Why the Monte Carlo Rally needs a shake-up
Bryan Bouffier took a sensational win on the Monte Carlo Rally, but even then the event was not a classic. David Evans explains why the historic rally needs a shake-up
Briefly, all-too-briefly, it looked as though it might happen. It looked as though Francois Delecour might win the Monte Carlo Rally. But then he didn't. Instead, another Frenchman re-lived the Delecour dream from 1991. Except, where Francois failed on the final stage, Bryan Bouffier held it together in the biggest moment of his career.
It was hard not to get swept along in the enthusiasm for the potential Delecour result. Certainly, the press office staff in Valence made no bones about who they were supporting; Eurosport's stunning live television pictures from the eighth stage made it perfectly plain. Running on intermediate tyres, rally leader at lunchtime Juho Hanninen was lost. His Teflon covers made progress up the Col virtually impossible; doing it at any speed laughable.
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