Monte Carlo gets new focus

The season opening Monte Carlo Rally, which is due to kick off this year's World Rally Championship on January 21, is being tipped to be a more spectacular event than ever before thanks to a revised timetable and route

autosport.com staff Jan 5, 2005, 12:17 PM

After a revamp of the event, organisers have opted to give the rally a single service park in the port area of Monaco - near where the famous Formula 1 track winds its way through the Principality.

And although the rally's stages will still be run in the hills north of Monaco, a revision to the route and a change in some of the stages should help lead to a better-paced event - with a more even mixture of short and longer runs.

Christian Tornatore, the Monte Carlo Rally's clerk of the course, said: "In the end, the rally has rhythm, with liaisons reduced to a strict minimum, new trials, and a more concentrated Monte Carlo rally.

"The Principality will participate fully in this rally because competitors will pass through several times a day as they call in at the service park to be set up at the port."