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The Citroën DS 19 at the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally

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Created on February 9, 2011

Reading time 3min

Written by:

Bernhard Brägger

Photos:

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Citroën DS 19 (1965) - Neyret und Terramorsi erreichen den 7. Rang bei der Rallye Monte Carlo

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Citroën DS 19 (1965) - Neyret und Terramorsi fahren ein unauffälliges Rennen an der Rallye Monte Carlo 1965

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Citroën DS 19 (1965) - Ogier und Gavin belegen an der Rallye Monte Carlo 1965 den 12. Rang

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Citroën DS 19 (1965) - Die Frauen Lucette und Pointet erreichen den 25. Rang bei der Rallye Monte Carlo 1965

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Summary

The 1965 Monte Carlo Rally was one of the most difficult in history. Snowstorms and other capricious weather conditions caused many excursions into deep snow. Although the Citroën DS 19 started with good chances, the rally did not end successfully, with the best car finishing in 7th place. Part of this failure was probably self-inflicted.

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

To put it bluntly, the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally was one of the most difficult of all times. An infernal snowstorm raged between St. Claude and Chambéry and the conditions over the three passes of Granier, Cucheron and Porte in the Chartreuse mountains were also extremely difficult. An extremely heavy snowfall almost made the road disappear and caused many trips into the deep snow. There were also numerous retirements due to exceeding the one-hour tolerance on the prescribed total time. Six Citroën DS 19s had started in Minsk, five reached Champéry. One was missing. Joly/Nicol with start number 85, "disguised" as a recording car for French television, packed with cameras and their accessories. Two film operators sat in the back seats! A roll cage was still a foreign word in rallying. Apart from additional lights and tires with hundreds of studs, there were hardly any improvements worth mentioning on the DS 19s for tough rally use.

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