(Redirected from Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo)
The 'Monte Carlo Rally' (officially 'Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo') is a
rallying event organized each year by the ''Automobile Club de Monaco'' who also organize the
F1 Grand Prix of Monaco and the
Monaco Kart Cup. The rally takes place along the
French Riviera in the
Principality of Monaco and southeast
France.
From its inception in
1911 by
Prince Albert I, this rally, under difficult and demanding conditions, was an important means of testing the latest improvements and innovations to automobiles. Winning the rally gave the car a great deal of credibility and publicity. Since 1973, the race has been held in January as the first race of the
FIA World Rally Championship and as recently as 1991, competitors were able to choose their starting points from approximately 5 venues roughly equidistant from Monaco itself. With often varying conditions at each starting point, typically comprising dry
tarmac, wet tarmac, snow, and ice, sometimes all in a single stage of the rally. This places a big emphasis on tire 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. See also
Rallying.
This rally features what is possibly the most famous rally stage in the world. The stage is run from
La Bollène to
Sospel, or the other way around, over a steep and tight mountain road with many
hairpin turns. On this route it passes over the
Col de Turini, 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,
Marcus Grönholm and
Petter Solberg both ripped a wheel off their cars when they skidded on snow most likely placed there by spectators and crashed into a wall. Marcus went on to finish fifth, but Petter was forced to retire as the damage to his car was extensive.
Until a few years ago, the Turini was also driven at night, with thousand of fans watching the "Night of Turini", also known as the "Night of the Long Knives" due to the strong high beam lights cutting through the night.
[1][2]
However, in the 2007 edition of the rally, the Turini was not used.
Past winners
''(list by Driver / Co-Driver and vehicle type)''
1911-1929
1930-1949
1950-1972
1973-1985
1986-1999
2000 to 2007
External links
★
Official Monte Carlo rally website
★
Photos of the Rally cars Monte Carlo Jan 2006
★
Turini Website with information on the Monte Carlo Rally