1999 Monte Carlo Rally

1999 Monte Carlo Rally 67th Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo
Round 1 of 14 in the 1999 World Rally Championship ← Previous event Next event →
Carlos Sainz Sr. and Luis Moya's Toyota Corolla WRC
Host country	Monaco
Rally base	Monte Carlo
Dates run	18 – 20 January 1999
Stages	14 (424.69 km; 263.89 miles)[1]
Stage surface	Tarmac, Snow
Transport distance	1,188.51 km (738.51 miles)
Overall distance	1,613.20 km (1,002.40 miles)
Statistics
Crews registered	86
Crews	86 at start, 46 at finish
Overall results
Overall winner	Tommi Makinen Risto Mannisenmaki Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart 5:16:50.6

The 1999 Monte Carlo Rally (formally known as the Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 1999) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over three days between 18 and 20 January 1999. It marked the 67th running of the Monte Carlo Rally, and was the first round of the 1999 World Rally Championship season.^[2] The 1999 event was based in the city-state of Monaco and was contested over fourteen special stages, covering a total competitive distance of 424.69km (263.89 miles).

Tommi Makinen was the defending world rally champion, as was Team Mitsubishi Ralliart. Peugeot Esso would not compete in the event. The Ford Motor Co Ltd entries would be excluded from the final results after an illegal water pump was discovered.

Makinen, along with co-driver Risto Mannisenmaki won the rally, their first win since the 1998 Rally Australia, putting them in the lead of the championship.^[3]

The following crews were set to enter the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, as well as privateer entries that were not registered to score points in the manufacturer's championship. Twelve were entered under Group A regulations to compete in the World Rally Championship's Manufacturers' Championship.^[4]

Group A entries competing in the World Rally Championship

No.	Driver	Co-Driver	Entrant	Car	Tyre
1	Tommi Makinen	Risto Mannisenmaki	Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI	M
2	Freddy Loix	Sven Smeets	Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI	M
3	Carlos Sainz Sr.	Luis Moya	Toyota Castrol Team	Toyota Corolla WRC	M
4	Didier Auriol	Denis Giraudet	Toyota Castrol Team	Toyota Corolla WRC	M
5	Richard Burns	Robert Reid	Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza S5 WRC 99	P
6	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Repo	Subaru World Rally Team	Impreza WRC 2006	P
7	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist	Ford Motor Co Ltd	Ford Focus WRC 99	M
8	Simon Jean-Joseph	Fred Gallagher	Ford Motor Co Ltd	Ford Focus WRC 99	M
9	Harri Rovanpera	Risto Pietilainen	SEAT Sport	SEAT Cordoba WRC	P
10	Piero Liatti	Carlo Cassina	SEAT Sport	SEAT Cordoba WRC	P
11	Armin Schwarz	Manfred Hiemer	Skoda Motorsport	Skoda Octavia WRC	M
12	Pavel Sibera	Petr Gross	Skoda Motorsport	Skoda Octavia WRC	M

All dates and times are CET (UTC+1).

Date	No.	Time span	Stage name	Distance
17 January		14:20	Service A, La Scoperta	—
		18:40	Service B, Tallard	—
18 January		8:00	Service C, Tallard	—
	SS1	8:30	Plan de Vitrolles - Faye	48.28 km
		9:41	Service D, Laragne	—
	SS2	10:41	L'Epine - Rosans	31.15 km
		12:20	Service E, Buis-les-Baronnies	—
	SS3	13:16	Ruissas - Eygalayes	27.56 km
		15:12	Service F, Tallard	—
	SS4	16:18	Prunieres - Embrun	33.82 km
	SS5	17:20	St. Clement - St. Saveur	20.35 km
		18:47	Service G, Tallard	—
19 January		7:30	Service H, Tallard	—
	SS6	8:21	BIF. C1/D1 - Bayons	32.52 km
		9:52	Service I, Tallard	—
	SS7	11:05	Sisteron - Thoard	36.72 km
		13:19	Service J, St Andre les Alpes	—
	SS8	14:26	Entrevaux - St. Pierre	30.73 km
		16:36	Service K, La Scoperta	—
	SS9	17:46	Sospel - La Bollene 1	33.65 km
	SS10	18:37	Lantosque - Luceram 1	20.87 km
		19:39	Service L, La Scoperta	—
20 January		7:20	Service M, La Scoperta	—
	SS11	8:20	Sospel - La Bollene 2	33.65 km
	SS12	9:11	Lantosque - Luceram 2	20.87 km
		10:28	Service N, La Scoperta	—
	SS13	11:23	Sospel - La Bollene 3	33.65 km
	SS14	12:14	Lantosque - Luceram 3	20.87 km
		13:16	Service O, La Scoperta	—
Source:[5]

The drama began before the first stage, as Schwarz' Skoda suffered clutch issues before even making it to the ceremonial start ramp. As a result, Skoda pulled out both of their cars before the event began.

Monday's stages would be covered by an overcast and scattered rain showers would permeate the day. Makinen would start the day with the lead despite some minor brake issues experienced in the first stage. Sainz would go off the road in the first corner, damaging his car and causing a retirement later in the stage. Auriol and Burns would also suffer damage in the first stage, but would make it through. Mitsubishi driver Loix would also retire in the first stage, bringing the Mitsubishi and Toyota's numbers down to one each. McRae suffered from a fire in the first stage, but was able to continue. He would later suffer from a broken windscreen when he hit a group of spectators. Meanwhile, it was privateer Panizzi who was challenging Makinen for the lead, and he would take it by stage 4 and end the day with it, while McRae would take the win in the final two stages of the day.

Saturday would be a battle of tyre choice, as Makinen claimed Panizzi had made a better choice than him. But on stage 8, Panizzi would run into both mechanical and driving issues, while Makinen got the tyre choice right, leading to Makinen taking the lead back on the stage. The final two stages of the day would be run at night, atop the famous Col de Turini. Multiple drivers, especially non-French drivers, complained about spectators throwing snow on the road. Makinen would lead at the end of the day.

Sunday would start with Panizzi retiring from the event on the first stage after sliding on black ice and flipping the car; the damage was too severe to continue. McRae would get a stage win, but the progress would be undone by transmission issues rendering his Subaru front-wheel drive for stage 11. Didier Auriol would take two stage wins on the day, moving him up the order. Stage 13 would be the first ever stage win for SEAT, taken by Rovanpera. But in the end, it would be Makinen with the win. The Fords would later be disqualified from the event due to an illegal water pump, promoting Auriol to third.

Position	No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Time	Difference	Points
1	1	Tommi Makinen	Risto Mannisenmaki	Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI	5:16:50.6	0.0	10
2	6	Juha Kankkunen	Juha Repo	Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza S5 WRC 99	5:18:35.3	+1:44.7	6
3	4	Didier Auriol	Denis Giraudet	Toyota Castrol Team	Toyota Corolla WRC	5:20:43.4	+3:52.8	4
4	19	Francois Delecour	Dominique Savignoni	Francois Delecour	Ford Escort WRC	5:20:51.8	+4:01.2	3
5	16	Bruno Thiry	Stephane Prevot	Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza S5 WRC 99	5:20:53.1	+4:02.5	2
6	10	Piero Liatti	Carlo Cassina	SEAT Sport	SEAT Cordoba WRC	5:23:48.7	+6:58.1	1
7	9	Harri Rovanpera	Risto Pietilainen	SEAT Sport	SEAT Cordoba WRC	5:23:52.9	+7:02.3	0
8	5	Richard Burns	Robert Reid	Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru Impreza S5 WRC 99	5:26:15.2	+9:24.6	0
9	21	Henrik Luundgaard	Freddy Pedersen	Henrik Luundgaard	Toyota Corolla WRC	5:30:56.8	+14:06.2	0
10	27	Marc Duez	Philippe Dupuy	Team Gamma	Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo V	5:43:31.2	+26:40.6	0
11	31	Luca Pedersoli	Nadia Mazzon	Luca Pedersoli	Toyota Celica GT-Four (ST205)	5:46:49.1	+29:58.5	0
12	18	Gustavo Trelles	Martin Christie	Ralliart Italia	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V	5:51:07.7	+34:17.1	0
13	20	Isolde Holderied	Catherine Fracois	Toyota Castrol Team	Toyota Corolla WRC	5:53:09.9	+36:19.3	0
14	24	Toni Gardemeister	Paavo Lukander	Toni Gardemeister	SEAT Ibiza Kit Car Evo2	5:53:50.3	+36:59.7	0
15	29	Christophe Spiliotis	Herve Thibaud	Christophe Spiliotis	Subaru Impreza WRX	5:54:59.7	+38:09.1	0
16	64	Christophe Arnaud	Stephane Arnaud	Christophe Arnaud	Subaru Impreza WRX	5:55:41.5	+38:50.9	0
17	38	Andrea Maselli	Nicola Arena	Andrea Maselli	Renault Clio Maxi	5:58:30.9	+41:40.3	0
18	34	Richard Frau	Dominique Le Corre	Richard Frau	Mazda 323 GT-R	6:02:23.9	+45:33.3	0
19	67	Ferran Font	Joan Sureda	Ferran Font	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V	6:03:22.8	+46:32.2	0
20	84	David Truphemus	Pascal Saivre	David Truphemus	Peugeot 306 S16	6:13:16.3	+56:25.7	0
21	80	Horst Rotter	Volker Schmidt	Horst Rotter	Opel Astra GSi 16V	6:14:36.0	+57:45.4	0
22	39	Patrice Rouit	Dominique Lamy	Patrice Rouit	Citroen ZX 16V	6:14:43.1	+57:45.4	0
23	54	Giandomenico Basso	Flavio Guglielmini	Giandomenico Basso	Fiat Seicento	6:15:43.2	+58:52.6	0
24	78	Frederic Maniccia	Richard Thaon	Frederic Maniccia	Renault Clio Williams	6:20:30.4	+1:03:39.8	0
25	51	Peter Zehetmaier	Bernd Marx	Peter Zehetmaier	Fiat Seicento	6:21:30.0	+1:04:39.4	0
26	58	Iaveris Jr.	Konstantinos Stefanis	Iaveris Jr.	Fiat Seicento	6:21:59.7	+1:05:09.1	0
27	65	Raffaello Fidanza	Flavio Guglielmini	Raffaello Fidanza	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V	6:26:00.7	+1:09:10.1	0
28	87	Jurgen Barth	Jean-Claude Perramond	Jurgen Barth	Subaru Vivio RX-R	6:26:11.3	+1:09:20.7	0
29	87	Pieter Tsjoen	Steven Vergalle	Pieter Tsjoen	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV	6:26:18.3	+1:09:27.7	0
30	52	Jader Vagnini	Silvio Stefanelli	Jader Vagnini	Fiat Seicento	6:27:22.8	+1:10:32.2	0
31	79	Christian Grillerer	Stephane Cambou	Christian Grillerer	Honda Integra Type-R	6:27:35.9	+1:10:45.3	0
32	72	Marco Menegatto	Enrico Brazzoli	Marco Menegatto	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V	6:31:28.1	+1:14:37.5	0
33	36	Bernard Jaussaud	Alain Bertrand	Bernard Jaussaud	Renault Clio Williams	6:34:21.7	+1:17:31.1	0
34	55	Roel Fassbender	Bart Hissink	Roel Fassbender	Fiat Seicento	6:35:08.6	+1:18:18.0	0
35	47	Jerome Vergerpion	Frederic Mlynarczyk	Jerome Vergerpion	Citroen Saxo VTS	6:35:10.8	+1:18:20.2	0
36	71	Bob Colsoul	Tom Colsoul	Bob Colsoul	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V	6:38:19.7	+1:21:29.1	0
37	49	Massimo Caccato	Andrea Signorotto	Massimo Caccato	Fiat Seicento	6:38:22.9	+1:21:32.3	0
38	77	Jean-Pierre Roche	Christophe Preve	Jean-Pierre Roche	Renault Clio 16S	6:43:46.9	+1:26:56.3	0
39	37	Peter Bosse	Andreas von Skopnik	Peter Bosse	Opel Astra GSi 16V	6:48:07.5	+1:31:16.9	0
40	85	Jacques Molbert	Christophe Sonnois	Jacques Molbert	Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9	6:53:46.9	+1:36:56.3	0
41	83	Gerard Mosson	Jean-Luc Pomi	Gerard Mosson	Renault Clio Williams	6:54:11.9	+1:37:21.3	0
42	89	Pascal Allemand	Eric Barthelemy	Pascal Allemand	Citroen AX GTI	6:58:31.4	+1:41:40.8	0
43	57	Giusy Tocco	Ingrid Salton	Giusy Tocco	Fiat Seicento	7:01:56.7	+1:45:06.1	0
44	41	Mickael De Castelli	Michel Robinet	Mickael De Castelli	Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9	7:04:53.6	+1:48:03.0	0
45	88	Gabriele Cadringher	Gianfranco Serembre	Gabriele Cadringher	Subaru Vivio RX-R	7:41:04.5	+2:24:13.9	0
46	50	Patrick Robert	Marie-Francoise Pastor	Patrick Robert	Peugeot 106 XSi	7:41:13.7	+2:24:23.1	0
Retired SS14	7	Colin McRae	Nicky Grist	Ford Motor Co Ltd	Ford Focus WRC 99	Excluded - Water Pump		0
Retired SS14	8	Simon Jean-Joseph	Fred Gallagher	Ford Motor Co Ltd	Ford Focus WRC 99	Excluded - Water Pump		0
Retired SS13	60	Eric Ballaire	Bruno Beillevaire	Eric Ballaire	Fiat Cinquecento Sporting	Retired		0
Retired SS13	70	Richard Hein	Philippe Serval	Richard Hein	Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo V	Engine		0
Retired SS13	81	Miguel Baudoin	Eric Mattei	Miguel Baudoin	Renault Clio Williams	Retired		0
Retired SS11	17	Gilles Panizzi	Herve Panizzi	Gilles Panizzi	Subaru Impreza S5 WRC 98	Accident		0
Retired SS11	62	Yves Loubet	Bruno Brissart	Yves Loubet	Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo V	Engine		0
Retired SS10	61	Maurizio Verini	Roberto Cancelli	Maurizio Verini	Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo V	Retired		0
Retired SS9	30	Fabrizio Tabaton	Nicola Gullino	Fabrizio Tabaton	Toyota Corolla WRC	Retired		0
Retired SS9	33	Frederic Schmit	Gilles Thimonier	Frederic Schmit	Subaru Impreza 555	Accident		0
Retired SS9	44	Alain Pellerey	Jose Boyer	Alain Pellerey	Citroen Saxo	Retired		0
Retired SS8	35	Hans-Josef Weber	Ludwing Ruhl	Hans-Josef Weber	Mazda 323 GT-R	Gearbox		0
Retired SS8	45	Michel Farnaud	Thierry Giraud	Hans-Josef Weber	Mazda 323 GT-R	Gearbox		0
Retired SS7	69	Franck Metiffiot	Christian Caffardo	Franck Metiffiot	Subaru Impreza GT	Retired		0
Retired SS6	32	Franck Phillips	Laurent Gallibert	Franck Phillips	Ford Escort WRC	Retired		0
Retired SS5	22	Andrea Dallavilla	Danilo Fappani	Andrea Dallavilla	Subaru Impreza S5 WRC 98	Clutch		0
Retired SS5	23	Philippe Bugalski	Jean-Paul Chiaroni	Automobiles Citroen	Citroen Saxo	Driveshaft		0
Retired SS5	56	Romeo Zunino	Mauro Coscia	Romeo Zunino	Peugeot 106 XSi	Retired		0
Retired SS5	74	Jean Forti	Christophe Ponset	Jean Forti	Subaru Impreza WRX	Mechanical		0
Retired SS5	86	Jean Vinatier	Georges Houel	Jean Vinatier	Subaru Vivio RX-R	Mechanical		0
Retired SS4	42	Nicolas Ressegaire	Regis Ressegaire	Nicolas Ressegaire	Peugeot 306	Retired		0
Retired SS2	82	Marc Dessi	Vanessa Dessi	Marc Dessi	Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9	Retired		0
Retired SS1	2	Freddy Loix	Sven Smeets	Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI	Accident		0
Retired SS1	3	Carlos Sainz Sr.	Luis Moya	Toyota Castrol Team	Toyota Corolla WRC	Accident		0
Retired SS1	11	Armin Schwarz	Manfred Hiemer	Skoda Motorsport	Skoda Octavia WRC	Clutch		0
Retired SS1	12	Pavel Sibera	Petr Gross	Skoda Motorsport	Skoda Octavia WRC	Driveshaft		0
Retired SS1	25	Jesus Puras	Marc Marti	Automobiles Citroen	Citroen Saxo	Accident		0
Retired SS1	26	Manfred Stohl	Peter Muller	Manfred Stohl	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V	Accident		0
Retired SS1	28	Luis Climent Asensio	Alex Romani	Vallencia Terra y Mar	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V	Accident		0
Retired SS1	40	Gilles Chevalier	Robert Patti	Gilles Chevalier	Renault Clio Williams	Mechanical		0
Retired SS1	43	Frank Post	Bertram Schwalie	Frank Post	Citroen Saxo	Accident		0
Retired SS1	46	Hilde Henry	Christina Hanemann	Hilde Henry	Citroen Saxo	Mechanical		0
Retired SS1	48	Jacek Sikora	Marek Kaczmarek	Jacek Sikora	Fiat Seicento	Accident		0
Retired SS1	53	Daniel Lessantini	Fabrice Roux	Daniel Lessantini	Peugeot 106 XSi	Accident		0
Retired SS1	59	Stefano Macaluso	Giovanni Bernacchini	Stefano Macaluso	Fiat Cinquecento	Accident		0
Retired SS1	63	Bruno Marcon	Jean-Francois Cavarero	Bruno Marcon	Ford Escort RS Cosworth	Retired		0
Retired SS1	68	Philippe Brun	Pascal Grange	Philippe Brun	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV	Excluded		0
Retired SS1	73	Nigel Heath	Chris Patterson	Nigel Heath	Subaru Impreza WRX	Accident		0
Retired SS1	75	Lilian Polge	Alain Bonnet	Lilian Polge	Ford Escort RS Cosworth	Excluded		0
Retired SS1	76	Serge Guiramand	Jacques Clavel	Serge Guiramand	Renault Clio Williams	Accident		0

All dates and times are CET (UTC+1).

Day	Stage	Time	Name	Length (km)	Winner	Time	Rally leader
1 18 Jan	SS1	8:30	Plan de Vitrolles - Faye	48.28	Tommi Makinen	34:36.4	Tommi Makinen
	SS2	10:41	L'Epine - Rosans	31.15	Bruno Thiry	19:59.6
	SS3	13:16	Ruissas - Eygalayes	27.56	Gilles Panizzi	18:50.3
	SS4	16:18	Prunieres - Embrun	33.82	Colin McRae	20:50.3	Gilles Panizzi
	SS5	17:20	St. Clement - St. Saveur	20.35	Colin McRae	13:58.0
2 19 Jan	SS6	8:21	BIF. C1/D1 - Bayons	32.52	Gilles Panizzi	24:13.1
	SS7	11:05	Sisteron - Thoard	36.72	Tommi Makinen	25:43.4
	SS8	14:26	Entrevaux - St. Pierre	30.73	Juha Kankkunen	23:58.4	Tommi Makinen
	SS9	17:46	Sospel - La Bollene 1	33.65	Tommi Makinen	27:20.1
	SS10	18:37	Lantosque - Luceram 1	20.87	Colin McRae	15:22.7
3 20 Jan	SS11	08:20	Sospel - La Bollene 2	33.65	Didier Auriol	28:06.2
	SS12	9:11	Lantosque - Luceram 2	20.87	Colin McRae	15:43.2
	SS13	11:23	Sospel - La Bollene 3	33.65	Harri Rovanpera	26:53.4
	SS14	12:14	Lantosque - Luceram 3	20.87	Didier Auriol	15:19.0

Pos.		Drivers' Championship				Manufacturers' Championship
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points
1			Tommi Makinen	10			Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart	10
2			Juha Kankkunen	6			Subaru World Rally Team	7
3			Didier Auriol	4			SEAT Sport	5
4			Francois Delecour	3			Toyota Castrol Team	4
5			Bruno Thiry	2

• Results at eWRC.com
• Results at Jonkka's World Rally Archive
• Maps at Rally Maps