Monte Carlo Rally

Stephane Sarrazin driving a Subaru Impreza WRC on the Monte Carlo Rally

Carlos Sainz driving a Toyota Corolla WRC on the Monte Carlo Rally

Carlsson's replica 1963 Monte Carlo Saab 96 rally car at Linköping, on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of SAAB in 1997

The Monte Carlo Rally (officially Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco who also organize the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco and the Monaco Kart Cup. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and southeast France.

From its inception in 1911 by Prince Albert I, this rally, under difficult and demanding conditions, was an important means of testing the latest improvements and innovations to automobiles. Winning the rally gave the car a great deal of credibility and publicity. Since 1973, the race has been held in January as the first race of the FIA World Rally Championship and as recently as 1991, competitors were able to choose their starting points from approximately 5 venues roughly equidistant from Monaco itself. With often varying conditions at each starting point, typically comprising dry tarmac, wet tarmac, snow, and ice, sometimes all in a single stage of the rally. This places a big emphasis on tire choices, as a driver has to balance the need for grip on ice and snow with the need for grip on dry tarmac. For the driver, this is often a difficult choice as the tyres that work well on snow and ice normally perform badly on dry tarmac. See also Rallying.

This rally features what is possibly the most famous rally stage in the world. The stage is run from La Bollène to Sospel, or the other way around, over a steep and tight mountain road with many hairpin turns. On this route it passes over the Col de Turini, which normally has ice and/or snow on sections of it at that time of the year. Spectators also throw snow on the road — in 2005, Marcus Grönholm and Petter Solberg both ripped a wheel off their cars when they skidded on snow most likely placed there by spectators and crashed into a wall. Marcus went on to finish fifth, but Petter was forced to retire as the damage to his car was extensive.

Until a few years ago, the Turini was also driven at night, with thousand of fans watching the "Night of Turini", also known as the "Night of the Long Knives" due to the strong high beam lights cutting through the night.[1][2]

However, in the 2007 edition of the rally, the Turini was not used.

Past winners

(list by Driver / Co-Driver and vehicle type)

1911-1929

1930-1949

1950-1972

1973-1985

Rally results from 1973 to 1985

Rally name	Stages	Podium finishers
		Rank	Driver Co-driver	Team Car	Time
42ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 19 to 26 January 1973 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	18 stages 420 km	1	Jean-Claude Andruet Michele Petit ("Biche")	Alpine-Renault A110 1800	5h 42m 04s
		2	Ove Andersson Jean Todt	Alpine-Renault A110 1800	5h 42m 30s
		3	Jean-Pierre Nicolas Michel Vial	Alpine-Renault A110 1800	5h 43m 39s
1974 rally cancelled
43ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 15 to 23 January 1975 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	22 stages 472 km	1	Sandro Munari Mario Manucci	Lancia Stratos HF	6h 25m 59s
		2	Hannu Mikkola Jean Todt	Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye	6h 29m 05s
		3	Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki	Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye	6h 29m 46s
44ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 17 to 24 January 1976 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	23 stages 530 km	1	Sandro Munari Mario Manucci	Lancia Stratos HF	6h 25m 10s
		2	Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius	Lancia Stratos HF	6h 26m 37s
		3	Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé	Lancia Stratos HF	6h 31m 23s
45ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 22 to 28 January 1977 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship Round 1 of the FIA Cup for Rally Drivers	26 stages 506 km	1	Sandro Munari Silvio Maiga	Lancia Stratos HF	6h 36m 13s
		2	Jean-Claude Andruet Michele Petit ("Biche")	Fiat 131 Abarth	6h 38m 29s
		3	Antonio Zanini Juan Petisco	SEAT 124D Especial 1800	6h 47m 07s
46ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 21 to 28 January 1978 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship Round 1 of the FIA Cup for Rally Drivers	29 stages 570 km	1	Jean-Pierre Nicolas Vincent Laverne	Porsche 911 Carrera	6h 57m 03s
		2	Jean Ragnotti Jean-Marc Andrié	Renault 5 Alpine	6h 58m 55s
		3	Guy Fréquelin Jacques Delaval	Renault 5 Alpine	6h 59m 55s
47ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 20 to 26 January 1979 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	30 stages 619 km	1	Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé	Team Chardonnet Lancia Stratos HF	8h 13m 38s
		2	Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius	Ford Motor Company Ford Escort RS1800	8h 13m 44s
		3	Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki	Alitalia Fiat Fiat 131 Abarth	8h 17m 47s
48ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 19 to 25 January 1980 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	30 stages 601 km	1	Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer	Fiat Italia Fiat 131 Abarth	8h 42m 20s
		2	Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé	Team Chardonnet Lancia Stratos HF	8h 52m 58s
		3	Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius	Fiat Italia Fiat 131 Abarth	8h 53m 48s
49ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 24 to 30 January 1981 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	32 stages 757 km	1	Jean Ragnotti Jean-Marc Andrié	Renault Elf Renault 5 Turbo	9h 55m 55s
		2	Guy Fréquelin Jean Todt	Talbot Talbot Sunbeam Lotus	9h 58m 49s
		3	Jochi Kleint Gunter Wanger	Opel Euro Händler Opel Ascona 400	10h 2m 54s
50ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 16 to 22 January 1982 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	32 stages 753 km	1	Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdörfer	Rothmans Opel Rally Team Opel Ascona 400	8h 20m 33s
		2	Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz	Audi Sport Audi Quattro	8h 24m 22s
		3	Jean-Luc Thérier Michel Vial	Esso Porsche 911SC	8h 32m 38s
51ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 22 to 29 January 1983 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	30 stages 709 km	1	Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdorfer	Martini Racing Lancia Rally 037	7h 58m 57s
		2	Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki	Martini Racing Lancia Rally 037	8h 5m 59s
		3	Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg	Audi Sport Audi Quattro A1	8h 10m 15s
52ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 21 to 27 January 1984 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	30 stages 722 km	1	Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdorfer	Audi Sport Audi Quattro A2	8h 52m 29s
		2	Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg	Audi Sport Audi Quattro A2	8h 53m 53s
		3	Hanny Mikkola Arne Hertz	Audi Sport Audi Quattro A2	9h 5m 9s
53ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 26 January to 1 February 1985 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	34 stages 852 km	1	Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman	Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16	10h 20m 49s
		2	Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdorfer	Audi Sport Audi Sport Quattro	10h 26m 06s
		3	Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne	Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 205 Turbo 16	10h 30m 54s

1986-1999

Rally results from 1986 to 1999

Rally name	Stages	Podium finishers
		Rank	Driver Co-driver	Team Car	Time
54ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 18 to 24 January 1986 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	36 stages 867 km	1	Henri Toivonen Sergio Cresto	Martini Lancia Lancia Delta S4	10 h : 11 m : 24 s
		2	Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne	Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 206 Turbo 16 E2	10 h : 15 m : 28 s
		3	Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz	Audi Sport Audi Sport Quattro E2	10 h : 18 m : 46 s
55ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 17 to 22 January 1987 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	26 stages 572 km	1	Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero	Martini Lancia Lancia Delta HF 4Wd	7 h : 39 m : 50 s
		2	Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen	Martini Lancia Lancia Delta HF 4WD	7 h : 40 m : 49 s
		3	Walter Röhrl Christian Geistdorfer	Audi Sport Audi 200 Quattro	7 h : 44 m : 0 s
56ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 16 to 21 January 1988 Round 1 of the World Rally Championship	26 stages 624 km	1	Bruno Saby Jean-Franþois Fauchille	Martini Lancia Lancia Delta HF 4WD	7 h : 19 m : 11 s
		2	Alex Fiorio Luigi Pirollo	Jolly Club Lancia Delta HF 4WD	7 h : 30 m : 1 s
		3	Jean-Pierre Ballet Marie-Christine Lallemont	Privateer Peugeot 205 GTI	7 h : 42 m : 46 s
57ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 21 to 26 January 1989 Round 2 of the World Rally Championship	24 stages 613 km	1	Miki Biasion Tiziano Siviero	Martini Lancia