AvD Histo Monte 2011

            The start of the race was in Germany, in the town of Hanau. There was an administrative and technical inspection, meaning that the itinerary of the race was delivered to the crews and the technical conditions of the vehicles was checked.  

            The race was divided into four laps. The finish of the first one was in France, in the town Colmar. On the second day, the race continued along the French side of the Swiss-German border and the weather was sunny. All of the 61 crews spent the night in the town of  Archamps. The route of the third day lead through the beautiful mountain ridges of the Alps, as well as around the Olympic town of Grenoble and the town of Gap, all the way to Monaco. It happened for the first time in the history of the race that the competitors spent the night exactly in Monte Carlo. On the fourth and last day of the race, it was necessary to overcome a very challenging lap - the route was through the Alps to Italy, to the town San Romolo, and then back to Monte Carlo for the ceremonial announcement of the results.

The crews managed to pass 29 challenging tests in just four days, covering a distance of 1700 km in their veteran vehicles. This rally still has, according to the style of the tests, more of a sporty nature, so the competition (in the long serpentine roads of the Alps) was based on both the average and the accuracy (one hundredth of a second) at the crossing of the finish line. The race was very challenging, not only because the number of tests and their length (all together they were over 221 km), but also because of the route characteristics and the geological and climatic conditions (the mountain zone, the high superelevation, serpentine roads, ice, snow, fog). Histo Monte today is truly becoming both an unforgettable experience and challenge at the same time. The crews with old vehicles ( "old cucumbers" – that´s how the mechanics call them) have to pass (especially in the final two days) the exact same famous, challenging speed tests, as you can see in the rally WRC or IRC competitions with race specialists (Col de Turini, Col St.Roch, Olivetta, etc…).

            There was a hard rain at the end when 57 crews crossed the finish line (in Monte Carlo harbour).  Both of our vehicles were successful, without any defects and they took the place in the forefront of the overall score sheet. Fifth place was taken by Matthias Kahle/Peter Göbel (Škoda 110R), sixth place belonged to Josef Juračka/Hana Juračková (Škoda 1000 MB de Luxe). First place belonged to the crew of Burkhard Müller/Jürgen Meggle in the vehicle Daimler Benz 250 SL Pagode.