There’s a double bill ahead for car enthusiasts at Monaco this year, with two grands prix around the famous track in May. This season, as happens every second year, the Grand Prix Monaco Historique precedes the world championship Formula 1 Grand Prix by a fortnight. The dates are: GP Historique, Saturday May 1 and Sunday May 2; Formula One, Thursday May 13 to Sunday May 16.
Michel Bouquier, president of the Monaco Government Tourist and Convention Authority has been in Cape Town. He points out that the dates are about two weeks earlier this time than their traditional slots, but he says the weather for both events should be good.
On a trip to promote tourism to the famous principality, M Bouquier stressed that Monaco, while offering “exclusive” accommodation, is actually very affordable taking into account the levels of service. And, as he says, if your budget doesn’t stretch to four or five-star level, it’s very easy to find B ‘n B type accommodation in nearby French towns and commute to the race. For example, Nice is just 10 minutes away by train…
Chatting to M Bouquier brought back memories of the only time I’ve attended this world-famous race. It was 1983, the year Keke Rosberg in his normally aspirated Williams-Cosworth socked it to the turbo Renaults and Brabham-BMWs (Alain Prost had put his Renault on pole), taking a dramatic victory some 18 seconds ahead of Piquet. I still remember the cars flashing by less than a metre away from me as they headed up the hill from Ste Dévote – back then, as a journalist, I was allowed right up to the armco barrier – and the muffled roar as they headed through the tunnel.
With my memories of past races, perhaps the Grand Prix Historique might be even more interesting, but I must say I still get butterflies as the cars rev up for the start of a modern F1 race. So, historic or modern, I must make a plan to get back to Monaco sometime soon!