The Alpine Classic

The Alpine Classic first ran in 1999 and was born from the 1998 VIGIL ALPINE MARATHON PRELUDE an event inspired by the early Mountain Rallies that ran in the years before. This event was sponsored by Vigil Insurance who were at that time the innovators in Classic Car Insurance.
 
This first "Alpine" took the essential elements of these Mountain Rallies and combined them with a shorter two day format which proved to be very popular and the event soon gathered a strong field of regular competitors.
 
One feature of the Alpine Classic that has always differentiated it from other similar events is its timing schedule. Yes, the Alpine Classic has always been timed, but it is not a race. Timing is included in the event program to keep crews on schedule and to facilitate the incorporation of average speed tests. The Alpine Classic if still the only event of its kind in NSW that incorporates these challenging features.

The Alpine Classic is one of the few events that provides the navigational and time challenges that feature in much more expensive overseas events. 
 
For the first 16 years the Alpine Classic used the iconic Blue Mountains town of Lithgow as its base (for both its start and finish location) with the overnight location in the picturesque central NSW town of Orange. 
 
In 2015 the Alpine Classic moved its overnight stop to the NSW historic village of Hill End, and while accommodating all crews was a challenge, everyone found a bed on the night!  

Our 2016 overnight location was the home of "the Dish", Parkes NSW, with the familiar Lithgow start / finish location.

The 2017 Alpine Classic changed both the start / finish location and the overnight location. The 2017 start / finish location was Yass (to coincide with Classic Yass festival), while the overnight location was the Snowy Mountains town of Tumut.
  
The 2018 Alpine Classic started and finished at Goulburn, while the overnight location was Historic Cowra.

The 2019 Alpine Classic started and finished at Goulburn and the overnight location was Wagga Wagga.

The 2020 Alpine Classic was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The 2021 Alpine Classic was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The 2022 Alpine Classic started in Lithgow and finished at Bathurst, with the overnight location being Dubbo.

The 2023 Alpine Classic will return to the traditional Start and Finish in Lithgow with the overnight location being Orange.