Rally Monte Carlo 2011
The 79th Monte Carlo Rally , officially the 79ème Automobile de Monte-Carlo Rally , was held from January 19-22 , 2011. It was the first run of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge 2011 and took place exactly 100 years after the first edition of the Monte Carlo Rally.
Route
In the Monte Carlo Rally in 2011 were over 13 special stages 337.06 timed kilometers traveled. The total distance was 1,341.75 kilometers. The start was on the morning of January 19th in Valence in the Rhône-Alpes region . Only the 60 best-placed drivers in the overall standings were allowed to compete in the demanding last four special stages on the evening of January 21st and on the night of January 22nd, as the organizers waived the use of the Superally regulations . The routes of these tests began at the foot of a mountain and ran up and down a mountain pass along it. Among them was the famous Col de Turini , which was crossed twice.
The roads of the 2011 Monte Carlo Rally were paved, but the condition of the ground could change during a stage due to the low temperatures, so that snow-covered and icy sections had to be crossed. As usual, the choice of tires played a decisive role in the Monte Carlo Rally.
Attendees
300 driver pairings applied to participate in the 2011 Monte Carlo Rally. The Monaco Automobile Club therefore decided to allocate 120 starting places instead of 100 as originally planned.
32 drivers started in the technically more sophisticated Super 2000 vehicles. Among the drivers of the Škoda Fabia S2000 was the reigning IRC title holder Juho Hänninen , who competed in the S-WRC in the 2011 season and only made one guest appearance in the IRC at the Monte Carlo Rally , as the top favorite for the overall victory . Other Škoda drivers included runner-up Jan Kopecký , Nicolas Vouilloz and Freddy Loix . For Škoda UK was Andreas Mikkelsen at the start, and Škoda Germany also set a vehicle for Mark Wallenwein one who made his debut at the Rally Monte Carlo in the IRC. Former Formula 1 driver Alex Caffi took a private Škoda Fabia S2000 to the start.
A Peugeot 207 S2000 was driven by Stéphane Sarrazin , who usually takes part in sports car races as a Peugeot works driver , Bryan Bouffier , Guy Wilks , Toni Gardemeister , Giandomenico Basso , Bruno Magalhães and Thierry Neuville . One of the favorites was the former world rally champion Petter Solberg , who took part in the 2011 Monte Carlo Rally as a guest starter and completed his first rally with the Peugeot 207 S2000. Another prominent participant was François Delecour , the winner of the 1994 Monte Carlo Rally , who made his comeback in international rallying at the age of 48 after an eight-year break. In a Ford Fiesta S2000 took Henning Solberg , Petter Solberg's brother, the ride on. The Malaysian car manufacturer Proton launched two Proton Satria Neo S2000s for Christopher Atkinson and Per-Gunnar Andersson .
Some well-known participants were also registered in the other classes. The Austrian Andreas Aigner put a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X of the Group N one. Adrien Tambay , the son of the former Formula 1 driver Patrick Tambay , took part with a Citroën DS3 . Daniel Elena , who usually drives alongside Sébastien Loeb as co-driver in the WRC, now completed the rally himself behind the wheel of a Citroën DS3. The oldest driver was 66-year-old Maurizio Verini , who already finished second four times in the San Remo Rally in the 1970s .
Course of the rally
day 1
On the first day of the rally the weather was still sunny and the roads dry. Stéphane Sarrazin won the first special stage, but then lost grip with the soft tires he had chosen and fell back. Juho Hänninen took the lead after the second stage, on which he set the fastest time. This also went to Hänninen on the third stage, Freddy Loix won the fourth special stage with a narrow margin over Hänninen. After the first day, Hänninen was in the lead with a 44.5 second lead over Loix. Petter Solberg followed in third place, 55.3 seconds behind, while Sarrazin was just 0.2 seconds behind him in fourth place.
Even on the first stages there were failures of some of the favorites. Thierry Neuville had an accident on the first test, Andreas Mikkelsen collided with a wall and damaged his suspension, as did Henning Solberg on a test. All three drivers then had to give up the rally. Proton had no vehicle in the race early on after Christopher Atkinson broke down after 700 meters with electronic problems and Per-Gunnar Andersson tore off a wheel on the second stage in a collision with a stone on his vehicle.
day 2
The first two special stages on the second day of the rally were won by Juho Hänninen and Bryan Bouffier. Around noon a light snowfall set in in the higher areas, which grew stronger as the day progressed. Before the two special stages in the afternoon, a tire game developed, which was decisive for the course of the subsequent stages. Most of the favorites started with recut intermediates , but these no longer offered enough grip on the roads that were now heavily snow-covered. Hänninen lost a total of almost five minutes on the two stages in the afternoon and was then just over two and a half minutes behind in sixth place. Petter Solberg also had problems with a puncture due to a slip. He dropped to seventh place and was almost four minutes behind.
The two Peugeot drivers Bouffier and François Delecour made the right choice of tires. While Bouffier opted for pure winter tires, Delecour even opted for spiked winter tires. Both pilots were thus able to drive faster than their rivals when the snowfall was getting heavier, and successively secured the best times of special stages seven and eight. The extreme weather conditions, especially on the eighth special stage, also highlight the low average speed of the fastest, Delecour, of just 68 kilometers per hour. Despite two spins on the eighth stage, Bouffier was in the lead after the second day and was 28 seconds ahead of Delecour. Freddy Loix was already third, 65.5 seconds behind, followed by Guy Wilks and Stéphane Sarrazin.
Day 3
Stéphane Sarrazin won the ninth special stage on the morning of the third day of the rally. The best times on the two stages in the evening went to Nicolas Vouilloz and Giandomenico Basso. Freddy Loix also posted fast times and was able to reduce his gap to Bryan Bouffier to 47.7 seconds. He pushed François Delecour into third place, whose engine was no longer able to develop full power and thus cost him a lot of time on the uphill sections. On the eleventh stage, the gearbox of Sarrazin's Peugeot got stuck in fourth gear, which prevented a good time and set him back a little.
The leading Bouffier tackled the final two special stages on the night of the long knives with a comfortable margin . He crossed the finish line with a 32.5 second lead over Loix, earning his first win on IRC. The fastest on the two stages was again Sarrazin, whose vehicle was equipped with a new gearbox that his mechanics could exchange for repairs within the prescribed time window. He worked his way up to third place in the overall standings, but received the stable order to show up too late at the service park and thus receive a 30-second penalty. As a result, his teammate Guy Wilks moved up to third place. This was justified by the team management by the fact that Wilks, as a regular starter in the IRC, could use the points for third place better than Sarrazin, who will drive sports car races again after his guest start at the Monte Carlo Rally. Delecour, Hänninen, Vouilloz, Kopecký, Basso and Gardemeister followed on from the other points. Mark Wallenwein finished the rally in 21st place. Petter Solberg had to retire on the last special stage due to a defective alternator. 54 participants reached the goal.
Results
Overall rating
| Item | driver | Co-driver | vehicle | total time | Residue | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Bryan Bouffier
|
Xavier Panseri
|
Peugeot 207 S2000 | 3: 32: 55.6 | 25th | |
| 2 |
 Freddy Loix
|
Frédéric Miclotte
|
Škoda Fabia S2000 | 3: 33: 28.1 | 32.5 | 18th |
| 3 |
 Guy Wilks
|
Phil Pugh
|
Peugeot 207 S2000 | 3: 34: 15.3 | 1: 19.7 | 15th |
| 4th |
Stéphane Sarrazin
|
Jacques-Julien Renucci
|
Peugeot 207 S2000 | 3: 34: 17.5 | 1: 21.9 | 12 |
| 5 |
François Delecour
|
Dominique Savignoni
|
Peugeot 207 S2000 | 3: 34: 18.0 | 1: 22.4 | 10 |
| 6th |
 Juho Hänninen
|
Mikko Markkula
|
Škoda Fabia S2000 | 3: 34: 24.9 | 1: 29.3 | 8th |
| 7th |
Nicolas Vouilloz
|
Benjamin Veillas
|
Škoda Fabia S2000 | 3: 37: 43.4 | 4: 47.8 | 6th |
| 8th |
 Jan Kopecký
|
Petr Starý
|
Škoda Fabia S2000 | 3: 40: 41.5 | 7: 45.9 | 4th |
| 9 |
 Giandomenico Basso
|
Mitia Dotta
|
Peugeot 207 S2000 | 3: 41: 41.6 | 8: 46.0 | 2 |
| 10 |
Toni Gardemeister
|
Tomi Tuominen
|
Peugeot 207 S2000 | 3: 42: 04.6 | 9: 09.0 | 1 |
| ... | ||||||
| 21st |
 Mark Wallenwein
|
Stefan Kopczyk
|
Škoda Fabia S2000 | 4: 00: 54.1 | 27: 58.5 |
Special stages
| Day | WP | Time | route | Length (km) |
winner | time | Speed (km / h) |
Overall leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 (Jan. 19) |
SS1 | 10:05 | Le Moulinon - Antraigues | 36.87 |
Stéphane Sarrazin
|
23: 35.6 | 93.76 |
Stéphane Sarrazin
|
| SS2 | 11:40 | Burzet - St Martial | 41.06 |
Juho Hänninen
|
22: 39.6 | 108.72 |
Juho Hänninen
|
|
| SS3 | 14:11 | St-Bonnet-le-Froid - St-Bonnet-le-Froid | 25.22 |
Juho Hänninen
|
12: 40.0 | 119.46 | ||
| SS4 | 16:20 | St-Bonnet-le-Froid - St-Bonnet-le-Froid | 25.22 |
Freddy Loix
|
12: 37.2 | 119.90 | ||
| Day 2 (Jan. 20) |
SS5 | 12:23 | St-Jean-en-Royans - Font d'Urle | 23.05 |
Juho Hänninen
|
11: 51.0 | 116.71 | |
| SS6 | 13:04 | Cimetiere de Vassieux - Col de Gaudissart | 24.13 |
Bryan Bouffier
|
12: 50.0 | 112.82 | ||
| SS7 | 16:07 | St-Jean-en-Royans - Font d'Urle | 23.05 |
Bryan Bouffier
|
14: 57.1 | 92.50 |
Bryan Bouffier
|
|
| SS8 | 16:48 | Cimetiere de Vassieux - Col de Gaudissart | 24.13 |
François Delecour
|
21: 16.7 | 68.04 | ||
| Day 3 ( Jan. 21-22 ) |
SS9 | 09:08 | Montauban-sur-l'Ouvèze - Eygalayes | 29.89 |
Stéphane Sarrazin
|
17: 45.3 | 101.01 | |
| SS10 | 19:15 | Moulinet - La Bollène Vésubie | 23.41 |
Nicolas Vouilloz
|
16: 24.6 | 85.59 | ||
| SS11 | 19:58 | Lantosque - Lucéram | 18.81 |
Giandomenico Basso
|
13: 28.2 | 83.79 | ||
| SS12 | 23:25 | Moulinet - La Bollène Vésubie | 23.41 |
Stéphane Sarrazin
|
16: 08.8 | 86.99 | ||
| SS13 | 00:08 | Lantosque - Lucéram | 18.81 |
Stéphane Sarrazin
|
13: 08.9 | 85.84 |
reporting
The television station Eurosport broadcast live the 2011 Monte Carlo Rally for 12 hours. The broadcast was followed by 14 million viewers. Compared to the Monte Carlo Rally 2010 , the station was able to increase its viewership by two million or 16.5 percent.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Preview: The Monte Carlo Rally celebrates its 100th birthday (Motorsport-Total.com on January 17, 2011)
- ↑ a b Champion Hänninen dominates the first "Monte" day (Motorsport-Total.com on January 19, 2011)
- ↑ Proton: "Monte" frustration instead of "Monte" pleasure (Motorsport-Total.com on January 20, 2011)
- ↑ Hänninen leads, Solberg pushes forward (Motorsport-Total.com on January 20, 2011)
- ↑ a b Tire poker in the snow: Bouffier leads the "Monte" (Motorsport-Total.com on January 20, 2011)
- ↑ Bouffier new front runner (Rallye-Magazin.de on January 20, 2011)
- ↑ Monte Carlo: Bouffier continues to lead confidently (Motorsport-Total.com on January 21, 2011)
- ↑ Wilks didn't want to get on the "Monte" podium ... (Motorsport-Total.com on January 25, 2011)
- ↑ Bouffier: "A dream comes true" (Motorsport-Total.com on January 22, 2011)
- ↑ "Monte": Bouffier wins the anniversary (Motorsport-Total.com on January 22, 2011)
- ↑ "Monte": New record quota for 'Eurosport (Motorsport-Total.com on January 27, 2011)
