The most important domestic automobile sports event of the early 1920s was International reliability competitions in Czechoslovakia, organized in 1921, 1922 and 1923. The first year of this competition was held from July 25 to 31, 1921 and its participants covered the entire Czechoslovakian Republic in seven calendar days, or five driving days, along the route Prague – Opava – Košice – Bratislava – České Budějovice – Prague. The evaluation criteria for the almost two and a half thousand kilometer long drive were strict. The cars had to adhere to the prescribed speed averages and their crews were not allowed to accept any outside help during the drive. Special tests were also demanding, for example, one of the all-day stages had to be driven without turning off the engine of their car. The difficulty of the drive and the poor quality of the roads at that time is evidenced by the fact that, in addition to numerous tire defects, the most common failure of the participating vehicles was the broken leaf springs of the chassis.
A group of friends decided to repeat the first edition of the International Reliability Competition exactly one hundred years later, following the same route and according to the same rules, with their historic cars. They will drive with two dozen cars manufactured between 1920 and 1935 and, like their predecessors a hundred years ago, they will set off from the Invalidovna in Karlín at five in the morning on July 25. The successful ones will commute to the Museum of Public Transport in the Prague-Střešovice tram depot on Saturday, July 31, 2021, from 3 p.m.
Route of the International Reliability Competition through Czechoslovakia 1921–2021
Sunday 25. 7. 2021 (maps.cz)
Prague – Mělník – Štětí – Litoměřice-Úštěk – Česká Lípa – Zákupy – Mimoň – Mnichovo Hradiště – Jičín – Hořice – Hradec Králové – Třebechovice – Častolovice – Kostelec n. Orlicí – Vamberk – Žamberk – Červená Voda – Šumperk – Koutkovice – Domašov – Vrbno – Bruntál – Opava (485 km)
Monday 26. 7. 2021 (maps.cz)
Opava – Hrabyně – Moravská Ostrava – Těšín – Jablunkovky pass – Čadca – Lieskovec – Žilina – Strečno – Priekopa – Sučany – Turany – Lubochňa – Ružomberok – Teplá – Liptovský sv. Mikuláš – Hybe – Vychodná – Važec – Štrba – Poprad – Štvrtok – Levoča – Spišské Podhradí – Svinia – Prešov – Košice (414 km)
Tuesday 27. 7. 2021
Kosice, rest
Wednesday 28. 7. 2021 (maps.cz)
Košice – Bužinka – Moldava – Turňa – Rožnava – Tornala – Rimavská Sobota – Lučenec – Velká Slatina – Zvolen – Hronská Breznica – Báňská Štiavnica – Bátovce – Levice – Vráble – Nitra – Sereď – Dioseg – Ivanka – Bratislava (421 km)
Thursday 29. 7. 2021
Bratislava, rest
Friday 30. 7. 2021 (maps.cz)
Bratislava – Pezinok – Malacky – Sv. Ján – Šaštín – Holíč – Hodonín – Čejč – Slavkov – Brno – Velká Bíteš – Velké Meziříčí – Měřín – Jihlava – Pelhřimov – Obratany – Tábor – Soběslav – Veselí – České Budějovice (405 km)
Saturday 31. 7. 2021 (maps.cz)
Ceske Budejovice – Vodnany – Strakonice – Horažďovice – Klatovy – Přeštice – Pilsen – Stříbro – Planá – Marianske Lazne – Bečov – Karlovy Vary – Lubenec – Řevničov – Slaný – Prague (397 km)
