Rally Monte Carlo 1963 - Ljungfeldt and the Ford Falcon
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Summary
In 1963, Eric Carlsson repeats his victory from the previous year at the Monte Carlo Rally. But it was Bo Ljungfeldt in the powerful Ford Falcon who really impressed.
Estimated reading time: 3min
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In 1962, the young Scandinavians left their mark for the first time, modestly, almost shyly. Now, in 1963, they were shaking the thrones of the established gentlemen and the first, French, English and Germans, were already tumbling down. Toivonen came second, Aaltonen third, Dahl eighth and Andersson ninth. To be able to drive the first of the seven special stages in 1963, you need to be lucky with your choice of starting location. Paris is no problem, nor is Stockholm. But nobody from Athens showed up at the assembly point in Chambéry. No one from Lisbon either. They are all stuck in the snow. For the "survivors", the shared route now begins. 150 kilometers at full throttle over the Granier, Cucheron and Porte passes in the Chartreuse mountains, the Col de Roche and the Turini in the Maritime Alps and Mont Ventoux is also declared a special stage. One rider shows the way. Bo Ljungfeldt with Gunnar Häggbom, Carlsson's former co-driver and now the first full professional on the hot seat. They have fallen hopelessly behind in an embouteillage before St. Gervais. Driven by anger, Ljungfeldt now lets the Ford Falcon (V8, 4.2 liters, a whopping 250 hp) fly to the delight of the 100 journalists who had flown in from the States. The competition is left with nothing but tears. He sets the best time on every special stage - but the gap cannot be closed. Once again, Eric Carlsson with his new co-driver Gunnar Palm and his Saab crossed the finish line in first place ahead of Pauli Toivonen/ Anssi Jarvi in a Citroen DS 19. Rauno Aaltonen showed the potential of the new Mini Cooper S with 3rd place.
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