The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica in France. It was the French round of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season until 2008, was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 2011 to 2012, and finally returned to WRC in 2015. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features roads around Ajaccio. The rally is held on asphalt roads, and is known as the "Ten Thousand Turns Rally" because of the twisty mountain roads.
History
The first running of the rally was won by the Belgian female driver Gilberte Thirion in a Renault Dauphine. While heavier cars struggled in the heavy snow and dangerous, Gilberte Thirion took advantage of her lighter car's oversteering characteristics and won the race. She is said to have commented on her triumph with this tongue-in-cheek statement: "The racing Dauphine: Oh! a fantastic car!: Nothing can stop it, and specially not even its brakes", a joke that would have a very long life.
Two drivers have won the event a record six times; Bernard Darniche (1970, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981) and Didier Auriol (1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995). The only non-French drivers to win the event more than once are Sandro Munari, Markku Alén, Colin McRae and Thierry Neuville.
Several drivers have been killed during the event, including fatalities at 3 consecutive events. Attilio Bettega, driving a Lancia 037 Rally, died during the fourth special stage of the 1985 rally, Zérubia-Santa Giulia. On May 2, 1986, exactly a year later, Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto died in their Lancia Delta S4 during the 18th stage of the event, Corte-Taverna. Almost a year later in 1987, co-driver French Corsican Jean-Michel Argenti and driver Jean Marchini fatally crashed similarly to those before them.
It has been largely popularized that Toivonen and Cresto's deaths sealed the fate of Group B rallying due to the realization that the cars had too much pure power and lack of containment, proving to be dangerous and potentially fatal to spectators.
The Tour de Corse Historique is a classic rally held since 2001.
Winners Season Driver Co-driver CarSeries Event report 1956 Gilberte Thirion Nadège Ferrier Renault DauphineNon Championship Report 1957 Michel Nicol Roger de la Geneste Alfa Romeo Giulietta Report 1958 Guy Monraisse Jacques Feret Renault Dauphine Report 1959 Pierre Orsini Jean-Baptiste Canocini Renault Dauphine Report 1960 Herbert Linge Paul-Ernst Strähle Porsche SC 90 Report 1961 René Trautmann Jean-Claude Ogier Citroën DS19 Report 1962 Pierre Orsini Jean-Baptiste Canocini Renault Dauphine Report 1963 René Trautmann Jean-Claude Ogier Citroën DS19 Report 1964 Jean Vinatier Roger Masson Renault 8 Gordini Report 1965 Pierre Orsini Jean-Baptiste Canocini Renault 8 Gordini Report 1966 Jean-François Piot Jean-François Jacob Renault 8 Gordini Report 1967 Sandro Munari Luciano Lombardini Lancia Fulvia HF Coupé Report 1968 Jean-Claude Andruet Maurice Gelin Alpine-Renault A110 Report 1969 Gérard Larrousse Maurice Gelin Porsche 911 R Report 1970 Bernard Darniche Bernard Demange Alpine-Renault A110 1800ERC Report 1971Rally cancelled 1972 Jean-Claude Andruet Michèle 'Biche' Espinosi-Petit Alpine-Renault A110 1800ERC Report 1973 Jean-Pierre Nicolas Michel Vial Alpine-Renault A110 1800WRC Report 1974 Jean-Claude Andruet Michèle 'Biche' Espinosi-Petit Lancia Stratos HF Report 1975 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF Report 1976 Sandro Munari Silvio Maiga Lancia Stratos HF Report 1977 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Fiat 131 Abarth Report 1978 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Fiat 131 Abarth Report 1979 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF Report 1980 Jean-Luc Thérier Michel Vial Porsche 911 SC Report 1981 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF Report 1982 Jean Ragnotti Jean-Marc Andrié Renault 5 Turbo Report 1983 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia 037 Rally Report 1984 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia 037 Rally Report 1985 Jean Ragnotti Pierre Thimonier Renault R5 Maxi Turbo Report 1986 Bruno Saby Jean-François Fauchille Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 Report 1987 Bernard Béguin Jean-Jacques Lenne BMW M3 Report 1988 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Ford Sierra RS Cosworth Report 1989 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta Integrale Report 1990 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta Integrale 16V Report 1991 Carlos Sainz Luís Moya Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 Report 1992 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta HF Integrale Report 1993 François Delecour Daniel Grataloup Ford Escort RS Cosworth Report 1994 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD Report 1995 Didier Auriol Denis Giraudet Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 Report 1996 Philippe Bugalski Jean-Paul Chiaroni Renault Mégane Maxi2-Litre World Rally Cup Report 1997 Colin McRae Nicky Grist Subaru Impreza WRC 97WRC Report 1998 Colin McRae Nicky Grist Subaru Impreza WRC 98 Report 1999 Philippe Bugalski Jean-Paul Chiaroni Citroën Xsara Kit Car Report 2000 Gilles Panizzi Hervé Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC Report 2001 Jesús Puras Marc Martí Citroën Xsara WRC Report 2002 Gilles Panizzi Hervé Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC Report 2003 Petter Solberg Phil Mills Subaru Impreza WRC2003 Report 2004 Markko Märtin Michael Park Ford Focus RS WRC 04 Report 2005 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Citroën Xsara WRC Report 2006 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Citroën Xsara WRC Report 2007 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Citroën C4 WRC Report 2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Citroën C4 WRC Report 2009 Pascal Trojani Francis Mazotti Peugeot 307 WRCFrance Cup Report 2010Rally cancelled 2011 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Peugeot 207 S2000IRC Report 2012 Dani Sordo Carlos del Barrio Mini Cooper S2000 Report 2013 Bryan Bouffier Xavier Panseri Peugeot 207 S2000ERC Report 2014 Stéphane Sarrazin Jacques-Julien Renucci Ford Fiesta RRC Report 2015 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRCWRC Report 2016 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC Report 2017 Thierry Neuville Report 2018 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC Report 2019 Thierry Neuville Report 2020Rally not held
Multiple winners Wins Driver Years won 6 Bernard Darniche 1970, 1975, 1977–1979, 1981 Didier Auriol 1988–1990, 1992, 1994–1995 4 Sébastien Loeb 2005–2008 3 Pierre Orsini 1959, 1962, 1969 Jean-Claude Andruet 1968, 1972, 1974 Thierry Neuville 2011, 2017, 2019 2 René Trautmann 1961, 1963 Sandro Munari 1967, 1976 Jean Ragnotti 1982, 1985 Markku Alén 1983–1984 Philippe Bugalski 1996, 1999 Colin McRae 1997–1998 Gilles Panizzi 2000, 2002 Sébastien Ogier 2016, 2018
References
External links
Official site Tour de Corse at eWRC-results