Break? What break? WRC needs no break! Test videos instead

Deep down, under all the ice and snow, Monte Carlo Rally is Just Another Tarmac Rally, thousands of corners, narrow sections, uphills and downhill, but only on tarmac. However, due to its January schedule, Monte Carlo Rally rarely is just another tarmac rally. In fact, if this event had just one stage on gravel, it would be the most universal rally of all times, featuring everything in one event; tarmac (dry, wet), gravel, snow, slush, ice, it’s all there. For now, and hopefully forever, Monte does not need gravel stages, because it is perfectly damn varied as it is, thank you very much. You can test for Sardinia by driving on gravel. You can test for Wales by driving in mud, but how on earth do you test and prepare for Monte Carlo and it’s 15489587 possible variations of road conditions and weather? Well, you can go all cheap about it and pretend like snow and black ice do not exist, so testing on dry tarmac is all you need, but top teams and top crews don’t have the luxury of not being prepared for any and every imaginable scenario. So they test on dry tar, on wet tar, on icy tar, on snowy tar, on snow with no tar, on tar with some ice, on snow with ice and some tar maybe…

In Monte Carlo Rally, there is one, well okay, two words spoken more often than even the infamous “for sure” phrase. It’s tyre choice, coupled with roulette – if you don’t use those, you’re not trying hard enough. After all, it is all about tyre choice in Monte, for its various conditions are comparable to a real game of roulette. See?

Anyway, below you can find some videos made by WRC fans, featuring WRC teams and crews testing. Just by looking at those videos you would think they’re preparing for at least 5 different events, but no, it’s Monte. Glorious horror of not knowing what to put on your car’s wheels Monte. Long live our season opener!