | 88 | 3748 |
| 56 | Ford Mustang 289 | 1965 | 107 | 5270 | |
| 57 | Ford Mustang V8 | 1966 | CH | 98 | 4242 |
| 58 | Mercedes-Benz 450 SL | 1973 | CH | 104 | 4835 |
| 59 | Jensen Interceptor II | 1975 | CH | 64 | 2100 |
| 60 | Jaguar | 2014 | CH | 999 | 1013 |
| 61 | Jensen Interceptor III | 1975 | CH | 60 | 1967 |
| 62 | Ferrari 308 GTS | 1978 | CH | 111 | 6821 |
| 63 | Alfa Romeo Spider | 1966 | CH | 47 | 1463 |
| 64 | Volvo 123 GT | 1967 | CH | 30 | 1147 |
| 65 | Bristol 405 | 1957 | BE | 75 | 2459 |
| 66 | Sunbeam Alpine Series V | 1967 | CH | 97 | 4150 |
| 67 | VW T1 | 1967 | EN | 999 | 5754 |
| 68 | Lancia Flaminia Pinin Farina Coupé | 1967 | CH | 108 | 5358 |
| 69 | Mercedes-Benz 230 Will | 1967 | CH | 20 | 778 |
| 70 | Mercedes-Benz 250 SL | 1967 | DE/CH | 90 | 3953 |
| 71 | Bentley Tl Saloon | 1968 | CH | 32 | 1175 |
| 72 | Ford Mustang | 1968 | CH | 68 | 2249 |
| 73 | Mercedes-Benz 280 SL | 1969 | CH | 89 | 3850 |
| 74 | Citroen 2 CV | 1970 | CH | 22 | 807 |
| 75 | Bentley S2 | 1962 | CH | 91 | 3958 |
| 76 | Ford Mustang GT Convertible | 1966 | CH | 14 | 613 |
| 77 | Mercedes-Benz | 2014 | CH | 999 | 4231 |
| 78 | Pontiac TransAm | 1970 | CH | 72 | 2325 |
| 79 | Alfa Romeo Spider | 1973 | CH | 85 | 3168 |
| 80 | Volkswagen Beetle 1302 | 1972 | CH | 8 | 332 |
| 81 | Jensen Interceptor Convertible | 1976 | SK | 92 | 3958 |
| 82 | Jaguar E-Type | 1973 | CH | 37 | 1235 |
| 83 | Chevrolet Camaro LT | 1973 | CH | 73 | 2372 |
| 84 | VW Bus T2b | 1973 | CH | 84 | 2943 |
| 85 | Jaguar E-Type VI2 | 1973 | CH | 110 | 6319 |
| 86 | Jensen Interceptor III | 1974 | CH/DE | 86 | 3255 |
| 87 | Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL | 1974 | CH | 46 | 1415 |
| 88 | Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior | 1970 | CH | 21 | 793 |
| 89 | Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce | 1978 | CH | 9 | 335 |
| 90 | Opel Ascona | 1975 | CH | 13 | 538 |
| 91 | Porsche Carrera 3.0 Targa | 1977 | CH | 105 | 5022 |
| 92 | Ferrari 400 i | 1983 | NL | 96 | 4119 |
| 93 | Aston Martin V8 | 1976 | AT | 57 | 1828 |
| 94 | Mercedes-Benz 230 E | 1985 | CH/DE | 87 | 3395 |
| 95 | Porsche 911 Speedster | 1989 | CH | 41 | 1323 |
| 96 | Bentley Turbo R Type CBZR | 1989 | IT/CH | 109 | 6204 |
| 97 | Porsche 911 Roadster | 1994 | JP | 95 | 4075 |
| 98 | VW Beetle | 1973 | CH | 29 | 1145 |
| 99 | VW Passat Variant | 1974 | CH | 4 | 198 |
| 100 | VWScirocco GTI Mk 1 | 1977 | CH | 25 | 862 |
| 101 | Bentley Donington Special | 1951 | CH | 18 | 738 |
| 102 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL | 1957 | CH | 12 | 422 |
| 103 | Austin Healey 100 / 6 (BN4) | 1958 | CH | 39 | 1279 |
| 104 | Jaguar 3.4 Saloon car | 1959 | CH | 50 | 1552 |
| 105 | Jaguar E-Type | 1961 | CH | 34 | 1218 |
| 106 | Jaguar E-Type | 1962 | CH | 78 | 2663 |
| 107 | Porsche 356 C | 1963 | CH | 43 | 1404 |
| 108 | Datsun 240Z | 1973 | BE | 10 | 365 |
| 109 | Jaguar E-Type Convertible | 1966 | CH | 44 | 1405 |
| 110 | Saab Sonett II V4 | 1967 | CH | 59 | 1885 |
| 111 | Alfa Romeo GTV | 1972 | CH | 70 | 2282 |
| 112 | Ferrari 365 GTC 4 | 1972 | BE | 16 | 614 |
| 113 | BMW 2002 Baur Convertible | 1972 | EN | 74 | 2427 |
| 114 | BMW 2002 tii | 1973 | CH | 38 | 1257 |
| 115 | Austin Healey BN4 100-6 | 1957 | CH | 5 | 267 |
| 116 | Porsche 911 G-Type | 1977 | CH/DE | 106 | 5150 |
| 117 | BMW 3.0 CS | 1972 | CH | 40 | 1288 |
| 118 | Lotus Esprit S2 | 1978 | CH | 2 | 60 |
| 119 | Lotus Turbo Esprit | 1980 | CH | 999 | 4142 |
