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Since 6th March, the big transformation of the Principality of Monaco into a real racetrack has started. For almost 2 months (7 weeks to be exact), Automobile Club de Monaco staff and its suppliers will be mobilised to prepare this iconic urban circuit in order to welcome Formula E cars for the 6th Monaco E-Prix (6th May) and Formula 1 cars for the 80th F1 Grand Prix de Monaco (25th-28th May) in the best conditions.
Almost 50% of the circuit resurfaced!
In 2023, the asphalt repair work on the roads used by the Monegasque track will be completed at the beginning of the build-up period and will result in almost 50% of the track being resurfaced. This year, 3 sectors are affected: the Boulevard Albert 1er (starting grid and pit lane), the Tunnel Louis II and the Darse Sud. Nearly 15,000 m2 of asphalt were repaired, the equivalent of about 1,800 tonnes of new surface.
This is always an impressive job, carried out at night by the teams of the Department of Urban Development and SIVIA’M, to avoid disturbing road traffic in the Principality. Between the planning phases of the upper part of the asphalt and the application of the new asphalt the following night, 2 nightly sessions are necessary for each sector. The aim was to ensure that the surface meets international standards and provides the cars with an optimum surface, all on routes exposed to intense road traffic all year round.
See the pictures of the repair work on the asphalt of the Circuit de Monaco (© ACM – Folleté).
Emblematic building of the circuit, real nerve centre of the events, the Race Direction began its assembly this week. This 1500m² structure is composed by 77 modules, with a total surface of 1500m². These modules will make up the 5 levels of the building (17m high) which will house the two control rooms of the circuit, meeting rooms and areas reserved for guests.
The reveal of the Alpine A523 on the evening of Thursday 16 February marked the conclusion of the traditional Formula 1 team presentations.
Here is an overview of the 2023 line-up before the start of pre-season testing in Bahrain from February 23-25, just 100 days before the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco (May 25-28).
Haas VF-23
The new car features a revised version with a dominant black colour scheme and white and red accents. The engine cover is now wider, suggesting that some of the radiators have been moved. Experienced drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen will have the tough task of speeding up the development of this 2023 Haas, with limited budgetary means.
Red-Bull RB19
The reigning World Champion car brings few design changes. The main announcement of the presentation was that Red Bull Racing will team up with engine manufacturer Ford from 2026 onwards. The two companies will jointly develop a new generation powertrain for the Red Bull and AlphaTauri cars, taking over from Honda (using a 350 kW electric motor and fully renewable fuels from 2026).
Williams FW45
The FW45 features an evolution of the blue-black colour scheme that came to the Williams in 2022. The nose of the car features a new design, similar to the geometry used by Haas and AlphaTauri last season. So it’s a mix of philosophies, taking on Red Bull and Ferrari type design elements, while the Williams team is striving for better aerodynamic performance.
Alfa Romeo C43 F1
The new Alfa Romeo is notably distinctive for its black colour, which has replaced the white on the car. In this livery, the team has focused on developing the aerodynamic concept of the 2022 car by revising the design of its rear suspension, which has led to the creation of a new cooling system and new body shapes.
AlphaTauri AT04
AlphaTauri unveiled its new colours and driver line-up (Nyck de Vries / Yuki Tsunoda) during an elegant presentation in New York. One of the main evolutions is aerodynamic with the raising of the floorboards – more rigid – in order to limit the harmful effects of “porpoising”. In terms of livery, the most obvious change is the appearance of the red of the team’s new sponsor, PKN Orlen, a transfer from Alfa Romeo.
Aston Martin AMR23
The Silverstone-based team has not made any major changes to its 2023 livery. The team indicates that its main areas of focus have been the front wing, side cradles, engine cover and roll cage entry. With the arrival of two-time Spanish World Champion Fernando Alonso, a staff that has doubled in size and a new factory under construction, Aston Martin F1 is showing its structural ambition, and will be looking to maintain the positive dynamic of the second half of the 2022 season.
McLaren MCL60
The new 2023 McLaren sports a side-cradle concept resembling Red Bull’s. The air intakes and underfloor barriers appear to have been revised, although the MCL60 appears to be essentially an iterative update on last year’s car.
Ferrari SF-23
A presentation worthy of its name for the new SF-23, under the eyes of thousands of tifosi in Fiorano. With the French Fréderic Vasseur at its helm now, Ferrari presents a predominantly matte red single-seater with a few exposed carbon fiber sections. Among the improvements, in particular, the suspension has been redesigned in order to increase the range of adjustments that can be made to the car on the track.
Mercedes AMG F1 W14 E-Performance
Mercedes’ latest creation marks a return to W14 and black – a colour already successfully used in 2020 and 2021 – after spending 2022 in their more traditional silver scheme. As for the design of the car proper, it follows the 2022 car’s philosophy, but with changes notably to the wings, floor and air inlets/outlets. Key elements to improve performance.
Alpine A523
Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon unveiled the 2023 version of the Alpine F1 car during a live presentation in London. The main modifications were made to the suspension, the position of the cooling system and finally the rear wing to improve its efficiency. There is no revolution in the livery. We find the traditional Alpine blue, mainly on the central part of the bodywork, with the pontoons in the colours of the title sponsor BWT. Like last season, the Franco-British team will start with a 100% pink livery for the first three rounds in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
All is well that ends well. One of the most followed, observed, admired cars of the 25th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, the 1970 Lancia Fulvia 1.3 S, perfectly driven by a very efficient Swiss duo, Claudio Enz and Cristina Seeberger, finally won it. And added a new line to the prize list of the Italian brand in the Principality. It is indeed the fourth victory for a Lancia in the historic version of Rallye Monte-Carlo, after 2002, 2005 and 2018. And each time it was a Fulvia, as in 1972, in the World Rally Championship. It was long after Louis Chiron’s win in 1954, in a Lancia Aurelia, and before the epic of the Stratos, 037 and other Deltas, taking a series of 11 more wins between 1975 and 1992.
Lancia, in this 2023 edition, was all over the entry list, and the fans massed on the roadsides and in the villages could not take their eyes off them. That of the Enz-Seeberger tandem was particularly remarkable, in its red dress with a black hood, as it was the case before, in the heyday. It was also appreciated for its precision in the regularity stages, always at the forefront and well placed for the final victory, picked up in the early hours of Wednesday, when passing the finish line at Col de Turini.
“We didn’t expect such a result, so we’re very happy,” said Enz, 32, in perfect Italian, on the finish podium. “I had a perfect car, a brilliant co-driver, we did what was necessary and everything ended well”, added the Swiss driver, victorious for his 6th participation in the event. He had left Turin, home of Fiat and Lancia, last week with a 28-year-old co-driver who assisted him very well. This makes it 17 victories in total for Lancia in the Principality, including 13 in the Monte-Carlo Rally and four in its historic version.
If one takes a closer look at the final results of this memorable 25th edition, validated Wednesday at noon by Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), we see that variety is all over, with legendary brands everywhere: there are 11 different brands in the first eleven places, and even 12 in the Top 15, because Lancia places three models and Ford two. With a special mention for Porsche, winning five regularity stages out of 16 contested, thanks to four different models.
Of the two Fords ranked in the Top 15, out of 272 entries, there is a Ford Capri 2300 S that Bruno Saby drove for an entire week. Winner in 1988 in a Lancia Delta HF, the very popular Bruno, not stingy with anecdotes, was welcomed as a hero wherever this rally stopped, and it was well-deserved. He also finished 4th overall, out of 232 classified crews, because when such a legendary driver takes part in a Rallye Monte-Carlo, it is not to make up the numbers.
Another former winner, Jean-Claude Andruet, also revived nostalgic memories at the wheel of a superb Alpine-Renault Berlinette, almost the same as the one he took to victory in 1973, just fifty years ago. Because this was indeed a Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, at all levels. The prize-giving ceremony, Wednesday evening from 8:30 pm, could only take place at the Sporting de Monte-Carlo, in the Salle des Etoiles. The Stars Room, like the myriads of stars shining in the eyes of drivers, co-drivers and rally fans, in the cars, along the roads and in all the villages crossed, for a whole week of shared pleasure. Long live 2024!
The last regularity stage (RS16, 22,33km) was like a dessert, like a reward after a week of effort and vigilance at the wheel. It allowed all competitors of the 25th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique to touch the Holy Grail of rally drivers all over the world: driving at night, just for fun and pure pleasure, in this famous Col de Turini which has unleashed passions for so long. It was very cold outside, but once again the marshals of Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) were there, in position, forever faithful, to ensure the safety of 227 competitors until very late at night.
History will remember that an Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV from 1973, an Opel Kadett GTE from 1978 and a Renault 5 Alpine Turbo from 1982 finished tied at first place, just like a perfect final bouquet on the Turini closing night.
And that the Lancia Fulvia N.242 of a Swiss duet, Claudio Enz and Cristina Seeberger, then descended quietly to the port of Monaco to show up at the last time check point and seal its overall victory. A well-deserved victory… pending and subject to the publication of the official final standings, this Wednesday at noon.
The last night of the 25th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique began with a monument, the RS15 between Col de Braus and Lantosque (34.35km). There were indeed some traces of black ice, in Col de Castillon, but not enough to really bother the 227 crews who survived this formidable 2023 edition. A Lancia Fulvia was aiming for overall victory but it was another model of the legendary brand that stood out in this SR15, the Beta Coupé 1800, from 1975, entered by Italians Maurizio Aiolfi and Carlo Merenda. It did better than the BMW 323i of Spaniards Luis Climent Asensio and Victor Buades Castillo, once again at the forefront, with Czechs Jan Schmied and Pavel Kacerovsky in 3rd place, in a 1976 Skoda 130 RS.
Passing on their passion for motorsport to their children is the dream of many passionate dads. Some succeed and sometimes even the student surpasses his master! In the Alfetta GTV N.40 carrying the colors of the Flaujac Foundation, here come the Caminitis, Stefano the father and Pasquale the son, over 10 participations in Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. In real life, the Master is Pasquale (he is a lawyer) but once in the right-hand seat… he becomes the student again and leaves responsibility for the hoop to his kartman of a father!
In the small Autobianchi A112 N.123, an Argentinian crew would not miss the Monegasque meeting for anything in the world. So crossing the Atlantic does not scare them. Here again, for the Lukasiewicz family, Enrique, the father, takes care of the steering wheel, while his son Martin navigates. But perhaps not for very long… There is also a tiny Lotus Élan with which Dr Jacques Roucolle goes from one historic event to another, with his daughter France as a co-driver, to whom he inoculated the virus. This proves that the pool of enthusiasts is not about to dry up!
Another Porsche won a regularity stage in this 2022 edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique on Tuesday, in RS14 (18.45 km), which brings the provisional record of the Stuttgart brand to five wins in this 25th edition, before the grand finale in Col de Turini. After the 911 of last year’s Belgian winners, in RS1, then the 356B of a Finnish couple in RS9, then the 911 Turbo of Perroud-Allais in RS10 and RS12, it was the turn of a 911 SC from 1979, that of Norway’s Soren Jensen and Jakob Knudsen, which took the honors in the very last stage of the Common Leg, on the way back to Monaco. It was the third time in four months that a Monte-Carlo Rally passed through the famous Colle Saint-Michel, after the E-Rally in October and the WRC cars in January. But this time in the other direction, between Thorame-Haute and Le Fugeret.
He left quietly for the heaven of rally co-drivers, last Friday, as the Concentration Leg of the 25th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique ended: Joseph Lambert, a three-time winner of the event (2007 in a Porsche, 2010 and 2012 in an Opel Kadett) was part of the history of the event, and part of the history of rallying in Belgium and especially in Luxembourg, his native country, 73 years ago. In the Principality, he also won the Alternative Energies version, before the E-Rally, alongside Bernard Darniche. To his credit, he also has the Tour de Belgique, the Costa Brava Rally, three times, the Liège-Rome-Liège, the Portugal Historico, the Andalucia Classic, the Asturia Classico, the Spa Rally, the Trophée des Alpes, the Ardennes Roads, the Asturias Rally, etc.
Joseph Lambert then became the ‘master of the roads’ for several beautiful events in which he had taken part before: the Liège-Rome-Liège, the Marathon de la Route, the Classic Spring Roads, the Göhltal Classic, the Ostbelgien Classic in which he traced the route of the 2022 edition. It was the final rally of the year counting for the FIA Trophy for Historic Regularity Rallies. His own son Patrick, co-driven by Yves Noelanders, was crowned. The loop was complete. Farewell Joseph!
The result of the RS13 between Montauban-sur-l’Ouvèze and Laborel, an 18.92 km long stage in a beautiful setting, going up and down famous Col de Perty (with a few patches of snow on the way down), did not upset the overall standings for the 25th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. At the end of that stage, the first rows of the results sheet were monopolized by crews that were relatively discreet since the start. With ultimately an arrival in the charming village of Laborel, home of an authentic Museum of Rallye Monte-Carlo. As usual, the welcome was warm and friendly, especially for the winning Spanish crew in a 1981 BMW 323i, Luis Climent Asensio and Victor Buades Castillo. They were more efficient, in this stage, than Frenchmen Etienne Goldet and Frédéric Neymon, in a 1977 Alpine A310 V6, followed by two Norwegian crews, one in a Lancia Fulvia HF and the other in a Porsche 911 SC.
The first regularity special of the day, in the Drôme, between Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert and La-Motte-Chalancon (RS12, 19.97km), had everything to wake up the drivers who had left Valence in the early hours. The sun was low, so they had to be very cautious, and the road was quite winding, in a new version compared to the usual stage in that area. It was a good starter for Pascal Perroud and Guillaume Allais who had already won on Sunday afternoon in the RS10, aboard their 1969 Porsche 911 Turbo. They had the honor and privilege to beat last year’s winners, Philippe and Antoine Cornet de Ways Ruart, in another slightly older Porsche (1965). The Belgians finished RS12 tied with the overall leaders on Monday evening, the Swiss duo Claudio Enz-Cristina Seeberger (Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.3S), and with the Fiat 128 Coupé of Yannick Villar and Vincent Bourdil. In the final downhill portion, there were patches of ice and snow, so some drivers had decided to start with studded tires, in particular Bruno Saby (Ford Capri), the 1988 winner of the WRC version, who was 4th overall when he left Valence this morning.
