TOUR DE CORSE
Rallying has been part of Corsica’s dramatic history since 1956. Now the Tour de Corse is an historic event in itself
This jewel in the Med makes for a heavenly rally destination
Corsica, birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, 3000 square miles of mountainous paradise with incredibly complicated istory and a population of fewer than half a million, set like a diamond in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. Corsica, also home of some of the most thrilling and spectacular driving roads not only in Europe, but the whole world. Why? Well, the island may be barely 100 miles long and 50 wide, but squeezed into that landmass are more than 120 peaks of over 2000m (for reference, Ben Nevis is 1345m above sea level). In fact, two-thirds of the island is mountainous and 20% of it is forest, the natural habitats of rallying. And while this topography obviously dictates much up and down and twisty – it is quipped by locals that the island’s longest straight is the runway at Ajaccio airport – it’s matched by the local attitude. Here, rallying is regarded with a reverence rarely seen outside of Scandinavia.
This love of competition driving has been ever-present, starting with a Grand Prix in 1921 (won by Albert Guyot in a Bignan), but was cemented when the Tour de Corse came into being in 1956 and gained global attention when it became the French round of the World Rally Championship in 1973. The Tour de Corse stayed on the calendar until 2008, and then was reinstated in 2015.
It has never been a rally for the faint-hearted, though. Known as the Rally of Ten Thousand Turns, it has claimed several lives over the years, including Henri Toivenen and Sergio Cresto in the wild Group B era, but also prompts many more evocative positive memories. In the 1970s, Jean-Claude Andruet and Bernard Darniche were the kings of Corsica and never more so than when aboard an Alpine-Renault. The former won the Tour de Corse in an A110 in 1970 and the latter in 1968 and 1972, during a run of four wins in five years that was punctuated only by Gérard Larrousse in a 911. In the 1990s Frenchman Didier Auriol took some beating in Corsica, but nothing matched the local fervour for a French driver in a French car, comparable almost to the Italian worship of Nino Vaccarella or Art Merzario on the Targa in an Alfa.
In recent years, the Tour de Corse, which previously travelled the length and breadth of the island from Bastia to Calvi to Porto Vecchio, has become increasingly focused around the capital Ajaccio – but no such limitations apply to its Historic counterpart. Traditionally taking place in October (when the weather is usually still gorgeous), this event was founded in 2001 by José Andreani when just 21 cars took part in a regularity event.
It has now grown to accommodate 200 cars from three eras – just post-WW2 to 1990 – running in groups that range from touring (in all but name) to high-speed. It attracts crews from all over the world, though surprisingly few from the UK; in 2018 there were more entrants from each of Mexico, Brazil or Qatar than there were from Britain! Despite that, via crews, support and the organising team and officials, the rally increases the population of the island by 2500 people every year and in the course of a week travels through more than 100 towns and villages.
The Tour de Corse Historique generally covers about 500 miles (but as they say, 500 miles in Corsica is a few thousand on anyone else’s roads), of which anything up to half will be special stages. The route pays homage to the period outings of the modern event and visits many of the citadels and sites that are no longer on the current Tour de Corse itinerary. That does not mean that the driving is any less intense, however, and the Historic event has attracted the likes of Romain Dumas, Erik
‘The route pays homage to old outings of the modern event and visits many of the sites that are no longer on the itinerary’
Comas, Vic Elford, Gérard Larousse, JeanClaude Andruet and Didier Auriol.
In 2019, the rally started and finished in Porto Vecchio in the south, travelling via Calvi and Ajaccio and one of the highlights, the picturesque old fishing village of Saint Florent. Belying the temptation to take it easy and soak up the sensational scenery, the competition at the front end was tougher and closer than it has ever been. With six different leaders over the five days of competition – including 16 special stages and the enormous 53km Notre Dame de la Serra-Col de la Croix stage – it really came down to the wire, with just one second splitting the first two crews. Early leader Joël Marchetti, co-driven by François-Xavier Buresi, looked a likely winner in his Ford Escort MkI until he suffered alternator problems and threw the field wide open. The ensuing scramble for victory was as fierce as it was entertaining, and played out in front of hordes of spectators.
Pierre Vivier (Renault 5 Turbo) briefly took the lead before a spin handed the figurative yellow jersey to Alexandre Leroy (Mazda RX7), who headed into Calvi as the leader. Mechanical woes also put paid to the Belgian driver’s hopes though, and any hopes secondplaced André Caruso (Porsche 911) had of inheriting the lead were instantly dashed by his own retirement.
The eventful morning opened the door to Mk2 Escort driver François Foulon and his Corsican co-driver, Sébastien Mattei, the pair fighting off a renewed challenge from Vivier and his much more powerful Renault. Vivier overhauled Foulon and looked set for victory when another costly mistake – this time on the very last timed section – handed victory to Foulon, who was nursing his Ford home with brake issues. His eventual margin of victory over the considerably younger BMW M3 of Christophe Casanova and Stéphane Delleaux was just one second. The final spot on the podium was snaffled by the Belgian crew of
Christian Kelders and Patrick Chiappe (Porsche 911), who led home two more of the German rally favourites in the hands of Antonini/Dini and Deblauwe/Lemaire.
The regularity was initially dominated by Bernard Figuière and Isabelle Godin (in a Porsche 911 Carrera), but they lost the lead to Jean-Pierre Verneuil and Jérome Scudier (R5 Alpine), who held onto it all the way to the finish in Porto-Vecchio, where they would win with a seven-point lead. In third place, one worse than his 2018 showing, was Giorgio Schon (Porsche 911).
Having established itself as one of the finest, toughest and yet friendliest historic rallies in the world, the Tour de Corse Historique has big plans for its 20th running in 2020. There will be 200 cars and 20 stages and it will take place on 5-10 October. Let’s see if a few more Brits can discover this stunning event: why not enjoy a leisurely drive down through France before taking the ferry (with concessions for rally participants, naturally) to The Isle of Beauty? You won’t regret it.
‘Belying the temptation to soak up the scenery, competition was closer than ever’