The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a
rallying
Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...
event organised each year by the
Automobile Club de Monaco
The Automobile Club de Monaco is a motoring club based in Monaco. The club serves as the governing body for motorsport within Monaco, and organises the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix and Monte Carlo Rally. It is a member of the Fédération Intern ...
. The rally now takes place along the
French Riviera
The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
and southeast France. Previously, competitors would set off from various starting points around Europe and 'rally' (in other words, meet) in Monaco to celebrate the end of a unique event. From its inception in 1911 by
Prince Albert I
Albert I (Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi; 13 November 1848 – 26 June 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 10 September 1889 until his death. He devoted much of his life to oceanography, exploration and science. Alongside his expeditions, Albert I ...
, the rally was intended to demonstrate improvements and innovations to automobiles, and promote Monaco as a tourist resort on the Mediterranean shore.
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History
1911 beginnings and controversy
In 1909 the ''
Automobile Club de Monaco
The Automobile Club de Monaco is a motoring club based in Monaco. The club serves as the governing body for motorsport within Monaco, and organises the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix and Monte Carlo Rally. It is a member of the Fédération Intern ...
'' (''Sport Automobile Velocipédique Monégasque'') started planning a car rally at the behest of
Albert I, Prince of Monaco
Albert I (Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi; 13 November 1848 – 26 June 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 10 September 1889 until his death. He devoted much of his life to oceanography, exploration and science. Alongside his expeditions, Albert I ...
. The Monte Carlo Rally was to start at points all over Europe and converge on Monte Carlo. In January 1911 23 cars set out from 11 different locations and
was among the nine who left Paris to cover a route. The event was won by Rougier in a
Turcat-Méry 25 Hp. The rally comprised both driving and then somewhat arbitrary judging based on the elegance of the car, passenger comfort and the condition in which it arrived in the principality. The outcry of scandal when the results were published changed nothing, so Rougier was proclaimed the first winner.
Following the Second World War, works or works-supported teams became more and more important. From 1949 onwards, there was a special Team prize. First winners were the three Allards of Potter, Godsall and Imhof. Simca, Delahaye, Sunbeam-Talbot, Jaguar were subsequent winners. Sydney Allard – as the first and only winner driving his own car – was driving a "works" car in 1952, but Gatsonides also participated in a factory prepared Ford Zephyr in 1953, a year that saw no fewer than eight factory backed Sunbeam-Talbots.
1966 controversy
The 1966 event was the most controversial in the history of the Rally. The first four finishers, driving three
Mini-Coopers,
Timo Mäkinen
Timo Mäkinen (18 March 1938 in Helsinki, Finland – 4 May 2017) was one of the original " Flying Finns" of motor rallying. He is best remembered for his hat-trick of wins in the RAC Rally and the 1000 Lakes Rally.
Career
Mäkinen's start in ...
,
Rauno Aaltonen
Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s.
Career
Before WRC was established Aaltonen compet ...
and
Paddy Hopkirk
Patrick Barron Hopkirk (14 April 1933 – 21 July 2022) was a rally driver from Northern Ireland.
Hopkirk was appointed MBE in the 2016 New Year Honours list. In early 2016, Hopkirk became the IAM RoadSmart Mature Drivers Ambassador.
Early ...
, and
Roger Clark
Roger Albert Clark, MBE (5 August 1939 – 12 January 1998) was a British rally driver during the 1960s and '70s, and the first competitor from his country to win a World Rally Championship (WRC) event when he triumphed at the 1976 RAC Rally.
...
's 4th-placed
Ford Cortina
The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s.
The Cortina was produced in fi ...
were all disqualified because they used non-dipping single filament quartz iodine bulbs in their headlamps, in place of the standard double filament dipping glass bulbs, which are fitted to the series production version of each models sold to the public. This elevated
Pauli Toivonen
Pauli Toivonen (22 August 1929 in Jyväskylä, Finland - 14 February 2005) was a Finnish rally car driver. He drove for Citroën, Lancia and Porsche and had many successes to his credit. Toivonen had two sons, Harri and Henri, both also racin ...
(Citroën ID) into first place overall.
Rosemary Smith
Rosemary Smith (born 7 August 1937) is a rally driver from Dublin, Ireland. She initially trained as a dress designer.
Biography
Smith entered her first rally as a co-driver. After deciding that navigating was not to her liking, she switched t ...
(Hillman Imp) was also disqualified from sixth place, after winning the ''Coupe des Dames'', the ladies' class. In all, ten cars were disqualified. Teams threatened to boycott the event. The headline in ''
Motor Sport
''Motor Sport'' is a monthly motor racing magazine, founded in the United Kingdom in 1924
as the ''Brooklands Gazette''. The name was changed to ''Motor Sport'' for the August 1925 issue. The magazine covers motor sport in general, although from ...
'' read "The Monte Carlo Fiasco".
Recent history
From
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
to
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
the rally was held in January as the first event of the
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backst ...
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
, but between
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
to 2011 it has been the opening round of the
Intercontinental Rally Challenge
The Intercontinental Rally Challenge was an FIA-sanctioned rallying series organised by SRW Events and Eurosport Events, and aimed to "give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers competing in recognised regional and international ral ...
(IRC) programme, a championship for N/A 4WD cars, before returning to the WRC championship season again in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. As recently as
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, competitors were able to choose their starting points from approximately five venues roughly equidistant from
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
(one of Monaco's administrative areas) itself.
With often varying conditions at each starting point (typically comprising dry
tarmac Tarmac may refer to:
Engineered surfaces
* Tarmacadam, a mainly historical tar-based material for macadamising road surfaces, patented in 1902
* Asphalt concrete, a macadamising material using asphalt instead of tar which has largely superseded ta ...
, wet tarmac, snow, and ice, sometimes all in a single stage of the rally), this event places a big emphasis on tyre choices, as a driver has to balance the need for grip on ice and snow with the need for grip on dry tarmac. For the driver, this is often a difficult choice as the tyres that work well on snow and ice normally perform badly on dry tarmac.
The Automobile Club de Monaco confirmed on 19 July 2010 that the 79th Monte-Carlo Rally would form the opening round of the new Intercontinental Rally Challenge season. To mark the centenary event, the Automobile Club de Monaco has also confirmed that Glasgow, Barcelona, Warsaw and Marrakesh have been selected as start points for the rally.
Col de Turini
This rally features one of the most famous
special stages in the world. The stage is run from
La Bollène-Vésubie
La Bollène-Vésubie (; oc, La Bolena) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Cote-d'Azur region in southeastern France.
Its inhabitants are called Bollénois; in the Niçois dialect of Langue d'Oc the name is ...
to
Sospel
Sospel (; Mentonasc: Sospèl, Italian Sospello) is a commune (municipality) and former schismatic episcopal seat (1381-1418) in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France near the Italian border and not far from Monte Carlo.
Hist ...
, or the other way around, over a steep and tight mountain road with many
hairpin turn
A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...
s. On this 31 km route it passes over the ''
Col de Turini
The Col de Turini (el. 1607 m) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Alpes-Maritimes in France, situated entirely in the Arrondissement of Nice. The road connects Lantosque in the commune La Bollène-Vésubie, with Sospel i ...
'', a mountain pass road which normally has ice and/or snow on sections of it at that time of the year. Spectators also throw snow on the road—in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
,
Marcus Grönholm
Marcus Ulf Johan Grönholm (born February 5, 1968) is a Finnish former rally and rallycross driver, being part of a family of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland lineage. His son, Niclas Grönholm, is an upcoming FIA World Rallycross Champ ...
and
Petter Solberg
Petter Solberg (born 18 November 1974) is a Norwegian former professional rally and rallycross driver.
Solberg debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1998 and was signed by the Ford factory team in 1999. The following year, Solberg started ...
both ripped a wheel off their cars when they skidded on snow probably placed there by spectators, and crashed into a wall. Grönholm went on to finish fifth, but Solberg was forced to retire as the damage to his car was extensive. In
the same event,
Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb (; born 26 February 1974) is a French professional rally, racing and rallycross driver. He is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nine times in a row. He h ...
set one of the fastest times in the modern era, with 21 minutes 40 seconds.
Sospel has an elevation of 479m, and the D70 has a maximum elevation of 1603m, for an average gradient of 6.7%. The Turini is also driven at night, with thousands of fans watching the "Night of Turini", also known as the "Night of the Long Knives" due to the strong
high beam
A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for ...
lights cutting through the night. In the
2007 edition of the rally, the Turini was not used, but it returned for the
2008 route.
Monte Carlo: Rally route
. Motorsport.com, January 18, 2008. Accessed May 12, 2010. For both the 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
and 2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
event the stage was run at night and shown live on Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...
.
The event as part of FIA Championships: ERC, WRC and IRC
From its introduction in 1953 to 1972 the Rallye was part of the European Rally Championship
The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
The champions ...
, except in 1968 and 1969. From 1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
to 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
the rally was held in January as the first event of the FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backst ...
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
, but between 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
to 2011 it has been the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge
The Intercontinental Rally Challenge was an FIA-sanctioned rallying series organised by SRW Events and Eurosport Events, and aimed to "give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers competing in recognised regional and international ral ...
(IRC) programme, a championship for N/A 4WD cars, before returning to the WRC championship season again in 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. As recently as 1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, competitors were able to choose their starting points from approximately five venues roughly equidistant from Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
(one of Monaco's administrative areas) itself.
Past winners of the event, including second and third places
1911–1972
1973–1985
1986–1999
2000–2009
2010–2019
2020–
*† – Event was shortened after stages were cancelled.
Multiple winners
Year in italic was not WRC event
See also
*''Monte Carlo or Bust!
''Monte Carlo or Bust!'' is a 1969 comedy film, also known by its American title, ''Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies''. A co-production of the United Kingdom, France and Italy, the story is based on the Monte Carlo Rally – fir ...
''
*''Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
''Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo'' is a 1977 American comedy adventure film and the third installment of ''The Love Bug'' film series made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie—the white 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own. ...
''
* EWRC.com shows many of the results
* Further reading: 1911-1980 Monte Carlo Rally - The Golden Age, by Graham Robson (2007)
Notes
External links
*
{{Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
Sport in Monte Carlo
Motorsport in Monaco
Sports competitions in Monaco
Winter events in Monaco
Recurring sporting events established in 1911
World Rally Championship rallies
January sporting events