Jiří Patočka | Veteran Car Club Praha
The Zbraslav-Jíloviště hill-climb car and motorcycle race is one of the oldest ever. The speed race’s first edition was held in 1908, and the last one before the war took place in 1931. In 1968, this famous tradition was renewed by the Veteran Car Club Prague, who organised the commemorative Zbraslav-Jíloviště ride already for the fifty-eighth time this year.
The ride is today always held on the first weekend of the new school year, but not as a speed race… It is
instead a test of consistency, where participants strive to complete the course in the exact same time across two distinct runs. This year the event marked the 95th
anniversary of Rudolf Caracciola’s famous victory with
a record-breaking average speed of 123.8 km/h – a record that still stands to this day. Back then he beat another
star of motor sports, Hans Stück, by 11 seconds. This year’s edition also commemorated Jiří Kristián Lobkowicz, once a promising up-and-comer, whose career was cut short by a tragic accident at the Avus circuit in 1932.
On Saturday, 6 September 2025, it all started on the square in Zbraslav. An 8 a.m. opening reception welcomed about one-hundred pre-war cars and motorcycles. The oldest car in this year’s event was the American Autocar M8 from 1902. The practice runs began at 11 a.m., and at
1 p.m. the timed uphill session to Jíloviště began, poetically named the Eliška Junková Challenge Cup Race of
Elegance and Courage. The motorcycles were first to start, the oldest of which, a 1906 Trojan & Nágl Torpedo, also took part in the original race in 1908. There were also Indian and Harley-Davidson motorcycles; Czech motorcycles were represented by Praga BDs.
After the motorcycles the cars, split into various cate-
gories by power, then began their runs. Ford, Tatra and Aero were all abundantly represented, but Bugattis were, of course, also present. Two Bugatti 13 machines, which also took part in the original races in 1922 and 1925, were brought by Jakub Stauch, president of the Czech Bugatti Club. One of the cars was driven by his daughter Alžběta, who reminded us of the Czech racer Eliška Junková, whose name adorns the cup the racers were competing
for. Vojtěch Masojídek brought a Bugatti 37A, which,
driven by Miloš Bondy, emerged victorious in this category in the 1929 edition of the event. However, BMWs and Jaguars were also among the racing cars.
The Saturday victory ceremony has been held in the town of Jíloviště for several years now. This year, the winning trophy was lifted by Václav Osvald, who drove
a 1931 Dodge Six. On Sunday, 7 September 2025, the Journey through Time in Search of Jiří Kristián Lobkowicz orienteering event through the Central Bohemian region also started in Jíloviště, with its first stop in the Mělník Castle premises. The Lobkowicz mansion displayed artefacts related to the racer Jiří Kristián Lobkowicz, who finished fourth in the 1931 Grand Prix at the Masaryk Circuit – still the best finish ever recorded by a Czech pilot in the most prestigious car race in the world. Unlike on Saturday, Sunday’s event also includes historic vehicles of post-war production, i.e., vehicles manufactured up to 1995. Spectators had the opportunity to watch Škodas from the 1960s to the 1980s, but also a Ford Mustang, a Chevrolet Corvette and a Lamborghini Espada in action. The final destination was Lobeč Castle, where the merger between Škoda and Laurin&Klement was signed in 1925. Sunday’s orientation event was won by Mr Kotlařík in his Tatra 75.
