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Rally Monte Carlo 1981 - Dedicated to all amateur racers

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Created on January 21, 2011

Text:

Bernhard Brägger

Photos:

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Rally Monte Carlo 1981 - Private drivers Brägger/Kruit achieve 3rd place in Group 2 up to 1300 cc with the Alfasud Ti (here at the Col de Porte)

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Rally Monte Carlo 1981 - Alfasud Ti in Fayolle

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Talbot Sunbeam Lotus - Fréquelin:Todt finished second in the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus at the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally

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Daihatsu Charade - Chapuis and Bernasconi in a Daihatsu at the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally

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Porsche 911 Carrera - Porsche 911 Carrera at the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally

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Opel Ascona 400 - Kleint and Wanger came third with the Ascona 400 at the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally

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Kleber at the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally - The tires used by Kléber for the Audi Quattro at the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally

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Rallye Monte Carlo 1981 - Alfasud Ti in Fayolle

Talbot Sunbeam Lotus - Fréquelin:Todt wurden auf dem Talbot Sunbeam Lotus am Rallye Monte Carlo 1981 Zweite

Daihatsu Charade - Chapuis und Bernasconi auf einem Daihatsu beim Rallye Monte Carlo 1981

Porsche 911 Carrera - Porsche 911 Carrera am Rallye Monte Carlo 1981

Opel Ascona 400 - Kleint und Wanger wurden Dritte mit dem Ascona 400 am Rallye Monte Carlo 1981

Kleber an der Rallye Monte Carlo 1981 - Die von Kléber eingesetzten Reifen für den Audi Quattro beim Rallye Monte Carlo 1981

Summary

The 1981 Monte Carlo Rally was won by Jean Ragnotti in a Renault R5 Turbo. The star of this chapter, however, is the author himself, who took part as an amateur racer in an Alfa-Romeo Alfasud 1300 ti and achieved third place in his category.

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

It all started in a bar in Chur. But neither beer nor drinks for "hard men" were responsible for the decision to drive the Monte. We only realized that on that October day in 1980 we had neither a suitable vehicle nor enough pocket money when we turned Peter's garage upside down. Apart from a souped-up 1300cc Alfa Sud engine, we couldn't find any other usable parts. Peter was a hobby racer like me, and yet he decided to take on the co-driver's job and promised to criticize my driving style as little as possible. I still give him credit for that today. Barely an hour after the decision, luck smiled on us for the first time. An Alfa dealer gave us a used Alfasud Ti. As the saying goes: don't look a gift horse in the mouth! So dents and scratches were of little concern to us. The time pressure did. Colleagues installed the engine, gearbox and roll cage, constructed a usable handbrake on the rear axle and what a luxury - we afforded ourselves an intercom system. Between Christmas and New Year - much to the delight of our wives and children - we reeled off all the special tests in France, wrote the prayer book on the first run and checked the notes on the second. There was no third!

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