It is a new season and a classic Rally to start it off. This will be the 28th time Monte Carlo has been a part of WRC Driver's Championship. It has always been the Rally Automoble - Monte Carlo (or derivitive like "de" Monte Carlo). It was rotated out of the Championship for 1996 season and instead hosted a Formula 2 category event.

Rally Monte Carlo has been the opening event of WRC Driver's Championship every edition except 1989 when it was Round 2 (behind Sweden).

Debut WRC victories claimed on Monte Carlo:

1981 - Jean Ragnotti (FRA) in Renault 5 Turbo
1997 - Piero Liatti (ITA) in Subaru Impreza WRC

Tommi Mäkinen won this event 4 times in a row (1999-2002), Walter Röhrl won the event 4 out of 5 years (1980, 1982-1984).

Driver's Stats (Top 30)

Points
1 Carlos Sainz (ESP) 120
2 Walter Röhrl (GER) 117
3 Juha Kankkunen (FIN) 102
4 Massimo Biasion (ITA) 100
5 François Delecour (FRA) 81
6 Didier Auriol (FRA) 79
7 Hannu Mikkola (FIN) 67
7 Bruno Saby (FRA) 67
9 Tommi Mäkinen (FIN) 56
10 Timo Salonen (FIN) 48
11 Bernard Darniche (FRA) 45
12 Sébastien Loeb (FRA) 44
13 Henri Toivonen (FIN) 40
14 Stig Blomqvist (SWE) 37
15 Armin Schwarz (GER) 35
16 Markku Alén (FIN) 34
16 Jean Ragnotti (FRA) 34
18 Björn Waldegård (SWE) 30
19 Ari Vatanen (FIN) 29
20 Kenneth Eriksson (SWE) 28
20 Guy Fréquelin (FRA) 28
22 Jean-Luc Thérier (FRA) 22
22 Bruno Thiry (BEL) 22
24 Marcus Grönholm (FIN) 21
25 Anders Kulläng (SWE) 20
26 Toni Gardemeister (FIN) 19
26 Jochi Kleint (GER) 19
28 Markko Märtin (EST) 18
29 Piero Liatti (ITA) 17
30 Jean-Claude Andruet (FRA) 16
30 Alex Fiorio (ITA) 16
30 Colin McRae (GBR) 16

Points Finishes
1 Juha Kankkunen (FIN) 11
2 Carlos Sainz (ESP) 11
3 Massimo Biasion (ITA) 9
4 François Delecour (FRA) 8
4 Bruno Saby (FRA) 8
6 Tommi Mäkinen (FIN) 7
6 Walter Röhrl (GER) 7
6 Timo Salonen (FIN) 7
6 Armin Schwarz (GER) 7
10 Hannu Mikkola (FIN) 6
10 Bruno Thiry (BEL) 6
12 Didier Auriol (FRA) 5
12 Sébastien Loeb (FRA) 5
14 Markku Alén (FIN) 4
14 Bernard Darniche (FRA) 4
14 Kenneth Eriksson (SWE) 4
14 Toni Gardemeister (FIN) 4
14 Marcus Grönholm (FIN) 4
14 Piero Liatti (ITA) 4
14 Colin McRae (GBR) 4
14 Jean Ragnotti (FRA) 4
14 Henri Toivonen (FIN) 4
23 Jean-Claude Andruet (FRA) 3
23 Stig Blomqvist (SWE) 3
23 Guy Fréquelin (FRA) 3
23 Jochi Kleint (GER) 3
23 Freddy Loix (BEL) 3
23 Markko Märtin (EST) 3
23 Alain Oreille (FRA) 3
23 Christophe Spiliotis (MC) 3
23 Ari Vatanen (FIN) 3
23 Björn Waldegård (SWE) 3

Wins
1 Tommi Mäkinen (FIN) 4
1 Walter Röhrl (GER) 4
3 Didier Auriol (FRA) 3
3 Sébastien Loeb (FRA) 3
3 Carlos Sainz (ESP) 3
6 Massimo Biasion (ITA) 2
7 Bernard Darniche (FRA) 1
7 François Delecour (FRA) 1
7 Marcus Grönholm (FIN) 1
7 Piero Liatti (ITA) 1
7 Jean Ragnotti (FRA) 1
7 Bruno Saby (FRA) 1
7 Henri Toivonen (FIN) 1
7 Ari Vatanen (FIN) 1

Podiums
1 Carlos Sainz (ESP)
2 Juha Kankkunen (FIN)
3 Walter Röhrl (GER)
4 Didier Auriol (FRA)
4 Massimo Biasion (ITA)
4 François Delecour (FRA)
4 Sébastien Loeb (FRA)
4 Tommi Mäkinen (FIN)
9 Hannu Mikkola (FIN)
10 Markku Alén (FIN)
10 Stig Blomqvist (SWE)
10 Bernard Darniche (FRA)
10 Toni Gardemeister (FIN)
10 Colin McRae (GBR)
10 Bruno Saby (FRA)
10 Timo Salonen (FIN)
10 Björn Waldegård (SWE)
18 Jean-Pierre Ballet (FRA)
18 François Duval (BEL)
18 Alex Fiorio (ITA)
18 Guy Fréquelin (FRA)
18 Marcus Grönholm (FIN)
18 Jochi Kleint (GER)
18 Piero Liatti (ITA)
18 Markko Märtin (EST)
18 Gilles Panizzi (FRA)
18 Jean Ragnotti (FRA)
18 Jean-Luc Thérier (FRA)
18 Henri Toivonen (FIN)
18 Ari Vatanen (FIN)

By Manufacturer

Points
1 Lancia 378
2 Ford 242
3 Toyota 158
4 Audi 155
5 Peugeot 123
6 Mitsubishi 105
7 Renault 88
8 Subaru 87
9 Opel 76
10 Fiat 72
11 Citroën 66
12 Porsche 37
13 Mazda 31
14 Volkswagen 25
15 Talbot 23
16 BMW 9
17 Nissan 7
18 Seat 4
19 Skoda 3
20 Hyundai 1

Points Finishes
1 Ford 41
2 Lancia 37
3 Mitsubishi 20
4 Peugeot 18
5 Renault 17
5 Subaru 17
7 Toyota 16
8 Audi 15
9 Citroën 11
10 Opel 9
11 Fiat 8
11 Porsche 8
13 Volkswagen 6
14 Mazda 4
15 Nissan 3
16 BMW 2
16 Seat 2
16 Talbot 2
19 Hyundai 1
19 Skoda 1

Wins
1 Lancia 8
2 Citroën 3
2 Mitsubishi 3
2 Subaru 3
2 Toyota 3
6 Ford 2
7 Audi 1
7 Fiat 1
7 Opel 1
7 Peugeot 1
7 Renault 1

Podiums
1 Lancia 17
2 Ford 16
3 Audi 8
3 Toyota 8
5 Citroën 7
5 Subaru 7
7 Mitsubishi 5
7 Peugeot 5
9 Fiat 3
10 Opel 2
11 Porsche 1
11 Renault 1
11 Talbot 1

By Country

Points
1 France 530
2 Finland 420
3 Germany 179
4 Italy 172
5 Sweden 140
6 Spain 129
7 Belgium 45
8 Great Britain 26
9 Estonia 18
10 Austria 9
11 Monaco 7
11 Switzerland 7
13 Australia 3
13 Norway 3
15 Czech Republic 1
15 Denmark 1

Points Finishes
1 France 74
2 Finland 52
3 Italy 22
4 Germany 21
5 Sweden 17
6 Spain 15
7 Belgium 13
8 Great Britain 7
9 Austria 3
9 Estonia 3
9 Monaco 3
9 Switzerland 3
13 Norway 2
14 Australia 1
14 Czech Republic 1
14 Denmark 1

Wins
1 France 10
2 Finland 7
3 Germany 4
4 Italy 3
4 Spain 3

Podiums
1 Finland 24
1 France 24
3 Spain 11
4 Germany 7
4 Italy 7
6 Sweden 4
7 Great Britain 2
8 Belgium 1
8 Estonia 1