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An absolute Classic rounded off the first day of the 27th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique in style, between La Motte-Chalançon and Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert (RS4, 20.6km). Juste like RS2 around noon, it was won by a Porsche. The 911 turbo 2.4l of an all-Spanish tandem, Alvaro Ochagavias Temino and Manuel Macho Gomez, only took 70 penalty points on this special stage, 10 points less than the Belgian tandem Decremer-Hugo, again 2nd, as in RS3, and even more firmly established at the top of the overall classification in their 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI.
Decremer, a two-time winner (2017, 2024) with two different co-drivers (Yannick Albert, Jennifer Hugo), but always in an Opel, chose this year to attempt an almost impossible challenge: to win the RMCH, overall, in the ‘low average’ category, which obliges him to drive more slowly than if he had chosen the high average, as on his two previous successes in the Principality. On Saturday, it was the right choice, because the conditions were really tricky, but nobody can say this evening that it will be the winning bet, right to the end.
On Sunday, the 2nd part of the Classification Stage promises much, with once again four regularity stages, including a much-anticipated passage through Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, the Haute-Loire village made famous by its chefs and by Rally Monte-Carlo. This will be the occasion for the ACM to organise a second streaming event for internet users, live on its YouTube channel, following Friday’s finish in Valencia. At that point, we’ll know whether the Decremer-Hugo tandem has managed to resist the pressure of the many contenders for overall victory.
In Saturday evening’s standings, behind the Belgians, and only a quarter of the way through the rally, is the Jaguar of Lithuanians Karolis Raysis and Ovidijus Meilunas (2nd), chased by the small Austin Mini Cooper S of Italians Giorgio Schön and Francesco Giammarino (3rd), winners of RS1 on Saturday morning, the Fiat 128 Rally of Greeks Aris Georgosopoulos and Ioulios Iatridis (4th), winners of RS3 on Saturday afternoon, and the BMW 323i of Luis Climent Asensio, a former Spanish rally champion, and Carles Jimenez Valls (5th). And Bruno Saby (Ford Capri) is still around (10th). Very promising, indeed!
