Lorraine Williamson
Cantabria becomes a living museum of rally history this week as the Rallye Festival Hoznayo brings classic cars, world champions, and thousands of fans to the roads around Hoznayo.
This is not a normal rally. The festival is run in a demonstration format on closed roads, with no championship points or conventional competition. The attraction is simpler: legendary cars from the 1980s and 1990s being driven as they were meant to be driven — loud, close, and in front of crowds who remember them at full speed.
Why this year feels special
The 2026 edition has two major names at its centre: Tommi Mäkinen and Stig Blomqvist.
Mäkinen, four-time World Rally Champion between 1996 and 1999, is one of the headline guests and is linked again with the Mitsubishi Lancer era that made him a rally icon. Blomqvist, world champion in 1984, brings another layer of history through his association with the Audi Quattro.
The festival also marks the enduring pull of Group B, the wild and short-lived rally category that still fascinates fans decades after it was banned. AS reports that this year’s event includes 15 Group B cars, along with World Rally Cars, Kit Cars and Group A machinery from across Europe.
A different kind of motorsport weekend
Part of the charm of Hoznayo is that it feels less like a corporate race weekend and more like a reunion of machines, drivers and memories.
Cars such as the Lancia Stratos, Lancia 037, Delta S4, Renault 5 Maxi Turbo, Talbot Sunbeam Lotus and Fiat 131 Abarth are expected to form part of the spectacle, according to AS. For fans, that means not only seeing historic cars parked in a service area, but hearing them come alive again on Cantabria’s rally roads.
The official Rallye Festival Hoznayo website describes the event as “automovilismo en estado puro” — motorsport in its purest form — and the format explains why. The focus is on atmosphere, access and nostalgia rather than split times.
Why Hoznayo matters
Hoznayo, in the municipality of Entrambasaguas, has turned this event into one of northern Spain’s most recognisable historic rally gatherings.
The festival’s appeal lies partly in its setting. Cantabria’s winding roads, hills and weather changes create the kind of backdrop that suits old rally machinery. For visitors, it is also a different way to experience the region: not only through beaches and mountain villages, but through a motorsport culture that brings hotels, restaurants and roadside viewing points to life for several days.
Safety remains part of the story
Events like this depend heavily on public behaviour. Closed-road demonstrations can look relaxed, but spectators still need to follow marshals’ instructions and stay in safe areas.
That point was underlined last year when several spectators were injured after a car left the road during the event. Cadena SER reported at the time that emergency services attended to eight people, and the organisation stressed the importance of respecting safety zones.
A week for rally nostalgia
For anyone who grew up watching rally clips of Quattros, Lancers and flame-spitting Group B cars, Rallye Festival Hoznayo is more than a local event. It is a chance to see a noisy, emotional part of motorsport history return to the road.
The full programme, maps, access information and entry details are available through the official event website.
New historic vehicle regulations in Spain: Simplified procedures and cost reductions