Bernard Darniche (born 28 March 1942 in

Cenon Cenon (; Gascon: ''Senon'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a suburb of the city of Bordeaux, and is adjacent to it on the east side. Population See also *Communes of the Gironde d ...

, a commune in the Gironde department) is a French former rally driver. He won the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship has b ...

in 1976 and 1977 and the French Rally Championship in 1976 and 1978, each time behind the wheel of a

Lancia Stratos HF The Lancia Stratos HF (''Tipo 829''), widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a rear mid-engined sports car designed for rally racing, made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for ''High Fidelity''. It was a very success ...

. He also holds the record for most victories in the

Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was the French round of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season until 2008, was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 2011 to 2012, and ...

which he won six times (1970, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981), a feat later equalled by

Didier Auriol Didier Auriol (born 18 August 1958) is a French former rally driver. Born in Montpellier, and initially an ambulance driver, he competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first driv ...

. He competed in the first

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 ...

s in 1973, winning the 16th Moroccan Rally and placing second in the 44th Alpine Rally, and was one of the top competitors for the remainder of the decade. He finished third in the inaugural FIA Cup for Rally Drivers in 1977, the first of three successive top ten finishes in the drivers' championship. He also won the

Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...

in 1979, the event where he holds the record for most wins on the infamous Col de Turini stage, a 1,600 m

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

mountain pass normally driven in darkness. The so-called "Night of the Long Knives" has seen Darniche victorious on ten occasions.

WRC victories

Complete IMC results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

Profile of Darniche and list of results
Rallybase.nl {{DEFAULTSORT:Darniche, Bernard 1942 births Living people French rally drivers European Rally Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Rally Championship drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Audi Sport drivers BMW M drivers Oreca drivers