By WILL LYONS
Ruth Tomlinson
The Hôtel de Paris by night
From atop the medieval village of Eze, perched high above the Mediterranean, there is a spectacular panorama overlooking the rocky outcrop of the Côte d’Azur and its shimmering, turquoise waters. Each spring, usually toward the end of May, the stillness of the afternoon is punctured not by the breaking of surf against the coastal ridge but the distant roar of engines emanating from the narrow, twisting streets of Monte Carlo.
Ben Jackson
Duncan Hamilton’s 1952 Jaguar, the first privately owned C-Type, in a Historic Grand Prix.
It is here, beneath the Rock of Monaco, that the world’s fastest drivers gather for the most glamorous fixture in the Formula One calendar: the Monaco Grand Prix. For motor-racing enthusiasts, it is the one race that hasn’t really changed at all. Since 1929, when cars first wove through these narrow streets, the circuit has remained largely the same.
That day, William Grover-Williams, a British driver in a Bugatti, was victorious. Today, drivers still navigate the uphill climb to Casino Square, plunge down to Mirabeau and the Loews Hairpin, before turning into the famous tunnel that runs into the harborside chicane.
It is, says Stirling Moss, who won the Monaco Grand Prix three times between 1956 and 1961, the one that really stands out, the jewel in the motor-racing calendar that attracts not just motoring enthusiasts but a flood of glamorous celebrities, actors and royalty.
JM Follete
Three-time Monaco Grand Prix winner Stirling Moss
“Any driver who knows how to drive will tell you Monaco and the Nürburgring are the two that really matter overall,” says the veteran racer, who is now 82 years old. “There is something very special about it. You are racing in the middle of a town, a town with a lot of history, a very romantic and special place on a fantastic road. It is very demanding. It is a real road, so there is no messing around.”
Although the skyline of the Hôtel de Paris and the Casino de Monte-Carlo is little changed from when the event enjoyed its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s, such is the technological and financial progression of Formula One that today’s cars bear little resemblance to their forebears. Indeed, mechanical engineers say modern cars have more in common with fighter jets than road cars, as they boast a slew of gadgetry to maximize the efficiency of the suspension, brakes and tires.
Moreover, with the increased professionalization of Formula One in recent years, with off-limit paddocks, drivers locked away in motor homes and grandstand tickets at hundreds of euros apiece, the modern meeting is far removed from the informal, carnival atmosphere of decades past.
Which is why, every other year, two weeks ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix, the bustling city echoes with the sound of vintage engines as it plays host to the Monaco Historic Grand Prix—a separate, three-day event, which begins today and ends Sunday, enabling enthusiasts to indulge their nostalgia and re-live what it must have been like to attend the race when drivers such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Graham Hill and Mr. Moss mastered the street circuit. Organized by the Automobile Club de Monaco, the event comprises seven different races that chart the history of Monaco and its famous motor-racing links. These range from races with cars dating back to before 1947, such as vintage Bugattis, to a range of Formula Three cars, including Lotus and Ferrari, that ran from 1971 to 1984.
Ben Jackson
A Formula One series 1974 blue Hesketh 308E and a red 1974 McLaren M23 racing in the 2010 Historic Grand Prix
Michel Ferry, commissioner general of the Automobile Club de Monaco and the event’s organizer, says it represents the relaxed side of modern motor sport, where the racing is as important as the experience. “We first hosted it in 1997 to mark the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi dynasty [the ruling house of Monaco],” he says. “It was such a success, three years later we decided to mark the turning of the century with another meeting, and we have grown it from there.
“I like to think it is what the Monaco Grand Prix was like in the 1960s,” he adds. “Every year it is fabulous. It is magic to smell these cars running exactly how they used to and hear their sound. It is a great atmosphere, because it is exactly the same circuit as 1929, with the same track. But you can speak with the driver, you can touch the car, you can walk in the paddock and the grandstands are not very expensive—€15 on the Sunday for the seven races and children under 15 are free.”
It is this carnival atmosphere that attracts drivers such as Mr. Moss, who, before retiring in 2011, raced in as many Historic Grands Prix as he could, driving cars from a Maserati 250F to his own Jaguar C-Type sports car. “The atmosphere is unbelievable,” he says. “Just from the night before in the Hôtel de Paris, when you walk in passing a line of Lamborghinis and Ferraris lined up outside and beautiful Italian women wearing all the latest fashions. That is what it is all about.”
The track itself, which is identical for both the Formula One and Historic Grands Prix, is one of the most demanding in the world. Running at 3.34 kilometers, it requires drivers to change gear 54 times per lap, or 4,200 times over the course of a 78-lap race. From the starting line, cars accelerate to Sainte Dévote, before racing up toward Beau Rivage, taking a left corner in front of the Hôtel de Paris cutting into Casino Square. From there they slow down to complete the Fairmont Hairpin. Here, they start accelerating into two right corners before turning into the darkness of the tunnel.
JM Follete
Vintage cars zoom through Casino Square
This, says Mr. Moss, is the most difficult corner. “The reason the tunnel is so difficult is because you have to start turning into the corner before you can see the apex, so you can’t really see the exit before you turn in for it,” he says. “I can’t think of any other corner in Formula One racing anywhere at any time where that has been a problem.”
Emerging from the tunnel into the bright sunlight, drivers then have to brake hard to navigate a sharp left-right chicane; this is a notorious accident hot spot. For those who have successfully negotiated it, it is another sprint past many of the harbor’s largest yachts toward La Piscine and the swimming pool that the corner is named after. Here, it is a quick right turn into La Rascasse before a run down into the Boulevard Albert and the finish line.
Ben Jackson
A fire marshall on guard
From a spectator’s point of view, the finish and the start are two of the best standpoints, as are Casino Square and, of course, aboard a yacht sitting in the harbor, with a prime view of the tunnel.
“Everybody is so close,” recalls Mr. Moss. “You can see people’s faces and what they look like. On the descent toward the hairpin, down past Métropole, there used to be a very cute-looking girl who sat down there with pale-pink lipstick. Those sorts of things you pick up on, which you wouldn’t on a normal circuit.”
This year, a slew of famous names will be represented, from Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Brabham and Lotus. Engineer Tom Dark, 38, who has restored a 1936 Bugatti Type 59/50B III for a private client, is taking the vintage car down from his garages in Oxfordshire in the south of England to race in Monaco this year. It is one of the last of the single-seater Bugattis.
Bonhams
The 1963 Ford Falcon Futura Sprint Coupe (estimate: €150,000-€200,000) driven by Bo Ljungfeldt in the Monte Carlo Rally
“We ran it at Goodwood last year and that was the first meeting it had done since 1938. The car ran very well, we came fourth out of 28, and then my customer who owns the car decided he would like to compete in Monaco,” Mr. Dark says. “It is a privilege. I’m nervous because it is a demanding track; there is no room for error. From a driving perspective, it is a very technical and taxing circuit, as there are no runoff areas on the whole circuit, so you have to be 100% all of the time. Because the actual circuit itself hasn’t changed at all, it will be quite nostalgic.”
For Mr. Moss, it is these older generations of cars that are still more entertaining to drive. “I haven’t driven a proper modern car around the course, and I can’t imagine how awful that is,” he says. “From my point of view, being a person who understands the older cars of my era, they handled much better than the modern ones.”
archive AC de Monaco
Michel Ferry, commissioner general of the Automobile Club de Monaco.
To coincide with the weekend, Bonhams auction house is holding a sale this afternoon of vintage cars, including Bugattis, Aston Martins, Maseratis, Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, Alfa Romeos and Facel Vegas. One of the highlights at this year’s auction, held at the Musée des Voitures du Prince in Monte Carlo, is a 1963 Ford Falcon Futura Sprint (estimate: €150,000-€200,000), which is the only car to have won every stage of the Monte Carlo Rally. It will be joined by a 1972 Avanti II Coupé, originally owned by Raymond Loewy, the designer of the Coca-Cola bottle and Air Force One livery (estimate: €35,000-€50,000).
Of course, if you can’t make the races, you can always wait a little and drive the course later yourself. “The circuit itself is so realistic,” recalls Mr. Moss. “I mean, it is a proper road. When I first raced there, they didn’t do any special things with it. They painted the edges of the curb, which meant if you really got going very fast, you could see who was having a go because they would come back with white sidewalls on their car where they had brushed the edge of the curb.”
Back at the Automobile Club de Monaco, Mr. Ferry raises a smile. “Every year Stirling Moss came and he would always drive very fast, always winning and always overtaking,” he laughs.
Write to William Lyons at william.lyons@wsj.com
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