IRC Rally Monte-Carlo preview : The challenges

The Intercontinental Rally Challenge is back with a bang. A little more than two months after the 2010 season drew to a dramatic close in Cyprus, the IRC is getting ready to celebrate its fifth anniversary on possibly the most iconic rally in the world.

Rallye Monte-Carlo has defined not only the history of rallying, but also the history of motorsport as a whole. The very word ‘rally’ derives from what used to happen in Monte-Carlo: competitors would set off from all four corners of Europe and ‘rally’, in other words, meet, in Monaco to celebrate the end of a unique event.

This year is particularly significant, as the very first Rallye Monte-Carlo was held in 1911, making 2011 the centenary of the event. For the third consecutive year this epic challenge marks the opening round of the IRC: the jewel in the crown of the series calendar.

Event organiser, the Automobile Club de Monaco, has introduced a number of initiatives to celebrate this year’s important anniversary, including free entries for the capacity 120 crews. But the most enduring feature is the use of traditional stages that have formed the backbone of the event, including the famous Col de Turini tests that make up the climax of the competition on Friday night (January 21).

The cutting-edge 300-horsepower Super 2000 cars that will fight for victory would be unrecognisable to Henri Rougier, winner of the 1911 event at the wheel of his 25 horsepower Turcat-Mery. A well-known aviator and adventurer, he would later go on to win the Legion d’honneur: France’s highest honour to a civilian.

But there are many aspects to the route that would still be familiar to Rougier: the need to tip-toe the car across ice and snow-coated surfaces too slippery to stand on, and the enthusiastic crowds lining the route from Valence, the capital of France’s Drome department, to the finish in Monaco’s harbour front in the early hours of Saturday morning (January 22).

The event gained popularity over the years as the ultimate test of any car’s performance and versatility. Victory on Rallye Monte-Carlo would guarantee headlines and therefore awareness and sales, so manufacturers became more and more professional in their attempts to win what was simply known as ‘the Monte’.

By the 1960s, the event was being contested by factory teams and well-known foreign drivers such as Erik Carlsson, who took the first of his two Monte victories in a diminutive Saab 96, against much more powerful opposition from Mercedes-Benz and others.

This was a huge part of the appeal of the event: the emphasis was firmly on driving skill and technical ingenuity rather than horsepower or budgets. The same is true now. A well-driven car could slay giants, and there is no better example than the years of domination by Mini in the mid to late 60s. “It may not have been the quickest thing up the mountain,” remembers Paddy Hopkirk, a well-known former winner in the Mini Cooper. “But there was nothing that could keep up with it downhill!”

Throughout the early 1970s, the Monte belonged to ‘Il Drago’: Sandro Munari, in the fire-breathing Ferrari-engined Lancia Stratos. Other star names on the winner’s trophy include Jean-Pierre Nicolas, now the IRC’s Motorsport Development Manager, who triumphed in 1978, as well as multiple winners Walter Rohrl (1980-1982-1983-1984), Carlos Sainz (1991-1995-1998) and more recently Sebastien Loeb (2003-2004-2005-2007-2008).

One of the major changes in the recent history of Rallye Monte-Carlo took place in 2009, when it became part of the IRC. This allowed the ACM to run the event to its traditionally unique format and it also opened up the rally to a whole new audience thanks to the arrival of breath taking live television from Eurosport on virtually all of the stages.

Sebastien Ogier was the winner that year in a Peugeot 207 run by the BFGoodrich Drivers’ Team, underlining the IRC’s commitment to bringing on young talent. Freddy Loix finished second ahead of Stephane Sarrazin, making it an all-Peugeot podium. At the same time, the new Skoda Fabia S2000 made its international debut, setting a stunning pace straight out of the box.

There was another exciting debut in 2010, when M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta S2000 took part in its first rally. Mikko Hirvonen claimed a mesmerising victory in the new car, ahead of the Skodas of Juho Hanninen and Nicolas Vouilloz. A cumulative reach of twelve million different viewers was able to watch him do it on Eurosport, live as it happened.

“Winning Rallye Monte-Carlo is something very special in any driver’s career,” said Hirvonen on the podium. “It’s not until you actually have the trophy in your hand that you realise what it really means. I’ll never forget this.”