Tour de Corse
The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. 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.
Tour de Corse | |
---|---|
Status | active |
Genre | motorsporting event |
Frequency | annual |
Location(s) | Corsica |
Country | France |
Inaugurated | 1956 |
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. In 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.
The first running of the rally was won by the Belgian female driver Gilberte Thirion in a Renault Dauphine. 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.
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.
Winners
Season | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Event report |
---|---|---|---|---|
1956 | Renault Dauphine | Report | ||
1957 | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | Report | ||
1958 | Renault Dauphine | Report | ||
1959 | Renault Dauphine | Report | ||
1960 | Porsche SC 90 | Report | ||
1961 | Citroën DS19 | Report | ||
1962 | Renault Dauphine | Report | ||
1963 | Citroën DS19 | Report | ||
1964 | Renault 8 Gordini | Report | ||
1965 | Renault 8 Gordini | Report | ||
1966 | Renault 8 Gordini | Report | ||
1967 | Lancia Fulvia HF Coupé | Report | ||
1968 | Alpine-Renault A110 | Report | ||
1969 | Porsche 911 R | Report | ||
1970 | Alpine-Renault A110 1800 | Report | ||
1971 | Rally cancelled | |||
1972 | Alpine-Renault A110 1800 | Report | ||
1973 | Alpine-Renault A110 1800 | Report | ||
1974 | Lancia Stratos HF | Report | ||
1975 | Lancia Stratos HF | Report | ||
1976 | Lancia Stratos HF | Report | ||
1977 | Fiat 131 Abarth | Report | ||
1978 | Fiat 131 Abarth | Report | ||
1979 | Lancia Stratos HF | Report | ||
1980 | Porsche 911 SC | Report | ||
1981 | Lancia Stratos HF | Report | ||
1982 | Renault 5 Turbo | Report | ||
1983 | Lancia 037 Rally | Report | ||
1984 | Lancia 037 Rally | Report | ||
1985 | Renault R5 Maxi Turbo | Report | ||
1986 | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 | Report | ||
1987 | BMW M3 | Report | ||
1988 | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth | Report | ||
1989 | Lancia Delta Integrale | Report | ||
1990 | Lancia Delta Integrale 16V | Report | ||
1991 | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 | Report | ||
1992 | Lancia Delta HF Integrale | Report | ||
1993 | Ford Escort RS Cosworth | Report | ||
1994 | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | Report | ||
1995 | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 | Report | ||
1996 | Renault Mégane Maxi | Report | ||
1997 | Subaru Impreza WRC 97 | Report | ||
1998 | Subaru Impreza WRC 98 | Report | ||
1999 | Citroën Xsara Kit Car | Report | ||
2000 | Peugeot 206 WRC | Report | ||
2001 | Citroën Xsara WRC | Report | ||
2002 | Peugeot 206 WRC | Report | ||
2003 | Subaru Impreza WRC2003 | Report | ||
2004 | Ford Focus RS WRC 04 | Report | ||
2005 | Citroën Xsara WRC | Report | ||
2006 | Citroën Xsara WRC | Report | ||
2007 | Citroën C4 WRC | Report | ||
2008 | Citroën C4 WRC | Report | ||
2009* | Peugeot 307 WRC | Report | ||
2010 | Rally cancelled | |||
2011* | Peugeot 207 S2000 | Report | ||
2012* | Mini Cooper S2000 | Report | ||
2013* | Peugeot 207 S2000 | Report | ||
2014* | Ford Fiesta RRC | Report | ||
2015 | Volkswagen Polo R WRC | Report | ||
2016 | Volkswagen Polo R WRC | Report | ||
2017 | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | Report | ||
2018 | Ford Fiesta WRC | Report | ||
2019 | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | Report |
In 1996, due to the World Rally Championship's event rotation system used from 1994–96, the rally counted only for the FIA 2-Litre World Championship for Manufacturers. The 2009 event was part of the France Cup.[2]
*, denotes years when Tour de Corse was not part of the World Rally Championship
Multiple winners
References
External links
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