Historic route of Monte Carlo Rally, Tronåsen, Norway
Written by Britt-Arnhild
I only discovered a couple of days ago that Monte Carlo Rally had, in the past, started in Norway. Now I know :-). From 1931 and for several years after, the rally started in Stavanger, in south west in Norway. After some 120 kilometers the rally reached the hill of Tronåsen, which soon became a dreaded part of the race.
The road up Tronåsen is narrow and steep, creeping up in one hairpin bend after another. When it was built it used to be part of the main road between Stavanger and Oslo. Today it is open only in summer, mostly used by tourists.
We visited Tronåsen the other day, in two cars as there were too many of us to fit in one. My husband drove one of the cars, I drove the other. The roads up are the steepest slopes that I’ve ever driven up, and my husband didn’t feel sure that I would make it. Of course, as soon as I knew that, nothing could stop me :-) So while I drove, my heart beating fast, I had two teenage girls hanging out of the car windows with their cameras, dividing their time between cheering the mother chauffeur and shooting scenic photos.
To reach Tronåsen today, you can fly to Stavanger, take the train to Flekkefjord and there rent a car. Or drive from Stavanger in the southwest or Kristiansand in the south. Along the way there are a lot of possibilities for scenic detours.
More photos here, quite amazing (Norwegian text)
I was intrigued by this excellent article, Britt, and just wonder if you have independent sources (beyond the road sign at Tronasen) that confirm that the Monte Carlo Rally (MCR) started at Stavanger in 1931. The MCR in the early days was really a strange affair, with drivers converging on Provence from all parts of Europe and then competing in a series of set-piece stages taking place along the Riviera coast and in the hills behind Monaco. The rules demanded that participants average 100 miles a day from their home base to the meeting point for the competitive stages in SE France. So that drive to the south, whether it started in Stavanger, Berlin or Paris was really a sort of motoring holiday.
The 1931 winner was Donald Healy and he had certainly started his journey from Stavanger. But I am less sure that entire race started from Stavanger. I would be delighted if you tell me that I am wrong, as it would open up a dimension of the MCR of which I was unaware. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
I think you will find the routes of the Rallye Automobile Monté-Carlo on many roads in the mountains north of Monté Carlo, but surely not in Norway. My grandpère drove in the rally in the 30s, and he started in Genève, so I say we can claim that the little road where he lived was also the rally route in the years when he started. And the name of the event is Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo. Your link confuses it with the Grand Prix automobile de Monté-Carlo. These are not the same event.
Hi Nicky and Claude
Thanks for your responses. I am sorry I don’t know much about this, I am only translating from an info board on top of Tronåsen. I have tried to search the net, but I only find Norwegian sites. Here is one of them:
http://www.bilturer.no/tur.php?id=31
Here is another:
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/sorlandet/1.841825
We have in our possession a Breakfast Menu dated 16 January 1931, signed by the drivers at Sola Strandhyttee, Stavanger. Some of the signatures include de Clifford, H Lovaas, Erland Barrie and many more. Please reply if this information is of any interest.
On the menu is a sign for Tronasen and in the bottom left hand corner is printed Grand Hotel, Victoria Hotel, Stavanger.
Hi David.
Of course it is of interest. Unknown name, but well known places :-)
I love menus, even collect some when I am travelling. Sometimes I have to pay for them, other times I get them for free.