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They had to wait until Day 3 of the 27th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique to win a stage, but it’s finally done. Belgians Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo consolidated their position as overall leaders in their 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI by winning the RS10 between Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert and Chalançon (27.472km) on Monday morning. The first part of this stage was different from Saturday afternoon’s SR4, as it was run in the opposite direction and took in different roads.
The number 200 Alfa, which set off from Reims on Thursday and has been at the forefront since Saturday, left nothing but crumbs for its main rivals. They lost big points on this stage including three passes, run under an immaculate blue sky in freezing cold conditions: Col de Muse (932m), Col de Chamauche (1037m) and Col de La Croix (722m). In second place, surprise, a Mazda RX7 bearing number 77, that of Latvians Karlis Mikelsons and Normunds Vuguls, who had chosen to respect a high average, whereas the Belgians this year chose low averages, hence their race number.
A total of 203 crews took the start this morning in Valencia, 171 in the high-average class and 32 in the low-average category. Winners of three regularity stages already, one each day, including RS4 on Saturday, Spaniards Alvaro Ochagavias Temino and Manuel Macho Gomez (Porsche 911 turbo) were a little less effective in this new version, which was less slippery than Saturday. They had to be content with 7th place, tied with a former winner of Rallye Monte-Carlo, Bruno Saby, in his 1971 Ford Capri 2300 S.
Saby was delighted with this stage, which reminded him of ‘the great days of Monte Carlo’, he confided at the stop point. Alas, a few kilometres further on, on the road section to the midday break, scheduled in Buis les Baronnies, the Capri’s clutch cable broke, causing a lengthy mechanical session. But as a rally driver worthy of the name doesn’t give up in a Monte-Carlo, the Capri set off again. And Saby started the afternoon in 8th place overall…
The first part of the Common Stage of the 27th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique got underway on Monday morning at 8.40am with a long regularity stage (SR9, 34.9km) between Barbières and Gigors-et-Lozeron, in the Drôme department, via Col des Limouches and Col de Tourniol (1145m). And once again, as in RS4 on Saturday and RS6 on Sunday, Spaniards Alvaro Ochagavias Temino and Manuel Macho Gomez (Porsche 911 turbo 2.4l) ruled the roost.
The crew of the blue Porsche carrying race number 5 did slightly better (only 60 penalty points) than Italians Carlo and Enrico Merenda, in their tiny Autobianchi A112 Abarth (80 points). And better too than Belgians Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo, still leading the overall standings in their 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI. They tied for 3rd in this stage with their compatriots Maxime Castelein and Filip Deplancke (Sunbeam Tiger).
This RS9 was contested on a generally dry road, but the fog, which was very thick over Col des Limouches, from km 20 to 30, made things a little complicated, with visibility in some sections at just 20 or 50 metres, and still a little bit of snow on the road. The fog and snow did not prevent some fine performances, such as Germany’s Jörg Pohlemann and Marc Stoll (5th) in their Porsche 924, after winning RS7 on Sunday afternoon around Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid. And also a fine joint 8th place for the rally’s youngest crew, Jules Picoreau and Camille Béal, in their 1971 Alfa Romeo GTV.
In the overall standings, just as the longest day of the rally had begun, the Decremer-Hugo tandem was still ahead of the BMW 323i of Luis Climent Asensio, a former Spanish rally champion, and Carles Jimenez Valls. And the provisional podium was completed by the best Greeks of the rally at the halfway stage, in the shape of Aris Georgosopoulos and Ioulios Iatridis (Fiat 128 Rally). To be continued.
A superb day of rallying in Ardèche and Haute-Loire ended with a double surprise: the win in RS8 (Saint-Pierre-sur-Doux – Lalouvesc, 14.1km) went to an Opel Kadett GTE, driven by Régis Brezun and Elisa-Noémie Laurent, tied with the Ford Escort RS2000 of James Blakemore and John Buffum, the legendary multiple US rally champion, who is now a co-driver at the very respectable age of 81.
It was a fitting tribute to the longevity of Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, now in its 27th edition, and to the young Jules Picoreau-Camille Béal crew, who were in fine form on Sunday afternoon, taking 4th place in RS8, in their Alfa Romeo GTV, after their 2nd place in RS7. In the overall standings, Michel Decremer, the two-time Belgian winner (2017, 2024), well-assisted by team-mate Jennifer Hugo, continue to lead the way at the end of a perfectly controlled day.
While we’re on the subject of the ladies, a word about the best female crew on this 27th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, after 8 (out of 17) regularity stages: it’s made up of Carole Grimm, a Swiss, and Ingrid Peeters, a Belgian, in a superb Lancia Fulvia HF 1.6. They are 116th on Sunday evening, putting them in mid-table at the halfway stage, ahead of half a dozen other all-female crews. With a lead of around fifteen places over Frenchwomen Marie Douaré and Danièle Denuzière (133rd), in another red Lancia Fulvia.
With the Common Leg due to start on Monday morning, only 12 retirements have been recorded in the two very intense days of the Classification Stage, added to four on the Concentration Route. There will therefore be 203 cars and crews at the start in Valence on Monday morning, heading for RS9…
It’s already the fourth stage win for a Porsche in the 27th Monte-Carlo Historic Rally, in seven stages contested in the Classification Stage since Saturday morning, but the first one for a 924 model that negotiated perfectly RS7 between Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid and Vanosc (28.8 km). The start of this stage was broadcast live on the YouTube channel of Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), the event’s organisers, in the Haute-Loire village where hundreds of fans had come to spend their Sunday afternoon!
Germany’s Jörg Pohlemann and Marc Stoll, in their number 924 produced in 1976, outclassed another old-timer, the Alfa Romeo GTV (from 1971) of young Jules Picoreau and Camille Béal, two childhood friends from Valence, the rally’s HQ, who made up the youngest crew in this 2025 edition (see specific article this Sunday on the official acm.mc website). It was on a dry road but in a totally wintery setting, just like in the heyday of the Monte-Carlo in Haute-Loire, but in WRC version.
Women, children, teenagers and grandparents all turned out at Saint-Bonnet, and in the meadows all around, to see Jules and Camille finish joint 2nd with five other crews: the Porsche 911 turbo of Spaniards Alvaro Ochagavias Temino and Manuel Macho Gomez, the Peugeot 104 ZS of Jean-Pierre Verneuil and Philippe Mareschal, the Opel Kadett GTE of Raymond Durand and Patrick Monassier, the Renault 5 Alpine of Patrice and Benjamin Lamotte, and the Autobianchi A112 Abarth of Carlo and Enrico Merenda. It really was a family Sunday in the Haute-Loire, on the road and all around.
Once again, the Belgian tandem of Michel Decremer-Jennifer Hugo (Alfa Romeo Giulia TI) managed the situation perfectly, taking 8th place in this RS7 and consolidating their position as overall leader. An increasingly pertinent leader, ahead of the Spaniards in a BMW, the Lithuanians in a Jaguar, the Greeks in a Fiat 128 Rally and the Italians in an Austin Mini Cooper S. But there was still one last special stage, RS8, to be contested before returning to Valence to round off this spectacular Classification Leg.
The Spaniards Alvaro Ochagavias Temino and Manuel Macho Gomez (Porsche 911 turbo 2.4l), who had already won RS4 at the end of Saturday, did it again late on Sunday morning, winning the RS6 between Burzet and Saint-Martial, via Lachamp-Raphaël. It was another classic Monte-Carlo stage which they negotiated perfectly, slightly better than the steady and consistent overall leaders, Belgium’s Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo (Alfa Romeo Giulia TI).
Just like the previous stage, RS6 was contested on a generally dry road, in a dream landscape, with lots of snow on the slopes, in front of many fans who had made the trip to admire the rolling museum of the 27th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The Spaniards finished ahead of the Decremer-Hugo tandem, tied with the Lancia Fulvia Coupé of Italians Fabrizio Rossi and Marco Frascaroli, who had won the previous stage and launched a fine comeback in the overall standings.
Just behind, a former winner, co-driver Sébastien Chol, perfectly navigated Ludovic de Luca, the driver of the small Peugeot 104 ZS bearing number 15, to 4th place in this RS6, tied with the BMW 323i of Luis Climent Asensio, the former Spanish rally champion, and Carles Jimenez Valls. As a direct consequence of this stage, the overall standings have shifted again behind the Belgian tandem Decremer-Hugo. The Spanish BMW is now in second place, just ahead of the Austin Mini Cooper driven by Italians Giorgio Schön and Francesco Giammarino, who won RS1 on Saturday morning.
After these two morning stages, a welcome break was organised in Saint-Agrève, on the Market Square, and as of each and every year, the town council had pulled out all the stops. More than 200 crews were able to enjoy local produce in a friendly atmosphere, in front of many nostalgic fans who didn’t want to miss the 27th Rallye Monte Carlo Historique for anything in the world. The next target was another long-standing ritual stopping-off point for the Monte Carlo: Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, in Haute-Loire, to continue following in the footsteps of the greatest rally drivers of all time.
Heading to the Ardèche this Sunday morning from Valence, for the 2nd part of the Classification Leg. The first regularity stage, between Saint-Julien-du-Gua and the Col des Quatre Vios (SR5, 16.8km), started in cold conditions. As on the previous day, the temperature was below 0°C but the sky was of an immaculate blue and there was plenty of snow around, in the landscape. The result was very different from Saturday stages: a 1982 VW Scirocco GTI won this RS5, that of Ilya Kashin and Boris Kostyrko, tied with the BMW 2002 TI of Laurent and David Combier, on one hand, and the Lancia Fulvia Coupé of Fabrizio Rossi and Marco Frascaroli, on the other. The only crew in the Top 8 on this stage to have chosen to compete in the low average category.
These three crews were awarded just 50 penalty points on this stage. And the battle was fierce, on a very twisty route, as five other cars only took 60 penalty points over 16 km: two other BMWs, including that of young Isère chef Louis Chabran, two Porsches, a 911 and a 924, as well as a Lancia Fulvia in the hands of a Danish duo, Simonsen-Kristensen. And that was just the warm-up for the big event of the morning, the passage through the formidable Burzet stage on the way to Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, where the ACM had prepared a live stream on its YouTube account from 3pm.
In the overall classification, nothing changed at the top, with the Belgian duo of Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo, in their 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI, still leading after limiting damage in this stage (9th). But behind them, in the chasing pack, the small Austin Mini Cooper S of Italians Giorgio Schön and Francesco Giammarino (2nd) passed the Jaguar of Lithuanians Karolis Raysis and Ovidijus Meilunas (3rd), now followed very closely by the BMW 323i of Luis Climent Asensio, a former Spanish rally champion, and Carles Jimenez Valls (4th). And still in the Top 5, the Fiat 128 Rally of Greek drivers Aris Georgosopoulos and Ioulios Iatridis.
On the road to the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, episode 2
Even if their two ages are added together, Jules Picoreau and Camille Beal remain younger than the car they are navigating, with already a lot of experience. Meet crew no. 6, the youngest at the start of this 27th edition.
A generation separates this car from its crew. Jules Picoreau and Camille Beal, each 24 years old, are competing together for the third time in the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique aboard a splendid 1971 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT 2000. A family collector’s vehicle, the 54-year-old red racing car no longer holds any secrets for these best childhood friends, who met in primary school.
Passionate about motorsport since their youngest age, the two Valentinois saw themselves as little ones one day teaming up on the course of an official event. “It was a dream to race together. We were able to make it come true three years ago and since then, we got caught up in the game”, confides Jules, who occupies the driver’s seat.
Sitting to his right in the car, Camille continues: “We really love cars and these models, we usually admire them in museums, without seeing them on the roads.” In addition to living their dream to the full, the youngest crew of this 27th edition finds themselves among other very iconic cars.
“It’s wonderful to follow Lancia Stratos or Porsches. And then, they’re so much more fun to drive than modern everyday cars”, they affirm confidently. Every noise, vibration or slip is experienced intensely by crew number 6, who finished 5th in 2024.
Jules Picoreau and Camille Beal were in 42nd place at the end of the Classification Leg 1, this Saturday at the end of the day. Just a few minutes after entering the Parc Fermé on the Place du Champ-de-Mars, the two young men analyzed: “We had a lot of fun on all the Regularity Stages, which were a little more challenging than in previous years, particularly because of the conditions.”
Neither the snow nor the ice deflected them from their trajectory. “Our goal is above all to have fun, and the most important thing is to bring the car home”, they confirm, before adding with honesty and ambition: “If we can do as well or better than last year, that would be great.” So let’s forget their young age, which many competitors must envy them, and let the golden youth of this Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique have fun on the roads and Regularity Stages that made them dream so much.
An absolute Classic rounded off the first day of the 27th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique in style, between La Motte-Chalançon and Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert (RS4, 20.6km). Juste like RS2 around noon, it was won by a Porsche. The 911 turbo 2.4l of an all-Spanish tandem, Alvaro Ochagavias Temino and Manuel Macho Gomez, only took 70 penalty points on this special stage, 10 points less than the Belgian tandem Decremer-Hugo, again 2nd, as in RS3, and even more firmly established at the top of the overall classification in their 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI.
Decremer, a two-time winner (2017, 2024) with two different co-drivers (Yannick Albert, Jennifer Hugo), but always in an Opel, chose this year to attempt an almost impossible challenge: to win the RMCH, overall, in the ‘low average’ category, which obliges him to drive more slowly than if he had chosen the high average, as on his two previous successes in the Principality. On Saturday, it was the right choice, because the conditions were really tricky, but nobody can say this evening that it will be the winning bet, right to the end.
On Sunday, the 2nd part of the Classification Stage promises much, with once again four regularity stages, including a much-anticipated passage through Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, the Haute-Loire village made famous by its chefs and by Rally Monte-Carlo. This will be the occasion for the ACM to organise a second streaming event for internet users, live on its YouTube channel, following Friday’s finish in Valencia. At that point, we’ll know whether the Decremer-Hugo tandem has managed to resist the pressure of the many contenders for overall victory.
In Saturday evening’s standings, behind the Belgians, and only a quarter of the way through the rally, is the Jaguar of Lithuanians Karolis Raysis and Ovidijus Meilunas (2nd), chased by the small Austin Mini Cooper S of Italians Giorgio Schön and Francesco Giammarino (3rd), winners of RS1 on Saturday morning, the Fiat 128 Rally of Greeks Aris Georgosopoulos and Ioulios Iatridis (4th), winners of RS3 on Saturday afternoon, and the BMW 323i of Luis Climent Asensio, a former Spanish rally champion, and Carles Jimenez Valls (5th). And Bruno Saby (Ford Capri) is still around (10th). Very promising, indeed!
Greece struck again in the RS3 of the 27th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, on Saturday afternoon, as a new crew, also in a Fiat 128 Rally, took over from their compatriots and won the stage between La Piarre and Valdrôme (13.7km) with flying colours. Aris Georgosopoulos and Ioulios Iatridis only took 40 penalty points in this stage, which was snow-covered on the uphill section and then very wet on the downhill section, but without any icy patches.
This stage also did the trick for the rally’s absolute benchmark in the ‘medium-low’ category, Belgians Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo in a 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI, two-time winners of the RMCH (2017, 2024). Behind the Fiat and the Alfa, the places of honour were taken by Schön-Giammarino, 3rd in their Austin Mini Cooper S. Behind them, multi-starred chef Michel Chabran (BMW 323i) was a joint 5th, ahead of his son Louis (BMW 1602) to whom he handed over the running of his gourmet restaurant in Pont-sur-l’Isère.
In the very provisional overall classification, before the last stage of this first day of racing, the Decremer-Hugo tandem, as formidable as ever, was in the lead, ahead of the two Greek Fiat 128 Rallye crews (2nd and 3rd), the Jaguar Mk2 3.8 of Karolis Raysis and Ovidijus Meilunas (4th), the Mini Cooper of the Italian crew (5th) and the Ford Capri of Bruno Saby (6th). But anything was still possible, including a complete shake-up of the standings after the RS4 at the end of the day…
On the road of the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, episode 1 – For the 27th edition, entry was open to cars that had competed in the event between 1911 and 1983. In the end, 219 cars were allowed to take part, including the oldest, a Sunbeam Alpine. James Pohl and Joyce Mordenti are in for the second time on the roads that have written the legend of the event, with their 1953 car.
It’s not the most powerful, nor the sportiest. But there’s no denying that this old-timer is reallycharming and must intrigue a good number of enthusiasts who came to admire the cars entered in this 2025 Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The Sunbeam Alpine, number 224, which set off from Monaco on Thursday evening in the pouring rain, is officially the doyenne of this 27th edition.
James Pohl, a.k.a. Jim, and Joyce Mordentin are no strangers to this car, which was completely rebuilt in the 90s by Joyce’s father, “an amazing mechanic”. Last year, they had already set out to conquer these roads and this legendary course. But the hard law of Monte Carlo had struck. “We started in Reims, and we broke down in the middle of the night of the Concentration Leg”, recalls the American driver, still marked by his first experience.
Their tenacity paid off in the end: after an express return trip to Yorkshire, England, to collect spare parts, Jim Pohl was able to repair his white Sunbeam Alpine and set off for Valencia. He adds: “We talked to the officials, and said ‘Please, can we just drive? We know we are dead last; we don’t care about winning, we want to participate’.”
A princely meeting
Crew 178 eventually reentered the race and managed to get to Monaco, their original target. Already very happy to have reached the Principality, Jim Pohl and Joyce Mordenti were not at the end of their surprises. “H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco wanted to meet us because the Sunbeam Alpine is the same kind of car that his mother, Princess Grace, drove in the film To Catch a Thief. His father, Prince Rainier III, also drove one a lot.”
For 2025, there’s no question of taking revenge, but neither do the pair dream of emulating their hero, Sheila Van Damm, winner of the Coupe des Dames on the Rallye Monte-Carlo in 1955 in a Sunbeam MK III with Anne Hall. Jim Pohl and Joyce Mordenti agree: “This year, we just want to drive every mile on the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique! We do not want to break down again.”
The good news is that the Parcours de Concentration went well for the seven-decade-old Sunbeam Alpine. Crew 224 arrived at the Place du Champs-de-Mars on Friday afternoon, along with 215 other competitors. Before tackling the Classification Stage 1 this Saturday, with the first four regularity stages.
