There was a long pause between the first and second wins of a Lancia Fulvia in a regularity stage of the 26^th Monte Carlo Historic Rally. And so we had to wait until Monday morning, between Valdrôme (Drôme) and La Piarre (Hautes-Alpes), to see another pretty Italian coupé, in 1.6 HF version, succeed the one that opened the ball in SR1.

This time, over a distance of just 11.9 km, up and down the Col de Carabes (1261 m) in sunshine that gradually cleared away the morning fog, it was a French team that achieved the average time closest to the one suggested by the organisers: Olivier and Côme Martin, in a 1969 Lancia Fulvia, did slightly better than the four teams tied for 2^nd place.

The field of four cars that received 50 penalty points each (compared with 30 for the winning Lancia) included two Porsches, the 911 with number 9 and the 924 with number 118, but above all a superb Peugeot 504 V6 Coupé (photo), that of François and Benoît Méon (number 83), which dates back to 1975, and an equally superb Lancia Beta Monte-Carlo entered by Gabriel Valentin and Laurent Bertaut, with number 86 on its doors.