On this date in 1911 the first Monte Carlo car rally began. 10 things you might not know about the Monte Carlo rally.
Its official name is Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, and it’s organised every year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The Monte Carlo Rally is usually the first event of the World Rally Championship.
It was started by Prince Albert I with planning for the event starting at least a couple of years earlier. The purpose of the rally was to demonstrate improvements and innovations in cars, and to raise the profile of Monaco as a tourist destination.
At time of writing there have been 93 Monte Carlo rallies. They were not held during either of the world wars. It’s an older event than the Monaco Grand Prix, which started 18 years later.
The winner of the first rally was Henri Rougier, driving a 25hp Turcat-Méry, but the judging at that time was fairly arbitrary, focussing on how elegant and comfortable the car was, and how good a condition it was in at the end. Needless to say, not everyone has happy with this. A German driver called Von Esmark was particularly miffed as he thought the fact he’d achieved an average speed of 30kph on his 1,700km drive from Berlin should have counted for something.
Up until 1997, the format was basically that drivers would set off from various places in Europe and drive to Monaco. The rally now takes place along the hills of the French Riviera and south-east France. The different start points mean that weather and road conditions can vary considerably and could include snow and ice; so tyre choice is crucial in order to do well. It proved to be a showcase for the mini in the 1960s, as small and nimble cars have an advantage on roads with tight bends.
The winningest drivers all seem to be called Sébastien. Sébastien Loeb has won nine times and Sébastien Ogier seven. Ogier was also the winner with the narrowest margin, just 2.2 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, in 2019. The winningest team is Lancia, with 13 victories.
The most controversial rally was in 1966 when the first four finishers were all disqualified for having the wrong type of headlamps.
Brits don’t win very often. In fact, the last Brit to win was one Vic Elford in 1968, driving a Porsche 911. Since then, only three British drivers – Colin McRae, Guy Wilks, and Kris Meeke – have finished on the podium, with a runner up and three third places between them. Even so, after Elford, it was 30 years before Britain even made it to the podium again.
Possibly the most famous, and challenging, part of the rally is the Col de Turini. This stage is run from La Bollène-Vésubie to Sospel, or the other way around, over a mountain road with an average gradient of 6.7%, hairpin bends and usually snow and ice. Spectators have been known to make it even more dangerous by throwing even more snow onto the road. As if all that isn’t bad enough, the stage also takes place at night and has been nicknamed the "Night of the Long Knives" because of the bright headlamp beams cutting through the darkness.
In 2026 the rally begins on 29 January from six locations: Bad Homburg in Germany, Barcelona in Spain, Turin in Italy, Reims in France, Monte Carlo and John O' Groats in Scotland.
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