High hopes  Words by Peter Barker. Images by Peter Barker and Nicolas Nogue

It all started so well: new car, new team and new decade but things didn’t go to plan for team 247 during the 23rd Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique which ran from 31 January to 5 February 2020.

RMCH is competitive rally that celebrates the history of the Monte-Carlo Rally as run between 1955 and 1979. Any model of car that competed in the rally between and including those years can be entered and crews vary from rank amateurs to highly experienced professional stars such as Walther Rohl, Rauno Aaltonen and Bruno Saby, all of whom could be seen competing this year.

Three hundred and eight cars entered the 2020 event, making it one of the largest classic motor sport gatherings in the world. Crews competed over 15 regularity stages on open public roads in the south of France, some of them famous locations such as the Col de Turini. Cars are permitted to have a service crew but no time is allocated for servicing the cars, so drivers make up time along the route to meet their service crews and to buy fuel. The weather is always a hot topic and this year turned out to be completely snow free and unseasonably warm. The thermal underwear and studded tyres carefully stored up by competitors mostly stayed in their packets.

Having competed in 13 previous editions, the event is familiar to me and to my experienced co-driver Peter Scott. In our rally-prepared Group 6 Triumph 2000 and with service crew Paul Steventon of Rally Engineering Development and Ian Wright in a Landrover Discovery, we were set fair for a good run. Paul and Ian trailered the car down to our Monte-Carlo start, while Peter and I flew to Nice. The first inkling that things were not right was when Peter reported his flight had been late taking off from Leeds and he was now stranded in Amsterdam for the night. Next day we attend documentation and scrutineering on time but without a co-driver. Luckily, the officials from Automobile Club de Monaco were understanding and we were permitted to put the car into parc ferme. Peter joined us a little breathless soon after midday.

Following a generous buffet on the Quay Albert 1er, we crested the start ramp in our Triumph at 21.19 precisely to begin the long journey to Buis les Baronnies and the end of the first road stage of the rally. As we left Monaco Peter pointed out that the highly-tuned engine sounded a little gruff, but I attributed this to several minutes’ idling at the start which had oiled up a plug. Undeterred we sped off via Puget-Theniers and Entrevaux to the first time control at St Andre les Alpes. Next small disaster, at our first service stop we discovered the spare wheel nuts brought to fasten on the studded tyres did not fit the car’s wheel stud thread! No studded tyres for us then.

We motored on through the night via Castellane and Draguignan. Fog was forming and Peter needed to keep a sharp eye on his GPS unit as we tried to maintain 80kph. The engine was running very cold only making 50 or 60 degrees at times and it was freezing for the crew. Via passage controls at Riez and at Bedoin at the foot of Mont Ventoux, as dawn broke we made our way to a time control at Courthezon and met up with starters from Barcelona. Fluid levels checked, fuel and a bite to eat preceded 20 minutes’ sleep at the wheel of our parked car. By now the engine was smoking a little at idle, but as it cleared when under load and the oil pressure was good we carried on.

At Buis les Baronnies the entire rally merged and our Tripy GPS unit was fitted by the organisers, so from now on we could be tracked and our speed measured at any time. Once the trip meter settings were checked we were on our way to the first competitive stage, SR1 Montauban sur l’Ouvese-Saint Andre de Rosans. Paul and Ian prepared the car for battle, the oil catch tank was emptied, fluids were given a final check and bonnet lowered and fastened. The six-cylinder engine sounded great and its temperature up to 80 or 90 degrees as it was working hard. We shot up and over the Col de Pierre Vesce and Col du Reychasset to finish at Saint Andre de Rosans. We had lost 32 seconds, were 94th overall and top British crew, a result we could build on.

Full of hope we drove on to SR2 La Motte Chalancon-Saint Nazaire le Desert. Usually one of my favourite stages, this year the road was cloaked with fog, making driving difficult and we lost a further 67 seconds which pushed us back down the order. On a positive note the car performed well, the crew was improving and we were optimistic as we clocked into the overnight halt at Valence.

Sunday 1 February dawned bright and clear as we left parc ferme for the Ardeche stages, the first, SR3 La Croze-Antraigues sur Volane, is classic Monte-Carlo test. Going a bit too well and enjoying all the power, I spun the 4.4m-car at a hairpin bend which was a bit scary. I apologised to Peter and we carried on. Then we got stuck behind a truck belonging to a surfing school (high up in the Ardeche?), more time lost and a 62-second penalty. Grrr! On SR4 the classic Burzet-Lachamp Rafael we recorded 49 seconds, and back in the running. After Saint Agreve the dry SR5 Saint Bonnet le Froid stage should have been a breeze. With a few seconds to go the marshal decided to give us another minute, which threw us completely. Peter could not re-programme the eTrip in time, so we guessed our way round, incurring 138 seconds. We completed the last stage, SR6 Saint Pierre sur Doux with 92 seconds of penalties and avoided terminal road accidents, returning to Valence in 161st place. Not really what we had come for.

Hope springs eternal in the rally driver’s breast, however, so on Monday morning we attacked the stages with vigour, but the Triumph was feeling more than a little tired and when we started the infamous SR7 Col Gaudissart-La Cime du Mas stage over the Col de l’Echarrasson smoke filled the cabin. The eTrip began a series of angry beeps like a fire alarm, which turned out to be its facility for sounding when the car was on time. Although annoying this proved very helpful and we completed the stage with 58 seconds. On stage 8, the formidable Col de Menee from Les Nonieres to Chichillanne, the Triumph was smoking cheerfully but we recorded only 10 seconds penalty. Our proudest moment came on the day’s penultimate stage, SR9 Saint Michel en Beaumont where we achieved just two seconds penalties. That’s what we had come for. However, it turned out to be our swansong, ZR10 La Piarre to Establet passed with 17 seconds lost and we headed back to parc ferme in Valence one last time.

Tuesday, the final day and night of competition, setting out for Monte-Carlo it seemed all downhill to the finish. The Triumph had other ideas, however, and SR11 Saint Nazaire le Desert-La Motte Chalancon was a reverse run of our foggy traverse two days before. All seemed normal as we started, the Triumph smoking gently like a sleeping dragon. Half-way through the stage, and with another competitive time in sight, the dragon suddenly came to life. Smoke filled the cabin, the oil pressure dropped and with a horrible tinkling noise the engine cried ‘enough’. I turned off the ignition as fast as I could and as we rolled over the crest of the Col des Roustans it became obvious that our rally was over. We cruised under gravity 6km down to the finish of the stage at La Motte, clocked in and retired.

Luckily our service crew were not far away and were soon on hand with a tow rope. In the most ignominious fashion we trundled sadly away from the rally and into obscurity. After a few dramas we arrived at a beautiful small village near Carpentras which boasted a three-star hotel. We dumped the rally car, I said goodbye to my team who then headed back to Monte-Carlo and as I booked into the hotel I realised that I was completely exhausted. The 23rd Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique had come to nothing for us, or so I thought…. but there was a small silver lining to our cloud.

While Paul drove to Monte-Carlo to collect our trailer for the journey home, I chatted with the elderly owners of the hotel. They were sufficiently impressed with my tale of woe and the broken rally car in their car park to offer me dinner and a complimentary bottle of the local wine. By the time Paul returned at midnight with the trailer I was a big fan of the local produce, and we made a plan to fill the rally car with as much wine as we could to take home. Accordingly, we drove straight to the vineyard first thing next morning and spent the remainder of our budget on recent vintages. Thus packed, we trailed our way home via gastronomic stops at Beaune (where we acquired more wine) and Lille, arriving back in England precisely a week after we had left.

Will I compete again? Of course! The Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique is the highlight of my rally calendar and has been for two decades. Next year will be my 20th anniversary at the event, now where can I get some decent wheel nuts?