On Thursday, just before the start of the 92nd Monte Carlo Rally on the Place du Casino, some of the Principality’s schoolchildren from a number of Monegasque establishments were lucky enough to have a visit from some very special ‘teachers’: around fifteen WRC drivers and co-drivers!

Some fifteen drivers and co-drivers from the WRC and WRC2 came to École des Révoires, Cours Saint-Maur, Collège Charles III and Collège FANB. As was the case last year with the Formula E drivers, the kings of modern rallying were able to talk freely with their students for the day, taking part in a question-and-answer session followed by a proper autograph session.

All three top teams were represented, including Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT (with Thierry Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe, and Andreas Mikkelsen), Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT (Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta) and the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, represented by Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux and Luxemburg’s Grégoire Munster.

There were also a number of WRC2 headliners, including Oliver Solberg (son of 2003 world champion Petter), Nicolas Ciamin, Stéphane Lefebvre, Yohan Rossel, Chris Ingram, Nikolay Gryazin and Sami Pajari. It was an unforgettable moment for the students, aged 9 to 14.

They all got to meet their heroes, and the luckiest among them were also able to get up close and personal with the cars used by the rally professionals. It was an unforgettable moment for the children and teenagers, which was extended a few hours later by the official start of the 92nd Monte-Carlo Rally, on Casino Square.