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The first part of the Common Stage of the 27th Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique got underway on Monday morning at 8.40am with a long regularity stage (SR9, 34.9km) between Barbières and Gigors-et-Lozeron, in the Drôme department, via Col des Limouches and Col de Tourniol (1145m). And once again, as in RS4 on Saturday and RS6 on Sunday, Spaniards Alvaro Ochagavias Temino and Manuel Macho Gomez (Porsche 911 turbo 2.4l) ruled the roost.
The crew of the blue Porsche carrying race number 5 did slightly better (only 60 penalty points) than Italians Carlo and Enrico Merenda, in their tiny Autobianchi A112 Abarth (80 points). And better too than Belgians Michel Decremer and Jennifer Hugo, still leading the overall standings in their 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI. They tied for 3rd in this stage with their compatriots Maxime Castelein and Filip Deplancke (Sunbeam Tiger).
This RS9 was contested on a generally dry road, but the fog, which was very thick over Col des Limouches, from km 20 to 30, made things a little complicated, with visibility in some sections at just 20 or 50 metres, and still a little bit of snow on the road. The fog and snow did not prevent some fine performances, such as Germany’s Jörg Pohlemann and Marc Stoll (5th) in their Porsche 924, after winning RS7 on Sunday afternoon around Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid. And also a fine joint 8th place for the rally’s youngest crew, Jules Picoreau and Camille Béal, in their 1971 Alfa Romeo GTV.
In the overall standings, just as the longest day of the rally had begun, the Decremer-Hugo tandem was still ahead of the BMW 323i of Luis Climent Asensio, a former Spanish rally champion, and Carles Jimenez Valls. And the provisional podium was completed by the best Greeks of the rally at the halfway stage, in the shape of Aris Georgosopoulos and Ioulios Iatridis (Fiat 128 Rally). To be continued.
