Upcoming Events
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.
Two cars with remarkable number plates have already been spotted among the competitors in this 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo. Not only does the superb Lexus RZ 450 of the Belgian Gego Team bear the number 35, with Belgian drivers Alexandre Peeters and Romain Lahaye on board. It is also registered Lexus-1, which is perfectly legal, thanks to the kindness of the authorities in the Plat Pays! As for the blue Tesla in the colours of Fun Drive Monaco, a car rental agency, it has a Monegasque 007 plate, in memory of James Bond.
Winner of Group N in the Promotion category at the 1988 Monte-Carlo Rally in a Renault 5 GT Turbo, Richard Frau is back at the Monte-Carlo a few years later, still in a Renault 5. But everything has changed, not least the engine, since it is the 100% electric version, recently unveiled at the Paris Motor Show and christened “Evolution”, that the driver from the south of France is bringing into competition. On Thursday evening, he was 56th overall, carrying number 60.
A little surprise for the competitors on Thursday afternoon at the finish in Entrevaux after the RS6: Jean-Luc Filippi, also known as “the doc”, an historic steward of Automobile Club de Monaco, offered fruit and delicacies on a small ACM tray, in the manner of ushers in the cinemas of the last century. Many appreciated the gesture before heading back to Monaco.
Day 2 of this very lively 8th edition of E-Rallye Monte-Carlo ended on a high note, and RS6, between Ubraye and Entrevaux (23.4 km), did not disappoint the 62 competitors. It ended with a Tesla one-two, and even a French one-two, as Christian Grimaldi (who’s not from Monaco…) and Jean-Baptiste Loty (Tesla Model S) did slightly better than Didier Malga and Anne-Valérie Bonnel (Tesla Model 3) on this difficult but dry road.
As in the previous regularity stage, Olivier Campana and Nicolas Milanesio, in their BMW i4 flying the colours of Yacht Club de Monaco, shone: they finished tied 2nd with the Malga-Bonnel tandem (winners in 2017) and they consolidated their 2nd place overall behind the very regular Eneko Conde and Lukas Sergnese (Kia EV6 GT). The Spanish winners of the 2023 edition, who finished 6th in this RS6, continue to race at the front, without making any major mistakes. On Thursday evening, however, they only had a lead of 30 points over Campana and Milanesio, with 8 RSs remaining on the menu until Saturday evening.
One Kia vs 5 VWs?
We’re not even halfway through this 2024 edition, and one scenario seems to be taking shape: the Spanish title holders’ Kia EV6 GT is more than ever a candidate to repeat success in the Principality, but the battalion of Belgian Volkswagens has not yet said its last word – far from it. There are five in the Top 10, after 6 out of 14 RSs.
As for the last two crews in contention for the world title, that of the overall winner of the Bridgestone FIA ecoRally Cup, they are currently a little behind: Michal Zdarsky and Jakub Nabelek (Hyundai Kona) in 5th place, Guido Guerrini and Artur Prusak (Kia E-Niro) in 8th. So nothing’s decided yet…
Happiness never comes alone. After the Italian-Monegasque Pastor-Gazzola team in RS3, it was a 100% Monegasque duo, consisting of Olivier Campana and Nicolas Milanesio, in a BMW i4 in the colors of the Yacht Club de Monaco, who best managed RS5 in the early afternoon, on the famous Colle Saint-Michel between Thorame Haute and Le Fugeret: only 40 penalty points, over a distance of 18.4 km, with a very narrow climb and a beautiful descent to Annot.
They weren’t the only ones to almost perfectly respect the average imposed by the organizers, as they finished 1st ex-aequo with Bulgarians Kalin Dedikov and Nikolay Kitanov (Kia EV6) and Frenchmen Christian Grimaldi and Jean-Baptiste Loty (Tesla S). Ahead of the other Tesla of Didier Malga and Anne-Valérie Bonnel (4th), in much better form than in the morning, and the Belgians Bernard Heine and Valérie Piette (5th), who had just won the SR4 in their VW ID7 Tourer.
Once again, Eneko Conde and Lukas Sergnese (Kia EV6 GT), the 2023 winners, were up to the task, taking a cautious 7th place to salvage their overall lead in this 8th edition, ahead of RS5 winners Campana and Milanesio. For the moment, the provisional podium is occupied by Belgian Bruno Thiry, European Rally Champion in 2003. He is starting to appreciate this form of modern and silent rallying, even if he finds it a bit slow, compared to the best part of his career.
The Belgian armada in the 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo was in full attack mode on Thursday morning, putting in a fine performance between Saint Martin d’Entraunes and Col des Champs (RS4, 16,1 km), at an altitude of over 2,000 meters. Hot on the heels of a 2nd place in RS3, Bernard Heine and Valérie Piette were the most efficient in RS4, in their VW ID7 Tourer. They were closely followed, at ten penalty points only, by their compatriots Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo, in an ID3 also entered by the Belgian VW Club.
A third Belgian VW Club crew made it into the Top 5 of this stage, in the ID4 driven by Bruno Thiry, the 2003 European rally champion, and perfectly navigated by Laurent Secrétin. Just behind it was the BMW EX2 of Monegasques Olivier Campana and Nicolas Milanesio, flying the colours of Yacht Club de Monaco. And two other crews completed the Belgian demonstration: Antoine Dechamps and Bernard Verstraete (VW ID4), tied 7th with Eric Cunin and Virginie Palizeul (VW ID3). The score was impressive: five Belgian duos in the Top 8 of this RS4.
In the overall standings, Eneko Conde and Lukas Sergnese (Kia EV6 GT), the 2023 winners, did the job again: by adding a 4th place in RS4 to their 5th place in RS3, they consolidated their position as leaders of this 8th edition, with 400 penalty points, now chased by three Belgian VWs (Dechamps, Decremer, Thiry) determined to spoil their day, and if possible the rally.
In the Ladies Cup, another Belgian driver, Nadia Delvaux, partnered by Jean-Marc Piret in a Peugeot e-208, is currently leading the way, in 17th place overall. In front of Doris Mattei (Hyundai Kona), 24th, and Beitske Visser (Polestar), 27th, who occupy with her the forefront of the women’s contingent. In the Colmars les Alpes regrouping park, a small snack was offered by the medieval town and all 62 crews then left silently for the two remaining stages of this 2nd Leg.
© ACM
Monegasque driver Jacques Pastor took his Kia EV6 to the top of the SR3 standings on Thursday morning, well-aided by his Italian co-driver Fulvio Gazzola, the mayor of Dolceacqua. The crew entered by Mairie de Monaco took just 70 penalty points over 13.1 km between the Valberg ski resort, Péone and Guillaumes, and thus did better than the VW ID7 Tourer station wagon of Belgians Bernard Heine and Valérie Piette.
The 3rd place in this RS3 was taken by Bulgaria’s Kalin Dedikov and Nikolay Kitanov, in another Kia EV6, ahead of the Tesla Model 3 of Piotr Moson and Etienne Sorlet, followed by another Kia EV6, the GT of Eneko Conde and Lukas Sergnese, winners of last year’s 7th edition. Their 5th place enabled the Spanish title-holders to regain control of the overall standings, taking advantage of the poor performance of Michel Decremer, leader on Thursday morning when he left the Parc Fermé in Monaco, but only 38th in this SR3, with a carload of penalty points.
The surprise of the day was the excellent performance of 19-year-old Ilona Laffite, the youngest member of the field, who has teamed up with Virginie Decorte in the Mini Countryman N.16 entered by Nice Matin and Radio Vinci Autoroutes: 7th in this RS3, a fine result for her very first E-Rallye. The next special stage, RS4, was to take the 62 crews (since the withdrawal of Tesla S number 52) to the summit of Col des Champs, at an altitude of over 2,000m. An unprecedented altitude for E-Rallye Monte-Carlo, before regrouping in Colmars les Alpes, a medieval town fortified by Vauban.
The 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo really started on a high, on Wednesday, just a stone’s throw from the Principality. And another former winner, Frédéric Lansiaux (VW ID3), winner in 2021, was at his most effective in RS2, the 27.8 km long ascent of Col de Turini. Well assisted by his co-driver Nicolas Buhot, the Frenchman took just 90 penalty points and finished tied 1st with another VW, the ID4 of Belgium’s Antoine Deschamps and Bernard Verstraete, and the Kia EV6 GT of Portugal’s Eduardo Carpinteiro and José Carlos Figueiredo (n°27).
Places of honour were taken by Belgians Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo (n°7), 4th in this RS2, so that the winners of the last Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique are on top the overall standings on Wednesday evening, in their Belgian VW Club ID3, ahead of last year’s winners, Spanish duo Eneko Conde-Lukas Sergnese (Kia EV6 GT). As for 5th place, it went to another Belgian driver, Bruno Thiry (n°17), the 2003 European rally champion, partnered by Laurent Secrétin in an ID4.
One thing is already certain, after two regularity stages (out of 14): this 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo is going to be intense, fierce and undecided from start to finish. It would be hard to predict the name of the winning team on Saturday evening. And from Thursday onwards, with four regularity stages per day, there will still be plenty of opportunities for many crews to shine.
The battle of the chiefs got off to a flying start in the 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo. On Wednesday afternoon in RS1 (Col de Braus-Peira-Cava, 15,7 km), Spain’s Eneko Conde (Kia EV6 GT), last year’s winner, and France’s Didier Malga (Tesla Model 3), victorious in 2017, tied for 1st. They took just 80 penalty points each, thanks to the talent of their highly experienced co-drivers, Lukas Sergnese in the Kia and Anne-Valérie Bonnel in the Tesla. A very successful start in totally unexpected weather conditions – rain and fog – for the 63 crews who had set off from Monte-Carlo’s Casino Square, at siesta time, in bright sunshine.
Behind these two previous winners, a Belgian duo shone, consisting of Bernard Heine and Valérie Piette in a VW ID7 Tourer, and the current Bridgestone FIA ecoRally Cup leaders, Czechs Michal Zdarsky and Jakub Nabelek, took 4th place in their Hyundai Kona. They edged out two other Belgians, Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo: the winners, last February, of Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, have traded their venerable Opel Ascona, with a 100% non-electric engine, for a Volkswagen ID3 entered by the Belgian VW Club !
This first Regularity Stage of the rally was preceded, for the first time in the history of E-Rallye Monte-Carlo, by an E-Shakedown between Sainte-Agnès and Peille, in full sunshine and with a breathtaking view over the Mediterranean. To end this first day, the 63 crews still had to climb the famous Col de Turini (RS2, 27.8 km), between Peira-Cava and Sospel. Before returning to the Principality to recharge, at one of 500 Monaco On charging stations in the Principality, the beautiful cars taking part in this 8th edition of “the greatest event in the whole Bridgestone FIA ecoRally Cup”, according to Eneko Conde himself.
Two major partners of E-Rallye Monte-Carlo since its inception, the Nice Matin group and Radio Vinci Autoroutes will tell the story of this 8th edition from the inside, thanks to the crews of a BMW i4 and a Mini Countryman carrying the colours of their media. In the big German sedan (N.15), Denis Carreaux and Frédéric Mlynarczyk. In the tiny English car (N.16), Ilona Laffite and Virginie Decorte, a 100% female duo.
Denis Carreaux is the Editor of the region’s largest daily newspaper, and he will be giving his daily driver’s impressions in the columns of Monaco Matin. He is well aware of the importance of the E-Rallye Monte-Carlo in “encouraging electric mobility” and once again demonstrating “the very strong links between Nice Matin and Automobile Club de Monaco”, he stressed on Wednesday, live on the ACM networks, just before taking the start, for the 5th time. With two great memories in mind: a tied 1st place in a Regularity Stage in the Var department, two or three years ago, and “a very turbulent night in Col de Turini, in the middle of a storm, when the gearshift lever on my Zoé got stuck in my hands”.
Virginie Decorte was Denis’s usual co-driver on previous participations, but she changed everything this year: she took the start in a Mini Countryman alongside Ilona Laffite, daughter of Bruno and great-niece of Jacques, the legendary Ligier Formula 1 driver. Ilona is only 19, a journalism student, and she’s delighted to be taking part in her first E-Rallye Monte-Carlo. As for her co-driver, Virginie, she has been on the airwaves of Radio Vinci Autoroutes since 2001, and hardly ever misses this E-Rallye Monte-Carlo which, from anecdotal in the beginning, has become “unmissable” today, according to her. The new navigation tools are very appealing to her, and she points out that crews no longer need to search desperately for recharging points, given the progress made over the last few years in terms of car autonomy and coverage of the country.
To conclude, the objectives of the two Media crews are totally clear: to break into the Top 20, distinguishing themselves in some of the 14 Regularity Stages on the week’s menu for the Carreaux-Mlynarczyk duet; to win the Ladies Cup, against six other 100% female crews and two other female drivers, one Dutch and one Belgian, for the Laffite-Decorte tandem. Let’s get started!
Technical and administrative scrutineering came to an end at midday on Wednesday, as planned, for 63 crews taking part in the 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo. The battle can start, on the roads of the Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Alpes de Haute-Provence and across the Italian border. From now until Saturday, spectators will be in for a treat, since the field is very strong, as always.
For this 11th round (of 12) of the Bridgestone FIA ecoRally Cup 2024, Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) is particularly spoiled: 40 different models entered by 18 manufacturers. Here’s an overview of the forces at work, just a few minutes before the Grand Départ on Place du Casino, broadcast live on the ACM’s FaceBook and YouTube accounts.
Tesla is out in force
As every year, Tesla, the American pioneer of the electric car, is well represented: 15 cars entered, i.e. almost a quarter of the field, and all the models in the range invented by billionaire Elon Musk, from Didier Malga’s Model 3, winner in 2017, to the Model X and Model Y, not forgetting the Plaid variant.
On the European side, diversity is the order of the day, with German brands BMW and Volkswagen particularly well represented. The big Bavarian brand is fielding four cars, including an i4 for one of the Nice-Matin / Radio Vinci Autoroutes crews, an iX2 for Yacht Club de Monaco and an iX5 for Force Publique de Monaco. Another BMW will be entered by a Ukrainian crew.
Volkswagen as well
Its mass-market rival, historically based in Wolfsburg, can count on an armada of 12 cars (ID3, ID4, ID5, ID Buzz), thanks to two very involved clubs: the VW ID Drivers Club and the Belgian VW Club, which is entering an ID3 for Michel Decremer, winner of the last Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique in February, and an ID4 for Bruno Thiry, European rally champion in 2003.
To spice up the line-up, there’s nothing quite like Korean cars (12 in all), with a wide variety of models produced by Kia and Hyundai, Seoul’s two great rivals. On one side, Kia EV6s, notably for the 2023 winner, Spaniard Eneko Conde, and E-Niro cars, including that of Italy’s Guido Guerrini, currently 2nd in the Bridgestone FIA ecoRally Cup. On the other hand, Hyundai Konas, starting with that of Czech Michal Zdarsky, championship leader with two rounds to go, and a Ionic 5 entered by Be Safe, the association that escorts Monegasque partygoers home early in the morning.
First outing for the R5
Last but not least, a number of French brands will once again be taking part in the E-Rallye, with Richard Frau’s new Renault 5 “Evolution” starring in the first official outing on the roads of the latest model from the Losange brand. There will also be a Zoé, two Mégane E-Tech, a Peugeot e208, a Citroën C4, a DS3, and a host of other European cars (Audi, Cupra, Fiat, Mini, Volvo, etc.), to demonstrate the vitality of the old continent’s automotive industry.
Technical checks are complete. Now it’s time for the e-Shakedown and the first two regularity stages, SR1 and SR2, which were kept secret until one hour before the start. The 8th E-Rallye Monte-Carlo is underway!
