Saturday, September 12, 2009

Monte Carlo Rally 1949 Historic Photos









The Monte Carlo Rally (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is an event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. This organization also organizes the Monte Carlo Formula One GP and a Historic Monte Carlo Rally.
From its inception in 1911 by Prince Albert I, this rally, which takes place 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. With often varying conditions at each starting point, typically comprising dry road surface, 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.
The photos above are from the 1949 event, the first to take place after WWII. The winning car was a French Hotchkiss. The results were as follows:

1949
Jean Trevoux / Marcel Lesurque — Hotchkiss
M Worms / E Mouche — Hotchkiss
F Dobry / Z Treybal — Bristol
A Hotchkiss 686 made 1936-1952



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