A prestigious field of 219 crews and 34 makes has been authorised to start the 27th Rallye Monte Carlo Historique (RMCH) this Thursday. This rolling festival of classic racing cars, which runs until Tuesday evening, is reserved for models that took part in Rallye Monte-Carlo between 1911 and 1983. It will be followed by thousands of fans in the 500 cities, towns and villages it passes through, and often alongside the 17 regularity stages (SR) on which competitors will attempt to respect a high or low average speed set by Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM).

In detail, there were 16 competitors in Bad Homburg, near Wiesbaden and Mainz, at 2pm on Thursday. They all had 870 km to cover on the concentration route to Valence, via Langres, Dole and Bourgoin-Jallieu (on the outskirts of Lyon). A number of competitors in Porsches, Volkswagens and Opels logically chose to start from Germany, as did the driver of an old 1959 Austin Healey, Norwegian Christian Hallan.

Ford in Monaco…

Then, four hours later, there were 86 starters in Monaco, under the rain. They had just over 20 hours to cover 430 km, with compulsory checkpoints (Saint-André-les-Alpes, Gap, Die, Crest) until Friday afternoon’s check-in, from 3pm onwards, on Place du Champ de Mars in Valence, the host-city for this 27th edition.

Monaco was not a starting town last year, but the destination of all the concentration routes, including those of Glasgow and Milan, which are not on the programme for this 2025 edition. Among the notable competitors at the start in Monaco were Henrik Bjerregaard and Jaromir Svec, winners of the RMCH in 2022, in a 1979 Ford Escort RS2000. There was also Sébastien Chardonnet, a former WRC3 world champion, in another Ford Escort, as well as Bruno Saby, the 1988 WRC winner of Rallye Monte-Carlo, in a Lancia Delta HF. Like last year, he set off again in a superb Ford Capri, still bearing the number 38, a tribute to his home region of Isère. Not forgetting Michelin-starred chef Michel Chabran, in a 1979 BMW 323i.

Lancia in Torino…

By 7pm, 52 drivers were due to start in Torino, including the number 1 contender and president of the Automobile Club d’Italie (ACI), Giovanni Sticchi Damiani, in a 1975 Lancia 124 Abarth. The ACI is the historic organiser of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix, held in the temple of Monza, and of the formidable Rally di Sardegna, which counts for the WRC World Championship, among other events, both current and historic, masterfully organised by President Damiani and his team. In another legendary Italian car, recent Swiss winners Claudio Enz and Cristina Seeberger (2023) took the start in their faithful Lancia Fulvia Coupe 1.3 s from 1970.

The 2024 winners in Reims…

In this year’s rally, 34 different automobile manufacturers are entered and 219 crews, including seven 100% women, have been authorised to take the start, representing 25 nationalities, Reims played a large part in the celebrations, this year again, and 65 perfectly prepared cars, also from 7pm, took it in turns to parade down the start ramp. These included the title holders, Belgians Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo, who swapped their Opel Ascona 400 from last year for a 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI.

All these popular starts on Thursday were made possible by the involvement of volunteers from the German and Italian Automobile Clubs, the ever-dynamic Reims Champagne Véhicules Historiques Sportifs association and all the ACM’s special correspondents. From Saturday onwards, there will be hundreds of kilometres to cover, right up to the final stage on Col de Turini, next Tuesday evening. The aim is always the same: to try and respect the high or low averages calculated and imposed by the ACM, while having fun and not taking too many risks. Once again, given the quality of the field, the suspense will be total, right to the end, and the show will be a success, for thousands of nostalgic fans!

Photos from Bad Homburg, Monaco, Torino and Reims starts