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Olivier and Lydia Campana, driving the Volkswagen Golf GTI No. 116, were the most consistent performers on an intense first day. Marked by mechanical problems for Bruno Saby and Michel Decremer, as well as a few crashes, the 28th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique got off to a flying start! More than a week after a hellish Rally Monte-Carlo, snow also made an appearance at the 28th edition of the Rallye Historique. From the very first Regularity Stage, several competitors were caught out by icy sections of road on the western side of the Vercors massif. With the new version of the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, contested on closed roads, the crews took more risks and pushed their cars to the limit.

General enthusiasm

Although the mechanics were put to the test, and there were several minor crashes, this was largely due to the closure of roads on the special stages and the increase in average speeds. These new features, introduced for the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique 2026, were welcomed by all the competitors. “It's magnificent!”, “I'm delighted!”, “It motivated me to come back to the Monte-Carlo Historique”. At the regrouping in Valence, all the competitors were in the same frame of mind: happy and liberated to be racing on closed roads.

The Campana couple in the lead

From RS3 onwards, Olivier and Lydia Campana (Volkswagen Golf GTI No. 116) took the lead in the standings and never relinquished it for the rest of the day. The Monegasque couple managed the first leg of the classification perfectly, which was marked by numerous twists and turns. At the end of RS1, Bruno Saby and Christophe Marques' Renault 5 Turbo no. 38 suffered a mechanical problem. The French crew was unable to reach the Champ de Mars in Valence. Uncertainty hangs over the rest of their rally at the end of this first day. Later in the day, the no. 100 Opel Ascona driven by two-time defending champions Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo suffered a setback in RS3. Then, at the start of RS5, the no. 29 Austin Healey 3000 MkIII driven by Trevisan / Trevisan Fischer encountered a transmission problem. General Classification

Towards Ardèche!

Wednesday's Regularity Stages will also delight crews and fans alike. One of Monte Carlo's iconic regions, Ardèche, will see historic cars racing along its roads. Two regularity stages will take place in the morning, followed by a regrouping in Vals-les-Bains and then a time control in La Remise in Antraigues-sur-Volanne, which over the decades has become a highlight of the Rallye Monte-Carlo. You will be able to follow this event live on the Automobile Club de Monaco's YouTube channel and Facebook page from 2:00 pm!