The Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, known in English as the Historic Monte-Carlo Rally, has been cancelled in the face of increasingly tighter coronavirus-related restrictions in France.

The extension of the French curfew to 18:00 across all of the departments on the route of the rally has been a major blow on plans for it to go ahead. This, and the subsequent closure of accommodation infrastructure, has lead the event’s Organising Committee to decide to cancel the 24th edition of the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique.

In an official press release by the Automobile Club de Monaco, it’s General Commissioner Christian Tornatore said “We have special thoughts tonight for all our friends, be them competitors, marshals, volunteers, partners or elected persons, who are impacted by this cancellation… However, we really had no other choice available.”

Additionally to this, the fifth Rallye Monte-Carlo Classique has also been cancelled for the same reasons. The ‘Classique’ version was due to start on February 1 and last until February 3, unlike the older ‘Historique’ rally which would have ran from January 30 until February. Unfortunately, both rallies have met the same fate.

However, fans can still look forward to the main event, the 89th Monte-Carlo Rally, which starts from Gap on Thursday, January 21.

Featured image courtesy of the Automobile Club de Monaco’s archives