On August 28–30, the FIA European Rallycross Championship and Championnat de France de Rallycross will convene at Circuit de Lohéac for what is respectively the fifth and sixth rounds of their seasons. For the village of roughly 700 people, the weekend marks the historic venue’s 50th birthday and by extension the golden anniversary of rallycross in France.

The country’s very first rallycross race took place on September 5, 1976, in Lohéac. The race was organized by Michel Hommell—the creator of French racing publication AUTOhebdo and manufacturer Hommell—and Écurie Bretagne team owner Pierre Tollemer, who got permission from a local farmer to build a track on his field. The duo drove stakes into the field to outline the course.

“In 1976, in Lohéac, I had the idea of organizing a rallycross,” Hommell recalled. “I then suggested to the village festival committee and Pierre Tollemer to organize the first dirt auto race in September. We adopted the name ‘rallycross’ the following year. After assembling a team of motivated pilots, we were ready: the whole village rallied around this project, which was a complete success.”

Expectations were understandably modest. Hommell had been intrigued by rallycross over in Britain and wanted to bring it back home with him to France, but for a village of then-400, he figured they’d get maybe a thousand at best. It’s not like a huge crowd would go all the way out here for a novelty, right?

Over ten thousand showed up. 38 drivers across four countries took part in the inaugural race day. French rallycross was officially born.

Circuit de Lohéac remains an annual stop for the national championship, while European Rallycross has been on-and-off since 1978. Save for the COVID-affected 2020 season, the now-defunct FIA World Rallycross Championship visited Lohéac every year from the inaugural season in 2014 until 2021. World RX died after 2025 and Euro RX is now the top level for international rallycross, meaning means Lohéac’s 50th anniversary will feature the sport’s finest.

A new track was built by Tollemer’s team in 1986, and he remained involved until 1992 before passing organizational duties to Patrick Germain. Tollemer passed away in 2023.

“More than 20,000 spectators crowded into the tiny Brittany village of Loheac for the French round in the European Championship,” wrote the Maldon and Burnham Standard in 1993.

While Lohéac remains a fairly modest commune, it is proud of its racing heritage. Next the track sits the Manoir de l’Automobile, an automobile museum opened by Hommell on the site of a 17th-century mansion containing over 400 vehicles.

The Rallycross Legend Show will also take place at Lohéac during the upcoming weekend. Several vehicles from French rallycross’ history will be present such as Gustave Tarrière’s Alpine A310, Lambert Galland’s Renault 5 Turbo that’s a replica of his 1993 car, and Tollemer’s Peugeot 205 T16 Evolution 2.

Featured image credit: Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool