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The Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid loop lived up to all its promises on Sunday afternoon, with thousands of rally fans gathered in and around the famous Haute-Loire village. All were able to enjoy the show and the result of RS7: a Porsche ahead of the title holders’ Lancia Fulvia and two Citroëns, a SM and a DS!
German vs Italian manufacturers, this is the story building in the regularity stages of this 26th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique: Lancia and Alfa Romeo had opened the ball, but Opel, on Saturday, and BMW, on Sunday morning, replied, imitated by Porsche in RS7. Thanks to the 924 of Germans Jörg Pohlemann and Marc Stoll, who did better than the Lancia Fulvia 1.3 S of Claudio Enz and Cristina Seeberger, last year’s winning Swiss pair.
Five crews tied for 3rd place in this RS7, including two in Citroëns: Antoine Raymond and Gilles Olivier, who had surprised everybody on Sunday morning by winning RS5 in their venerable Maserati-powered red SM, number 63; and Damien Ancellin and Paul-Emmanuel Bidault in a beautiful blue DS23, number 35 (see photo below).
All that remained was one regularity stage, RS8, before returning to Valence for a well-deserved night’s rest. The rally’s youngest crew, Jules Picoreau and Camille Béal, both 23, were still well inside the Top 5 in their Alfa Romeo GTV, number 7.
It was to be one of the highlights of the 26th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, late on Sunday morning: the 27.7km long RS6 between Freyssenet and Saint-Martial, in the very heart of Ardèche. And another brand came out on top, BMW, thanks to Laurent Combier and Etienne Berthoin’s 2002 TI, a car dating back to 1969.
The French crew in the number 65 BMW did slightly better than the Greeks in the number 232 Austin Mini Cooper S, dating from 1973, and the VW Golf GTi of Eric Mallen and Jean-Louis Rimet, who tied with the 1964 Volvo 161 of the Germans Michael and Julius Pan. And although the overall standings have shifted slightly, the lead is still held by Belgians Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo, in their Opel Ascona in Radio Monte-Carlo livery.
One thing’s for sure: after Saturday’s Classification Leg, a beautiful warming-up session between Monaco and Valence, this 2024 edition really drew in the big crowds on Sunday in the Ardèche and Haute-Loire departments. There were plenty of people everywhere, in the villages and along the roads, of all ages, to share the passion of old-style rallying in the sunshine, with cars you can touch and drivers you can approach easily. And there’s no risk involved, thanks to the perfect organisation and the numerous committed stewards coordinated by Automobile Club de Monaco.
Nobody could have predicted it, but it happened on Sunday morning in RS5 of the 26th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique: a venerable 1972 Citroën SM clocked up at zero, having perfectly respected the average speed between Lyas and Pourchères (19.8 km) for the first 100% Ardèche stage of this 2024 edition.
The authors of this genuine feat? Antoine Raymond and Gilles Olivier, who are experienced enough to perfectly exploit the famous Maserati V6 engine (2.7 litres, 170 bhp) of this beautiful old-timer. Also on the RS5 podium were a Greek team in a 1978 Ford Fiesta XR2, and two French teams in German cars, tied for 3rd place: David Arragon and Elodie Soubigou (BMW 320), Xavier Bernard and Werner Blanc (Porsche 924). As for the overall leader after this surprising RS5, it was still the Belgian duo Decremer-Hugo in their Opel Ascona.
Just before the start of this RS5, a particularly festive time check was organised by Privas town hall, early in the morning. It was a welcome worthy of the Ardèche’s reputation for conviviality, with a huge number of fans out in the sunshine to greet and applaud the 220 or so crews still in the running. And off to La Remise d’Antraigues-sur-Volane, after RS6…
Fans feared that the star crew Saby-Giraudet, with the winner of Rallye Monte-Carlo 1988, in a Ford Capri 2.6l bearing number 38, would have to retire due to a mechanical problem. They finally arrived on Sunday morning in front of the legendary La Remise, in Antraigues-sur-Volane, and were able to sample the famous apple tart made by the Jouanny family, on the 60th anniversary of this ritual stop for Rallye Monte-Carlo. Thanks to a makeshift repair to its transmission, the Capri…ciosa is still rolling!
Among the 221 crews who set off from Valence on Sunday morning, between 8.00 and 11.40, for the first part of the Common Leg, there were nothing but enthusiasts, 15% of them women, most of them co-drivers. So here’s Part 1 of a gallery of portraits that will continue until the end of this 26th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique…
Ladies’ honour: there is only one all-female crew in this 2024 edition. Barbara Hemmerle, from Liechtenchtein, and Isabelle Godin, in a 1975 Alfa Romeo GTV bearing number 100. They are the ideal crew to mark the the 70thanniversary of Madeleine Pochon and Lise Renaud’s winning the Ladies Cup at Rallye Monte-Carlo in 1954.
They are a couple in town and in the car: Lydia and Olivier Campana, still faithful to Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, are driving a 1979 VW Golf GTi carrying number 50. Needless to say, their sights are slightly higher than the Best Monegasques Cup!
Last but not least, one of the great veterans of this 26th edition should also be honoured: American John Buffum was for a long time the best driver in the history of US rallying, until the repeated exploits of the late stuntman Ken Block. At nearly 80 years of age, in a beautiful 1980 Ford Escort RS2000, John is back on Rallye Monte-Carlo, six decades after finishing 19th… in 1969!
Belgium’s festival on the 26th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique continued on Saturday in RS4, the final regularity stage of a fine day of rallying in the sunshine. Thanks to the Opel Ascona 400 of Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo, flying the colours of Radio Monte-Carlo.
They were excellent all day, and they were rewarded at the end: the Belgian duo Decremer-Hugo won the most beautiful regularity stage of the day, in the Vercors massif, via Col de l’Echarasson where, for the first time in the rally, there was some snow in places. But not on the road, which was perfectly dry. And on Saturday evening, they were on top of the overall standings!
Between La Cîme du Mas and Col Gaudissart (17.4 km), the crew of the number 25 Ascona did slightly better than the rally’s benchmark crew, made up of Bruno Saby and Denis Giraudet, in their 1970 Ford Capri 2300 S. Quite a performance, given the CVs of the two men, the first one a winner of the WRC version of Rallye Monte-Carlo, in 1988, and the other a legendary co-driver who has navigated many of the best drivers of his generation in the world’s greatest rallies.
In this stage set in a breathtaking background, the places of honour were taken by the Renault 5 Alpine of Jean-Pierre Verneuil and Jean-Marc Piret, tied in 3rd place with the Morris Mini Cooper S of Ferrucio and Carlo Nessi, not to forget the Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV of the youngest competitors in this 26th edition, Julien Picoreau and Camille Béal. Both are only 23 years old, so they weren’t even born when the first edition of Rallye Monte Carlo Historique took place.
After a particularly festive final checkpoint from 5pm in Saint-Jean-en-Royans, all the surviving competitors arrived at Champ de Mars in Valence, from 6.30pm onwards. With the exception of a few crews who dropped out en route, due to a variety of mechanical incidents, this was a very fine day of historic rallying.
Belgium, with a strong presence on the entry list for this 26th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, continued showing its colours in RS3, the first timed section on Saturday afternoon. Thanks to Maxime Castelein and Filip Deplancke in a rare 1964 Sunbeam Tiger bearing number 203, who took the flag from compatriots Jean-Christophe Henderickx and Karl Thybergin (Alfa Romeo), the winners of RS2 at the end of the morning.
It was between Ventavon and Chabestan (20.1 km), in the first regularity stage of the afternoon, after the welcome lunch break in Digne-les-Bains (Alpes de Haute-Provence). The Castelein-Deplancke tandem finished tied at the top of the timesheets with two Italians in an Austin Mini Cooper S, Giorgio Schon and Francesco Gianmarino.
Also in the Top 5 of this RS3 appeared a Renault 5 Alpine, the one entered for Patrice and William Lamotte, as well as the Fiat 128 Rally of a Greek crew, and another Belgian crew, aboard an Opel Ascona 400 already spotted in 3rdplace in RS1: Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo (see photo above), two passionate regulars of Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique.
Three Italian cars in the Top 4 of RS2, following the win for a Lancia Fulvia in RS1. The colours of the peninsula shone once again in RS2 between Chaudon-Norante and Digne-les-Bains (15.9 km), via the formidable Col du Corobin (1211 m). It was the same special stage that the WRC competitors had tackled on their way back to Monaco, last Sunday morning, in the opposite direction.
It was Alfa Romeo that shone in RS2, thanks to the GT 1300 Junior, a 1968 car entered by Belgium’s Jean-Christophe Henderickx and Karl Thybergin, with number 235 on its doors. The car only took 30 penalty points, which was very little on this very complicated. And it was slightly better than the Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV of Julien Picoreau and Camille Béal (see picture below), tied for 2nd place with yet another Lancia Fulvia and a BMW 323i.
As the first two RSs of this Classification Leg had taken place in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, it was in the prefecture of the 04 department, in Digne-les-Bains, that the crews were able to rest and eat, at the stroke of midday. Once again, this welcome pause in a Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique was well attended by hundreds of passionate spectators of all ages, proving once more its immense popularity. Before setting off for the two other RSs to be covered in the afternoon, on the way up to Valence…
There were plenty of people lining the roads on Saturday morning for the start of the Classification Stage of the 26th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique between Monaco and Valence. The sun was shining, the cars were superb, and fans were treated to a beautiful three-hour parade of over 200 cars that are part and parcel of the legend of the “Monte”. As luck would have it, a Lancia Fulvia opened the show, taking over directly from last year’s victorious sister car.
There was something for everyone, with more than 220 cars produced between 1911 and 1983 by some of the world’s leading manufacturers. And the hors d’oeuvre was particularly successful: the magnificent Regularity Stage number 1, with 15.9 km to cover between Soleilhas and Castellane, overlooking Lac de Chaudanne.
At this very precise game of regularity, it was an Italian crew, made up of Fabio Loperfido and Simone Calosi, who achieved the average time closest to that set by the organisers. It was in the Lancia Fulvia 1.3 bearing number 243, which had left Monaco more than three hours and a half after another Fulvia, the number 1 of Swiss title holders Claudio Enz and Cristina Seeberger.
Tied with the Lancia in this RS1, with only 50 penalty points collected, the surprise came from a Latvian crew, Karlis Mikelsons and Normunds Vuguls, in a 1979 Mazda RX7, ahead of the Opel Ascona 400 of Belgians Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo, tied in 3rd place with the Fiat 128 Rally of a Greek crew.
Last but not least, a British crew, composed of David Pengilly and Mark Denham in a Porsche 911 carrying number 89, took the start of this stage in suits and bow ties. Very classy.
Of the 233 crews authorised to take part in the 26th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, 225 arrived safely in Monaco on Friday, but eight had to retire on the way. Most of them were exhausted at the end of a much longer journey than expected, on some very busy roads. This Concentration Leg was a never-ending story, especially for the last arrivals: the five brave crews who set off from Glasgow on Wednesday had more than 2,000 km to cover, and it took them two whole days. All the others, who set off on Thursday from Bad Homburg (Germany), Milano (Italy) and Reims, took an average of 24 hours, night included, to cover between 900 and 1200 km, depending on the starting city they had chosen.
Patricia Lambert, whom we met on Friday in the Parc Fermé at the port of Monaco, was there for the very first edition. This year, she is in a little 1968 Fiat Moretti 850 S, number 220, bearing the colours of a cancer charity. Her driver, a Belgian like her, is Didier Lodewyckx. And like most of the crews who finally arrived in the Principality on Friday, Patricia was “very happy to see the sea”…
Saturday morning, the first cars will leave Monaco at 7am, heading to Valence for the Classification Leg. Valence, the unchallengeable and undisputed host-city of Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique over the past few years. There will be four Regularity Stages (RS) to contend with, starting with the magnificent SR1 “Soleilhas – Castellane (15.9 km)”, then SR2 “Chaudon Norante – Digne-les-Bains (15.9 km)” via the formidable Col de Corobin (1211 m), before the lunch break in the prefecture of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
In the afternoon, it’s back up to Valence via the SR3 “Ventavon – Chabestan (20.1 km)”, before crossing the Vercors massif with the SR4 “La Cîme du Mas – Col de Gaudissart (17.4 km)” on the menu. The final checkpoint is scheduled for Saint-Jean-en-Royans, around 5pm, after which all the competitors are expected on Champ de Mars in Valence from 6.30pm. It promises to be quite a day.
