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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.
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.
Barely arrived in the parc fermé in Valence, Jean-Claude Andruet spoke of his reunion, half a century after his legendary victory in a blue Alpine Renault. And indeed, given his smile, the idyll has never died out! Still on the attack, the former French judo champion (one more string to his bow) and seller of golf carts, among other activities, is ready for Tuesday’s final Leg and closing fireworks, in Col de Turini. With an Alpine that was fixed somewhat miraculously, Sunday evening, at the CH of RS7, thanks to a mechanic who lived nearby…
© Scuderia del Grifone
They had not yet managed to win a special in this 25th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, it’s done and it’s well-deserved. The Italian couple in the 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 TI, Giovanni and Tiziana Chiesa, took first place, all alone, in the SR7 between Lamastre and Colombier-le-Jeune (13.558km), on the last stage of this first day of the Common Leg. They beat another Italian crew, Maurizio Aiolfi and Carlo Merenda, in a 1975 Lancia Beta Coupé 1800, who tied for 2nd place with Spanish duo Esteban Munne-Olga Feliu, in a 2000 Seat 124 Especial from 1977. It was a long day, with different stage winners but a hierarchy that is beginning to take shape in the overall standings. Every crew returned to Valence very tired, but with lots of memories in mind. Monday, the 2nd day of the Common Leg, with four other stages on the menu, should make it possible to settle the situation a little.
Due to the snow and ice in the climb to Col de Pennes, a safety speed average, lower than the one originally planned, was imposed on competitors in SR3 (16.13km) between Recoubeau- Jansac and Pennes-le-Sec. It was the third regularity stage of the 25th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique and it was won by a 1975 Volvo 242, entered by Germany’s Norbert Drexler and Austria’s Christian Roessler, tied with the 1964 Sunbeam Tiger of a Belgian crew, Carlo Mylle and Steven Vyncke. The competitors then passed the Crest time control (CH3) and finally arrived within the scheduled times in Valence, on the famous Champ de Mars. It was the end of the Classification Leg with a Mini Cooper S in the lead of the overall standing, the same Mini that won SR2.
The serious part really starts on Sunday, with four legendary stages for Leg 1 of 3, in Ardèche and Haute-Loire. In his Alpine-Renault, half a century after his legendary 1973 win in Monaco, Jean-Claude Andruet will go back in time… notably at La Remise in Antraigues-sur-Volane where the local apple pie was once dedicated to him, before it became distributed by the Jouanny Family to all competitors!
A first stage has been completed! For the 272 competitors who arrived in the Principality on Friday evening, their faces showed the level of difficulty for the Concentration Leg. Five of them saw their participation come to a premature end. Some of them left on Tuesday morning from Oslo and the journey to Monaco was a good start before the first regularity stages which will start tomorrow.
He did it, without shaking, by managing perfectly, until the end, the 91st Rally Monte-Carlo: Sébastien Ogier, 39, won his 9th Rally Monte-Carlo since 2009, on Sunday in the Principality, taking half of the stage wins (9 out of 18) and leading from start to finish. This had only happened four times in the 21st century, so the Frenchman was entitled to call this a “perfect weekend”, without any arrogance.
On the list of faultless performances in Monaco, by leaders of a “Monte” from start to finish, Ogier (2018, 2023) equalizes with Loeb (2005, 2007). The only other member of this very select club is Finnish driver Mikko Hirvonen (2010, with Ford). So this is an extremely rare performance, once more, that the driver from the Hautes-Alpes, now a luxury freelancer in the WRC, has just completed.
This is the 56th victory in WRC for the 8-time World Champion (vs 80 for the other Seb, Loeb) but it is the very first for his new co-driver Vincent Landais, in only their second joint outing in competition (4th in Japan at the end of 2022).
“It’s never easy here and Kalle (Rovanperä) was only 16 seconds behind me this morning, after taking big chances on Saturday,” Ogier also said. In this opening round of the 2023 season, Ogier faced the reigning World Champion, on equal terms, in the same type of car. There was a game but the Frenchman did not yield anything. He first created a gap on Friday, then he managed it on Saturday and Sunday, trying to avoid a puncture like the one that cost him victory in 2022, in the last stage, at the end of his memorable duel with Loeb. The method reminded us of his recent era of unchallenged domination of the WRC, crowned by eight world titles: from 2013 to 2016 at Volkswagen, in 2017 and 2018 at M-Sport Ford, in 2020 and 2021 at Toyota.
This record 9th win, in a completely dry Monte-Carlo, at the wheel of a dominating Yaris, launched the WRC season perfectly. And the final podium reflects the situation, with a 1-2 for Toyota Gazoo Racing and a deserved podium for Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Motorsport). This is also the first podium for Cyril Abiteboul (ex-Renault F1) as a team manager of the South Korean team, starting a year which will inevitably be marked by a new duel between Toyota Gazoo Racing and Hyundai Motorsport. Behind Elfyn Evans (4th), the last big fight of the weekend pitted another Toyota driver, Takamoto Katsuta, against an M-Sport Ford driver, Estonian Ott Tänak. The 2019 World Champion (at Toyota) won the day, by a minute, although there was only a tenth of a second between the two drivers at the start of SS18. A suspension issue wasted all the progress of the Japanese since the start and gave Tänak a reason to look forward to Rally Sweden in February. In the world championship standings, Ogier the freelancer is in the lead, just two points ahead of Rovanperä who took five Power Stage points for the 12th time in WRC. The young Finn will start Rally Sweden as favorite, since Ogier will be at home with his family. As for the 2024 edition of Rally Monte-Carlo, it may have a certain Seb Ogier on the entry list. “To make it a round figure”, Ogier smiled on Sunday, in Monaco.
The ultimate favorite of the 91st Rally Monte-Carlo, Sébastien Ogier, took his 9th record win on Sunday at Col de Turini. In front of the reigning world champion, Finnish youngster Kalle Rovanperä who ended this 2023 edition in style by winning the Power Stage and taking five bonus points to launch his defending campaign in the World Rally Championship (WRC).
“It’s huge, it’s my rally, the one that made me dream. A victory here is priceless,” Ogier said as he climbed off the roof of his Toyota Yaris, at the end of SS18. “This is my 56th victory in the WRC, but it is the first for my co-driver Vincent Landais. He deserves it because he did a great job. It was a perfect weekend”, added the new record holder for wins in a Rally Monte-Carlo, welcomed by his parents at the finish of this last stage.
The final podium of this rally, with Ogier and Rovanperä (Toyota Gazoo Racing) followed by Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Motorsport), perfectly reflects the way this completely dry event took place, on asphalt roads where the only notable traps, in some stages, were rocks detached from the road banks by the passage of numerous competitors.
The first three avoided all the pitfalls and the others did what they could, confronted to punctures, power steering failures, hybrid system issues, bad tire choices. They all experienced ups and downs, in all classes of the standings, in the purest tradition of Rally Monte-Carlo.
In the final standings, behind the Ogier-Rovanperä-Neuville trio, the honors were taken by Elfyn Evans (4th) in another Toyota, Ott Tänak (5th) in the M-Sport team’s fastest hybrid Ford Fiesta, and Takamoto Katsuta (6th), also in a Toyota, who was delayed by an untimely puncture in SS18.
In WRC2, Russia’s Nikolay Gryazin (Skoda Fabia), who races under the banner of his national Automobile Club, resisted Yohan Rossel (Citroën C3) until the end. In this high-level class, the podium was completed by Spaniard Pepe Lopez (Hyundai i20N).
Power Stage (ES/SS 18, Col de Turini) :
1. Rovanperä (Toyota) 5 pts
2. Tänak (M-Sport Ford) 4 pts
3. Evans (Toyota) 3 pts
4. Neuville (Hyundai) 2 pts
5. Ogier (Toyota) 1 pt
