Thursday, February 02, 2006

Snow, Snow, Quick, Quick, Snow...

Now it's pretty clear why progress was erratic for so many participants on the Monte Carlo Historique rally. Just look at these conditions:

977 ARX
Peter Barker and Willy Cave plow through very slushy conditions on their way from St Etienne to Gap in their ex-Works Morris Mini Cooper.

911 out of shape
A 911 goes off -another victim of "Porsche pendulum effect".

Citroen Maserati
A Citroen Maserati SM gets out of shape, blocks the road and causes a traffic jam (I bet that crew was popular!).

Citroen Light 15
A venerable Citroen Light 15 gets a helping hand from spectators.

Renault Alpine
Rear engined Alpine Renaults thrived in these conditions (BTW, just look at the negative camber on rear wheels).

Fiat Abarth
A Fiat Abarth 124 storms along despite the treacherous conditions.


Fiat 500
A tiny Fiat 500 maintains good traction unlike the macho Austin Healey 3000.

Lancia Fulvia
A Lancia Fulvia HF 1600 struggles for grip. Note to co-driver: Dude, your car is frontwheel drive and I think it would be better if you sat on the bonnet...!

Porsche 914
The mid-engine weight distribution of the Porsche-VW 914s gave them a huge advantage.

Mini 330
The MkII Innocenti Mini of Laloge and Borremans placed 38th overall -the highest of all the Coopers. I would say from this picture that they are using 13" diameter wheels; 12" at minimum. It's easier to get snow tyres for these larger diameters but as far as I know only the original 10" wheels are homologated and thus legal.


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