# Tour de Corse

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Motorsporting event first held in 1956

"Rallye de France" redirects here. For the French round of the WRC run during the 2009–2014 seasons, see [Rallye de France–Alsace](/source/Rallye_de_France%E2%80%93Alsace).

Tour de Corse Status Active Genre Motorsporting event Frequency Annual Location Corsica Country France Inaugurated 1956

Gareth Jones driving a [Subaru Impreza WRC](/source/Subaru_Impreza#Motorsports) at the [2008 rally](/source/2008_Tour_de_Corse).

The **Tour de Corse** is a [rally](/source/Rallying) first held in 1956 on the island of [Corsica](/source/Corsica). It was the French round of the [World Rally Championship](/source/World_Rally_Championship) from the inaugural [1973 season](/source/1973_World_Rally_Championship_season) until [2008](/source/2008_World_Rally_Championship_season), was part of the [Intercontinental Rally Challenge](/source/Intercontinental_Rally_Challenge) from 2011 to 2012, and finally returned to WRC in [2015](/source/2015_World_Rally_Championship_season). The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features roads around [Ajaccio](/source/Ajaccio). The rally is held on asphalt roads, and is known as the "Ten Thousand Turns Rally" because of the twisty mountain roads.

Several drivers have been killed during the event, including fatalities at 3 consecutive events. [Attilio Bettega](/source/Attilio_Bettega), driving a [Lancia 037 Rally](/source/Lancia_037), died during the fourth [special stage](/source/Special_stage_(rallying)) of the [1985](/source/1985_World_Rally_Championship_season) rally, *Zérubia-Santa Giulia*. On [May 2, 1986](/source/1986_World_Rally_Championship), exactly a year later, [Henri Toivonen](/source/Henri_Toivonen) and his co-driver [Sergio Cresto](/source/Sergio_Cresto) died in their [Lancia Delta S4](/source/Lancia_Delta_S4) during the 18th stage of the event, *Corte-Taverna*. Almost a year later in 1987, co-driver French Corsican Jean-Michel Argenti and driver Jean Marchini fatally crashed similarly to those before them.

The first running of the rally was won by the Belgian female driver Gilberte Thirion in a [Renault Dauphine](/source/Renault_Dauphine). The abysmal weather—including snowdrifts,sleet and ice in mountain roads and passes—proved too much for powerful heavy cars (including heavily "souped up" Jaguar sedans), while Gilberte Thirion used to the best the light, agile, racing version of the Dauphine and took advantage of its oversteering characteristics of the car to achieve a resounding victory. She is said to have commented her triumph by this tongue-in-cheek statement: "The racing Dauphine: Oh! a fantastic car!: Nothing can stop it, and specially not even its brakes", a joke that would have a very long life.[1]

Two drivers have won the event a record six times; [Bernard Darniche](/source/Bernard_Darniche) (1970, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981) and [Didier Auriol](/source/Didier_Auriol) (1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995). The only non-French drivers to win the event more than once are [Sandro Munari](/source/Sandro_Munari), [Markku Alén](/source/Markku_Al%C3%A9n), [Colin McRae](/source/Colin_McRae) and [Thierry Neuville](/source/Thierry_Neuville).

It has been largely popularized that Toivonen and Cresto's deaths sealed the fate of Group B rallying due to the realization that the cars had too much pure power and lack of containment, proving to be dangerous and potentially fatal to spectators.

## Winners

Season Driver Co-driver Car Series Event report 1956 Gilberte Thirion Nadège Ferrier Renault Dauphine Non Championship Report 1957 Michel Nicol Roger de la Geneste Alfa Romeo Giulietta Report 1958 Guy Monraisse Jacques Feret Renault Dauphine Report 1959 Pierre Orsini Jean-Baptiste Canocini Renault Dauphine Report 1960 Herbert Linge Paul-Ernst Strähle Porsche SC 90 Report 1961 René Trautmann Jean-Claude Ogier Citroën DS19 Report 1962 Pierre Orsini Jean-Baptiste Canocini Renault Dauphine Report 1963 René Trautmann Jean-Claude Ogier Citroën DS19 Report 1964 Jean Vinatier Roger Masson Renault 8 Gordini Report 1965 Pierre Orsini Jean-Baptiste Canocini Renault 8 Gordini Report 1966 Jean-François Piot Jean-François Jacob Renault 8 Gordini Report 1967 Sandro Munari Luciano Lombardini Lancia Fulvia HF Coupé Report 1968 Jean-Claude Andruet Maurice Gelin Alpine-Renault A110 Report 1969 Gérard Larrousse Maurice Gelin Porsche 911 R Report 1970 Bernard Darniche Bernard Demange Alpine-Renault A110 1800 ERC Report 1971 Rally cancelled 1972 Jean-Claude Andruet Michèle 'Biche' Espinosi-Petit Alpine-Renault A110 1800 ERC Report 1973 Jean-Pierre Nicolas Michel Vial Alpine-Renault A110 1800 WRC Report 1974 Jean-Claude Andruet Michèle 'Biche' Espinosi-Petit Lancia Stratos HF Report 1975 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF Report 1976 Sandro Munari Silvio Maiga Lancia Stratos HF Report 1977 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Fiat 131 Abarth Report 1978 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Fiat 131 Abarth Report 1979 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF Report 1980 Jean-Luc Thérier Michel Vial Porsche 911 SC Report 1981 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF Report 1982 Jean Ragnotti Jean-Marc Andrié Renault 5 Turbo Report 1983 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia 037 Rally Report 1984 Markku Alén Ilkka Kivimäki Lancia 037 Rally Report 1985 Jean Ragnotti Pierre Thimonier Renault R5 Maxi Turbo Report 1986 Bruno Saby Jean-François Fauchille Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 Report 1987 Bernard Béguin Jean-Jacques Lenne BMW M3 Report 1988 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Ford Sierra RS Cosworth Report 1989 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta Integrale Report 1990 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta Integrale 16V Report 1991 Carlos Sainz Luís Moya Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 Report 1992 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta HF Integrale Report 1993 François Delecour Daniel Grataloup Ford Escort RS Cosworth Report 1994 Didier Auriol Bernard Occelli[2][3] Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD Report 1995 Didier Auriol Denis Giraudet Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 Report 1996 Philippe Bugalski Jean-Paul Chiaroni Renault Mégane Maxi 2-Litre World Rally Cup Report 1997 Colin McRae Nicky Grist Subaru Impreza WRC 97 WRC Report 1998 Colin McRae Nicky Grist Subaru Impreza WRC 98 Report 1999 Philippe Bugalski Jean-Paul Chiaroni Citroën Xsara Kit Car Report 2000 Gilles Panizzi Hervé Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC Report 2001 Jesús Puras Marc Martí Citroën Xsara WRC Report 2002 Gilles Panizzi Hervé Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC Report 2003 Petter Solberg Phil Mills Subaru Impreza WRC2003 Report 2004 Markko Märtin Michael Park Ford Focus RS WRC 04 Report 2005 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Citroën Xsara WRC Report 2006 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Citroën Xsara WRC Report 2007 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Citroën C4 WRC Report 2008 Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena Citroën C4 WRC Report 2009 Pascal Trojani Francis Mazotti Peugeot 307 WRC France Cup[4] Report 2010 Rally cancelled 2011 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Peugeot 207 S2000 IRC Report 2012 Dani Sordo Carlos del Barrio Mini Cooper S2000 Report 2013 Bryan Bouffier[5] Xavier Panseri Peugeot 207 S2000 ERC Report 2014 Stéphane Sarrazin Jacques-Julien Renucci Ford Fiesta RRC Report 2015 Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Volkswagen Polo R WRC WRC Report 2016 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Volkswagen Polo R WRC Report 2017 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Report 2018 Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC Report 2019 Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Report 2020 Rally not held

### Multiple winners

Wins Driver Years won 6 Bernard Darniche 1970, 1975, 1977–1979, 1981 Didier Auriol 1988–1990, 1992, 1994–1995 4 Sébastien Loeb 2005–2008 3 Pierre Orsini 1959, 1962, 1969 Jean-Claude Andruet 1968, 1972, 1974 Thierry Neuville 2011, 2017, 2019 2 René Trautmann 1961, 1963 Sandro Munari 1967, 1976 Jean Ragnotti 1982, 1985 Markku Alén 1983–1984 Philippe Bugalski 1996, 1999 Colin McRae 1997–1998 Gilles Panizzi 2000, 2002 Sébastien Ogier 2016, 2018

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Les femmes pilotes. Gilberte Thirion : la Belge qui a gagné le premier Tour de Corse"](https://www.lalsace.fr/magazine-automobile/2021/07/11/gilberte-thirion-la-belge-qui-a-gagne-le-premier-tour-de-corse). *www.lalsace.fr* (in French). 2021-07-11. Retrieved 2026-05-02.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Didier Auriol - rally profile eWRC-results.com"](https://www.ewrc-results.com/profile/669-didier-auriol/). *eWRC-results.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Bernard Occelli - rally profile eWRC-results.com"](https://www.ewrc-results.com/coprofile/7380-bernard-occelli/). *eWRC-results.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["results Tour de Corse – Rallye des 10000 Virages 2009"](http://www.ewrc-results.com/final.php?e=859). eWRC-results.com. 8 November 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["56. Tour de Corse 2013 results"](http://www.ewrc-results.com/final.php?e=7310&t=Tour-de-Corse-2013). eWRC-results.com. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Tour de Corse](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tour_de_Corse).

- [Official site](http://www.tourdecorse.com/)

- [Tour de Corse](https://www.ewrc-results.com/events/4/) at eWRC-results

v t e Tour de Corse 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

v t e Rallies in the World Rally Championship (1973–present) Current (2026) Monte Carlo Sweden Kenya Croatia Gran Canaria (Spain) Portugal Japan Greece Estonia Finland Paraguay Chile Sardinia (Italy) Saudi Arabia Future (2027) Roma (Italy) (replacing) Scotland (Great Britain) (new) Former Alsace (France) Arctic (Finland) Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Bulgaria Catalonia (Spain) Central Europe China Côte d'Ivoire Corsica (France) Critérium du Québec (Canada) Cyprus Germany Wales (Great Britain) Indonesia Ireland Jordan Latvia Mexico Morocco Monza (Italy) New Zealand Norway Olympus (USA) Poland Press-on-Regardless (USA) Rideau Lakes (Canada) Sanremo (Italy) Turkey

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tour de Corse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_de_Corse) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_de_Corse?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.