Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine

The Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine is a yearly motor rally held in the month of September in Morzine, Haute-Savoie. It is often held as part of the French Rally Championship. It began in 1947 with the Rally Paris-Evian, and it eventually became the Rallye. Formerly held in Annecy, this event moved to Morzine in 1989 where it adopted its current name in 1994.

One of the oldest continuing rallies in France, this rally has attracted famous names from the world of rally driving such as Sébastien Loeb, Stéphane Sarrazin, Philippe Bugalski and Pierre Campana. All the winners to date have been French with the exceptions of the Belgian Lucien Bianchi and Swiss Jean Krucker. Bugalski is the most successful driver in the events history with five wins between 1993 and 2000.

As well as part of the French Rally Championship, the Rallye Mont-Blanc was included in the European Rally Championship from 1988 to 1996.

Recent years

2011

In 2011, Pierre Campana, driving the same Mini Cooper WRC that won the Richard Burns Memorial Rally in England, added to his success. He took the lead after the previous leader Dany Snobeck crashed out. Gilles Nantet and Ludovic Gal were second and third respectively and it was Nantet's maiden ascent to the podium.

2012

In 2012, Stéphane Sarrazin who won previously in 2004 took another commanding victory in the Peugeot 307 WRC with co-driver Benjamin Veillas.

2013

In 2013, Julien Maurin won for the first time with co-driver Nicolas Klinger. Eric Brunson and Pierre Roché joined him on the podium. Maurin was the leader since SS2.

2014

In 2014, Julien Maurin won for the second consecutive time, also leading from the second stage and beating rival competitors. The second placed driver Jean-Marie Cuoq was joined on the podium by Lionel Baud.

2015

In 2015, the 67th running of this event, Stéphane Sarrazin won it for the third time, but the veteran driver Frédéric Comte died in a crash on SS2. After the agreement of the family, the rally was relaunched. Joining Sarrazin and his co-driver Jacques-Julien Renucci on the podium was Jean-Marie Cuoq, the runner-up from last year, and Yoann Bonato. The third placed co-driver, Denis Giraudet, made it on the podium for the first time in 21 years.

2016

In 2016, this rally was won for the first time by Yoann Bonato driving a Citroën DS3 R5. Earlier his fellow Frenchman Sylvain Michel battled with him for the lead, but had fallen down to eleventh by the start of the second leg, eliminating any hopes of victory.

List of winners

Sourced in part from: ^[1]

Season	Winner	Car
1957	Claude Storez	Porsche 356 Carrera
1958	Claude Storez	Porsche 356 Carrera
1959	Bernard Consten	Alfa Romeo
1960 1961	not held
1962	René Trautmann	Austin Cooper
1963	René Trautmann	Citroën DS 19
1964 - 1968	not held
1969	Jean-Claude Andruet	Alpine A110 1300
1970	Jean-François Piot	Ford Escort Twin Cam
1971	Bernard Fiorentino	Simca CG MC 2200 Coupé
1972	Bernard Darniche	Alpine A110 1800
1973	Bernard Fiorentino	Simca CG
1974	Jacques Henry	Alpine A110 1800
1975	Francis Vincent	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV
1976	Bruno Saby	Alpine A110 1800
1977	Bernard Béguin	Alpine A310 1800
1978	Jan-Hug Hazard	Porsche 911 Carrera
1979	Jean Krucker	Porsche 911 Carrera RS
1980	Jean Ragnotti	Renault 5 Alpine
1981	Bruno Saby	Renault 5 Turbo
1982	Bruno Saby	Renault 5 Turbo
1983	Francis Vincent	Ferrari 308 GTB
1984	Jean Ragnotti	Renault 5 Turbo
1985	François Chatriot	Renault 5 Maxi Turbo
1986	Didier Auriol	MG Metro 6R4
1987	Didier Auriol	Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1988	Didier Auriol	Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1989	François Chatriot	BMW M3
1990	Bruno Saby	Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1991	Yves Loubet	Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1992	Bernard Béguin	Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4
1993	Philippe Bugalski	Lancia Delta HF Integrale
1994	François Chatriot	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1995	Philippe Bugalski	Renault Clio Maxi
1996	Gilles Panizzi	Peugeot 306 Maxi
1997	Philippe Bugalski	Renault Mégane Maxi
1998	Simon Jean-Joseph	Subaru Impreza 555
1999	Philippe Bugalski	Citroën Xsara Kit Car
2000	Philippe Bugalski	Citroën Xsara T4
2001	Sébastien Loeb	Citroën Xsara Kit Car
2002	Cédric Robert	Peugeot 206 S1600
2003	Alexandre Bengué	Peugeot 206 WRC
2004	Stéphane Sarrazin	Subaru Impreza WRC
2005	Nicolas Bernardi	Peugeot 206 WRC
2006	Jérôme Grosset-Janin	Citroën Xsara WRC
2007	Jean-Marie Cuoq	Peugeot 307 WRC
2008	Dany Snobeck	Peugeot 307 WRC
2009	Patrick Henry	Peugeot 206 WRC
2010	Dany Snobeck	Peugeot 307 WRC
2011	Pierre Campana	Mini John Cooper Works WRC
2012	Stéphane Sarrazin	Peugeot 307 WRC
2013	Julien Maurin	Ford Fiesta RS WRC
2014	Julien Maurin	Ford Fiesta RS WRC
2015	Stéphane Sarrazin	Ford Fiesta RS WRC
2016	Yoann Bonato	Citroën DS3 R5
2017	Yoann Bonato	Citroën DS3 R5

Fatalities

• In 1999, driver Mark Champeau died in a road accident during the reconnaissance.
• In 2015, driver Frédéric Comte died on Stage 2 after a big accident. His accident came in the wake of two other similar tragedies that happened the same week. One of rally's darkest weeks that blackened preparations for Rally Australia.

References

1. "eWRC-results.com - rally database". www.ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 2025-02-16.

External links

• Website