We are now five days into the Monte Carlo Historic Rally, and it’s been a great experience. Here are 6 things we learned so far.
- You’ll meet some awesome people. Like this guy we met at the side of the road. He owns a Ferrari F40 and does a remarkable thing with it: he actually drives it around! He’s put 80.000 kilometers on this ultimate driving machine. Never had any trouble with it, outside of a clutch repair. A genuine petrolhead.
- Come prepared. Michel Decremer has lots of experience, but it was a good choice of tires that made him and Yannick Albert number one after ZR 8. Thanks to ouvreurs Patrick Snijers and Roel Geraerts, who recommended using snow tires. Everybody else was driving on nails. It’s all about the details. So that was a well-deserved beer for Patrick, on his birthday no less! Congratulations, Patrick!
- Rally is a team effort. Due to changing weather conditions Stoffel Mulier and Chris Goris opted for a tire change three times in one day. Not possible except for the help of support team Jonas Van der Wee and Jules Gulickx. Awesome team!
- Rally is a sport for all ages. The oldest co-pilot in the Monte Carlo Historic rally 2017 is … 89! The youngest is probably Youtuber Sébastien Delanney, 19 and co-pilot in the Renault Giordini with Jean Ragnotti.
- We have a good change of winning! Michel Decremer is still in first place after ZR11. They have 1.110 points, 260 more than Silvio Perlino in the Opel Kadett and 280 more than Danish driver Toni Hansen in his Audi 80. After the 12th chrono, the 2 final ZRs on the Col de Turini remain. These will be driven at night, and usually cause the rankings to be upset dramatically. Hence the nickname ‘Night of the long knives’ for these stages. It ain’t over till the final hairpin turn!
- The amount of gorgeous cars in the Monte Carlo Historic rally is beyond amazing. Check out the pictures in our gallery at the top of this article. The Parc Fermé must be the greatest concentration of historic rally cars on the planet. Amazing experience to see them all in action. On to the last chronos! Follow the results here. Good luck to all teams out there, drive safe!
Pictures: credit to Paul Fraikin, ASALangres, Club Lotus France and Roel Geraerts.