The veil is lifted on the route of the two stages of the rally organized by the Automobile Club Sassari: over 150 kilometers spread across twelve special stages await the protagonists of the European and Italian Championships.
Porto Cervo, March 17, 2026 – Just over a month and a half away from the days of April 23 to 25 when the 9th edition of the Rally Costa Smeralda Storico – Trofeo Martini will take place, the activity of the Automobile Club Sassari’s organizational machine continues relentlessly. A few days ago, the opening of entries was officially announced for the race valid for the FIA European Historic Rally Championship, the European Championship for pre-1992 cars, a title that the Sardinian rally boasts from this year, confirming the tangible growth of the event, which has been underway since its first edition in 2018.
The second round of the top continental series for “pre-1992” cars, the Rally Costa Smeralda Storico will also be act number 2 of the Italian Historic and Classic Car Rally Championships, with the titles completed by the A112 Abarth Trophy and Memory Fornaca. Added to these is also the national validity for the Regularity Historic Rally, with the two categories “average 50” and “average 60” setting the specialists of the discipline in motion with the “premiere” of the Championship.
While the entry procedure for the “European” race is already active, for the national one the regulations establish the terms, confirming the usual thirty days in advance of the scrutineering day. Meanwhile, the approval of the route by the ACI Sport Supervisor has been received with a more than positive outcome, thus ending the wait for the “insiders” to find out how the two stages scheduled for Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25 will unfold.
The operational base of the rally will traditionally be the Molo Vecchio in Porto Cervo, the site of the pre-race scrutineering operations and all stage starts and finishes. The first leg, scheduled to start at 12:00 on Friday 24th, promises to be similar to that of 2025, offering the “Aratena”, “Monti”, and “Alà dei Sardi” trio, with Olbia as the hub and the tried and tested flexi regrouping combined with the end-of-stage aperitif, before returning to Porto Cervo scheduled for 20:20. The second day will be much more substantial in the challenge against the stopwatch, departing at 8:15 towards the Service Park in Arzachena, which with the unprecedented “Monti Canu”, the classic “San Pasquale”, and the long “Aglientu” will contribute to bringing the timed kilometers to be tackled over the 150 mark before the traditional award ceremony on the Molo Vecchio in Porto Cervo, scheduled for 16:00.
A compact project, therefore, but of great competitive intensity in order to respect the format of the European Championship, whose start at the recent Rally Costa Brava showcased a lively excitement with several crews of undoubted caliber animating the Series, many of whom are expected to be at the start on April 24th in Porto Cervo. In closing, thanks come from the president of AC Sassari to the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, along with the administrations of Olbia and Arzachena and all the Municipalities involved; gratitude is extended to the event’s partners such as Smeralda Holding, Sparco, Martini, Cerasarda, Pirelli, Testoni Bunker Point, Sardares, Cantine Surrau, and the Autoplus Group.
Image: Dynamic Range
