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A 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera, driven by Irishman Paul Okane and co-driven by Danish driver Tage Gelj, won the second regularity stage of the 27th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique on Saturday, between Les Nonnières and Chichilianne (SR2, 16.3km). Behind this pairing, and in wintery and treacherous conditions, a venerable 1978 Saab 96, with a Lithuanian crew on board, took 2nd place in this RS2, tied with the Fiat 128 Rally of the Greek crew which had won SR1.
It was another beautiful stage, in wintery temperatures and with lots of people lining the road. It was a stage in which Bruno Saby, at the wheel of his Ford Capri bearing number 38, that of the Isère department, once again showed the tip of his nose. The winner of the Monte Carlo Rally in 1988, in a Lancia Delta HF, had already taken 8th place in SR1, and he did slightly better: tied 5th in RS2, thanks to his talent as a driver and the obvious qualities of his 1970 Ford Capri 2300 S. After the morning stages, Saby’s Capri was 3rdoverall.
Incidentally, it was the first win for a Porsche in this 2025 edition of the RMCH, given that 81 German cars took the start in Valence on Saturday morning, the majority of them Porsches. Three retirements were recorded on Friday in the German ranks, those of an Opel Kadett and two Porsches, on the route of the Concentration Leg to Valence. In this armada of six major makes (Porsche, Volkswagen, Opel, BMW, Audi and Mercedes), the Porsches are by far the cars best suited to a Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique in winter conditions, those of the start of this 2025 edition.
In the overall classification, and before the two afternoon stages (SR3 and SR4), there was a total surprise with a pair of Greek leaders, Georgios Alevizopoulos and Nikolaos Palyvos, in a Fiat 128 Rally, ahead of all the favourites. But not the Ford Escort RS2000 of Dane Henrik Bjerregaard and Czech Jaromir Svec, winners of the RMCH in 2022. The number 2 Ford was trapped on the uphill section of this RS2 and had to retire. The rally is still a long one, and a lot was meant to happen this afternoon before the return to Valence for a healthy dinner and a well-deserved night’s rest.
