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The 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo is over, deprived of its final act. The official final standings were published early Saturday afternoon by the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM). The big winners are, as last year, Spaniards Eneko Conde and Lukas Sergnese (Kia EV6 GT). Their relentless domination over three days enabled them to repeat as winners of the E-Rallye Monte-Carlo. They become the only double winners since the new name was introduced in 2016.
The decision was taken at daybreak by the race directors, following instructions from the Préfet des Alpes-Maritimes, who placed the 06 département under vigilance orange for “rain, thunderstorms, flooding” this Saturday. There were four final regularity stages on the menu for this 4th stage, two of them in Italy, near Dolceacqua, and two others in France, in the Nice hinterland. These did not take place, the precautionary principle taking precedence over sporting interest.
The 60 competitors (out of 63 at the start on Wednesday), whose cars were grouped together in the Parc Fermé at Les Terrasses du Soleil after three gruelling days, handed in their electronic boxes and everyone gathered around a coffee and H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. As on Friday evening for the very convivial cocktail party organized at the Prince’s Collection Museum. With drivers, co-drivers, organizers, partners, sponsors, and a few VIPs invited for the occasion.
Conde-Sergnese and Kia, logical winners
Behind the Conde-Sergnese crew, at the front from start to finish, the runners-up in this 2024 edition are two sailors who have navigated the 10 regularity stages to perfection: Olivier Campana and Nicolas Milanesio, in a BMW i4 in the colors of the Yacht Club de Monaco. And the podium will be completed, at the prize-giving ceremony, by a top-level Belgian crew: Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo (VW ID3), entered by the Belgian VW Club and winners of last February’s Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique.
Increased autonomy
The 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo will go down in history as a rally shortened by the weather, but the main point was elsewhere: for three days, it was a superb demonstration of the progress of electric cars and their increasing autonomy. Most of the competitors covered 250-300 km a day in the Alpes Maritimes, Alpes de Haute-Provence and Var, without needing to recharge their batteries. And the best crew won, uncontested.
There were plenty of people in the towns, villages and assembly parks (Monaco, Colmars les Alpes on Thursday, Briançonnet on Friday) to admire these superb electric cars, 40 different models representing 18 manufacturers from all over the world: American (Tesla), Asian (Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Lexus), European ((BMW, Mini, Audi, Volvo, Renault, Peugeot, Fiat, DS, etc.). And this is anything but a coincidence. The French market for electric vehicles continues to grow (+6%), with a variety of choices unrivalled in Europe. So much the better.
The Monaco ON network, an official partner of the 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo, offered the 63 competitors more than 500 charging stations (compared with 300 last year) spread over 13 charging zones, from Fontvieille to Condamine, via Monte-Carlo and Larvotto. More than a hundred of these are on public roads, including fast charging stations where it is forbidden to leave your car parked for more than two hours, and more than 300 charging stations of various power ratings (7, 14 and 22 KwH), corresponding to different types of user, spread across the Principality’s parking lots. Since their installation, these terminals have been totally free of charge. And a dedicated application and recharging guide enable all users to make the best possible use of them, without monopolizing them. It’s electromobility made easy and attractive, and it’s in Monaco, all year round!
AVIS, the renowned vehicle rental company, was once again involved in the E-Rallye Monte-Carlo in two capacities. As a major partner of the event created in 1995 by the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM); and as a competing team, with two 100% female crews: Marianne Alais, journalist and content creator, and Sorhor Fèvre, her seasoned co-driver, in a Renault Mégane E-Tech bearing race number 25; Elodie Chapuy and Emilie Dubourg, in a Volvo EX30 also bearing, in addition to number 48, a red AVIS banner.
The Alais-Fèvre crew took 39th place in this weather-shortened 8th edition. And 4th place in the Ladies Cup, contested this year by almost a dozen women drivers, including winning French driver Karel Colibert who finished 18th overall in a Volkswagen ID5, Dutchwoman Beitske Visser, runner-up of the Ladies Cup and who finished 21st overall in a Polestar, and Corsican Doris Mattei, 3rd place and 23rd overall in a Hyundai Kona.
Marianne Alais posted a video each day about her 5th participation in the event. “It’s like a little Pékin Express, a breath of oxygen, but it’s also very tiring,” she said on Wednesday just before setting off from the Place du Casino. “The days are long and intense, and you have to stay very focused. But there’s an advantage now, and that’s that we don’t have to look for recharging points anymore!” she added, very enthusiastically.
The Monegasque event is perfectly in line with the vision of AVIS, which aims to promote a new way of driving that is more ecological, more economical, calmer, more technological – in a word, more responsible. And AVIS is putting its money where its mouth is, with 20 different electric models available in the French rental fleet.
The event should have ended on Saturday with an AVIS e-Power Stage on Col de Turini, with a separate trophy, as they do in the World Rally Championship (WRC). But the weather decided otherwise. So it’ll have to be next year!
Early on Saturday morning, the organisers of the 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo gathered to analyse the weather conditions that could threaten the four Regularity Stages on the day’s programme. After a detailed study of the various parameters and taking into account government recommendations, the Clerck of the Course finally decided to cancel Leg 4. This brings the 8th edition of the E-Rallye to a close. However, the cars will remain under Parc Fermé until the Official Classification is published later this Saturday.
🚨 OFFICIEL / OFFICIAL 🚨
Sur décision du Directeur de Course, la 4e et dernière étape de ce 8e E-Rallye Monte-Carlo est annulée.
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By decision of the Clerk of the Course, the 4th and final Leg of the 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo has been cancelled. #ERallyeMonteCarlo… pic.twitter.com/xXHCDNdEql
— Automobile Club de Monaco (@ACM_Media) October 26, 2024
The prize-giving ceremony for the 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo will take place this Saturday evening in the Salle Empire at the Hôtel de Paris.
This 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo, the benchmark round of the Bridgestone FIA eco-Rally Cup, is once again an opportunity to see an excellent crew at work, Jérôme Aymard and Christophe Marques (Renault Mégane E-Tech). They finished 4th overall last year, just off the podium. They shone again on Friday, finishing several times in the Top 5 or Top 10 of the four regularity stages contested between the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var.
The Var is one of eleven departments in south-eastern France, most of them rural, where eborn has installed a public network of 2,800 charging stations since 2015. At the outset, there were five founding members, i.e. five departmental energy management syndicates, including those of Ardèche and Drôme, rally lands and “Monte-Carlo” meccas since the dawn of time, but also Haute-Savoie, Isère and Hautes-Alpes. Today, the eborn network belongs to 11 syndicates spread over two regions (Auvergne Rhône-Alpes and Sud/PACA).
At midday on Thursday, in the Colmars les Alpes regrouping park in the Alpes de Haute-Provence region, a few competitors were able to recharge their cars in a hurry, after two testing special stages (SR3 and SR4) between Valberg and Col des Champs, before setting off again to tackle the following stages. Despite the increasing autonomy of the vehicles, they were quite happy to be allowed to put a few Kws back into their electric motors.
Easy Charge (Vinci Group) in charge!
“Vinci group subsidiary Easy Charge has been chosen by the 11 unions to manage our 2,800 charging stations. We’re seeing a steady increase in the number of people using our charging stations, especially in tourist areas during the summer. This shows that we are responding to a growing demand from users, particularly foreign tourists, during school vacations. We were the first operators to offer contactless payment”, emphasizes Laurent Chareyre, Communications Director of Territoire d’Energie de la Drôme.
“The network is now complete, with an average of one charging point every 30 km, so our network will continue to expand on a case-by-case basis, depending on the particular needs of certain areas. We generally have two charging points per terminal, with a variety of power ratings. Most are “accelerated” charging points (22 or 24 kwH), perfect for rural areas, and we have a few hundred “rapid” charging points (50 kwH). But none on freeways, as they are not part of the public domain where energy is managed by local authorities (town halls, départements)”, adds Laurent Chareyre. “eborn is the first public charging network in France, and possibly in Europe”, adds Mr. Chareyre. As such, it has been a major partner of the Automobile Club de Monaco, since 2017.
They were around in the ’80s, they’re still here half a century later – well, almost: Stefano Modena, ex-F1 driver, and Bruno Thiry, talented rally driver, are doing more than just taking part in this 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo. In eye-catching cars, starting with the Italian’s superb Audi e-tron, with 70 F1 Grands Prix under his belt and 2 podium finishes: Monaco 1989, in a Brabham, then Canada 1991, in a Tyrrell.
Thiry the Belgian’s track record isn’t bad either. Belgian Rookie of the Year in 1988, he had to wait 15 years to become European Rally Champion, in 2003. And twenty years later, he’s back in Monaco, with a strange inscription on the doors of his ID3 from the Belgian VW Club, who kindly invited him: “Oufti ke tchouket”. Which means, in Belgian dialect, “F…, what a bomb!” No comment.
They are true sailors, prominent members of the Monaco Yacht Club, who have helmed a number of sailing boats, not only in the Mediterranean. Olivier Campana and Nicolas Milanesio have a fine “sailing” CV, to which an additional line could well be added on Saturday, in the electric rally section. They are second in the overall standings on Friday evening, with only 4 stages to go, and only 180 points behind the Spanish leaders. If Olivier and Nicolas manage to win this electric regatta on Saturday, with a victorious final tack, there’s one Monegasque who’ll be congratulating them warmly: Daniel Elena, the nine-time world rally co-driver champion, who knows a thing or two about navigation. As a child, Campana and Elena sailed small Optimist boats in the Bay of Monaco…
The regularity stages of this 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo have been dominated, on Friday, by two crews, one Spanish, one Monegasque. In RS10, which brought the 3rd day of racing to a close, the domination of Eneko Conde and Lukas Sergnese (Kia EV6 GT) continued: another 1st place, just ahead of the only rivals who still manage to keep up with the leaders: Olivier Campana and Nicolas Milanesio, two authentic sailors, in their BMW i4 entered by Yacht Club de Monaco.
Between La Penne and Col de Saint-Raphaël (12.9 km), the Spaniards further extended their lead at the top of the overall standings. And the 3rd place in this stage was taken, after a hard-fought battle, by Jérome Aymard and Christophe Marques. Two men in fine form this afternoon in their Renault Mégane e-Tech bearing the logos of the eborn public recharging network. One of the major partners of E-Rallye Monte-Carlo, since 2017, which owns 2,800 charging points in 11 departments of the South-East of France
In the chasing pack, the Belgians continued to liven up the fight, as three crews tied for 4th place on this last regularity stage of the day: the inevitable Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo (VW ID3), winners of Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique last February, as well as their compatriots Bernard Heine/Valérie Piette (VW ID7), from the Belgian VW Club, and Patrick van Remoortel/Bjorn Clauw (VW ID3), entered by the VW ID Drivers Club, another structure heavily involved in this E-Rallye Monte-Carlo.
A quatre spéciales de la fin, la situation est claire. La victoire ne devrait plus échapper, sauf incident majeur, au duo espagnol Conde-Sergnese, implacable depuis le départ mercredi, ou au tandem monégasque de « voileux », Campana-Milanesio. A condition de combler samedi, en l’espace de quatre spéciales, un retard de 180 points sur les leaders (760 à 940). Enfin, selon toute vraisemblance, quatre équipages belges, tous alignés par le Belgian VW Club, vont disputer la troisième marche du podium aux leaders tchèques de la Bridgestone FIA ecoRally Cup, Michal Zdarsky et Jakub Nabelek (Hyundai Kona). Quant à la Coupe des Dames, elle va se jouer entre la Belge Nadia Delvaux (Peugeot e-208), 20e, et la Néerlandaise Beitske Visser (Polestar), 23e. Suspense total, tant mieux.
The battle continued to rage at the top of the overall standings of the 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo on Friday in RS9, as Eneko Conde and Lukas Sergnese (Kia EV6 GT) finished in a perfect tie with Olivier Campana-Nicolas Milanesio, in their BMW i4 entered by Yacht Club de Monaco: 40 penalty points each, no jealousy, and thus a gap that continues to widen with their immediate pursuers. Between Briançonnet and La Rochette, on a special stage 19.1 km long, the Spanish and Monegasque crews did better than Didier Malga and Anne-Valérie Bonnel (Tesla), 3rd just ahead of one of the best Belgian crews of this 2024 edition: Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo (VW ID3), winners of Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique last February.
Places of honour were taken by Jérome Aymard and Christophe Marques (5th), in their Renault Mégane e-Tech flying the colours of the e-born recharging network, a major partner of E-Rallye Monte-Carlo (2,600 charging points in the South-East of France). They were tied to Nadia Delvaux and Jean-Marc Piret (Peugeot e-208), which strengthens the position of the Belgian female driver at the top of the Ladies Cup, and at a well-established 18th place overall. The Belgian presence is as significant as ever, with 4 Belgian VW Club crews in the Top 6 after RS9, ready to take advantage of any of the leaders’ slightest loss of focus.
On Friday morning, between Andon and Le Mas (RS8, 16.8 km), the Principality, via its official team Daghe Munegu, once again placed a crew at the top of the results sheet. This is already the third time since Wednesday afternoon, after Jacques Pastor and Fulvio Gazzola (Mairie de Monaco) in a Kia EV6, and Olivier Campana-Nicolas Milanesio (BMW i4), entered by Yacht Club de Monaco and still holding on to 2nd place overall. Today it was the turn of Force Publique Monaco, thanks to the BMW i5 of Charly Minotti and Jérémy Ruiz. That’s one fireman (Ruiz) and one carabiniere (Minotti) for HSH Prince Albert II.
As always since the start of this 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo, Eneko Conde and Lukas Sergnese (Kia EV6 GT) were at the front (2nd in this SR8), a good way to continue their breakaway at the top of the overall standings. The gap widens with each regularity stage. And the places of honour went to Guido Guerrini and Artur Prusak (Kia E-Niro), the Italian-Polish duo (3rd) still aiming for overall victory in the Bridgestone FIA ecoRally Cup, against Czechs Michal Zdarsky and Jakub Nabelek (Hyundai Kona), their last rivals for the world title, who had to be content with 8th place in this SR8.
For once, the Belgians were less prominent than usual. The best performers were Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo (VW ID3), tied for 8th with Bernard Heine and Valérie Piette (VW ID7). But the Belgian VW Club immediately consoled them, offering them a box of various victuals (photo below) in the Briançonnet regrouping park, to help them regain their strength before the next two regularity stages. Because the fight will continue until the end between the Belgian and Monégasque teams.
The two strong men of this 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo are Spanish, they won last year, and their names are Eneko Conde and Lukas Sergnese. In their superb Kia EV6 GT, they set the counters running again on Friday morning, showing themselves to be the best in the SR7 and further consolidating their position as leaders of this 2024 edition. It was between Mons and Col de Valferrière, over 18 kms, and they took just 50 penalty points.
Behind them, the best Belgian crew, Antoine Dechamps and Bernard Verstraete, in a Volkswagen ID4 entered by the Belgian VW Club, took a fine second place to stay well inside the Top 10, ahead of the Tesla S of Philippe Préaudat and Christelle Austruy. On the RS7 honour roll, the “sailors” of the Yacht Club de Monaco, Olivier Campana and Nicolas Milanesio (BMW i4), secured a useful 4thplace for the overall classification, on a par with a former Formula 1 driver, Italy’s Stefano Modena, embarked in a powerful Audi e-tron (with Jack Richardson) which doesn’t leave spectators indifferent, on the roadsides and in the regrouping parks.
Another notable performance in this RS7 was that of Didier Malga and Anne-Valérie Bonnel (Tesla), the 2017 winners, who have launched a mad “remontada” since their disastrous Thursday morning in the Southern Alps. They took 6th place, tied with Michal Zdarsky and Jakub Nabelek (Hyundai Kona), the Czech leaders of the Bridgestone FIA ecoRally Cup, and with young Dutchwoman Beitske Visser (Polestar), who is still aiming for the Ladies’ Cup.
