Rally Monte Carlo 2025. Daniel and Xavier, father and son, will participate in the historic version behind the wheel of a Renault 5 Alpine

The same car, the same colors, the same sponsors, 43 years later. It is at the wheel of a Renault 5 Alpine, that Daniel, an 80-year-old Valentinois, will start the Monte-Carlo rally at the end of the month. He will participate in the historic version of the race and for the first time, he will be accompanied by his son, Xavier, 50 years old.

Xavier Dumond no longer has the number of times his father Daniel, passionate about rally and motorsport, told him this story. His participation in the Rallye de Monte-Carlo 1982, remains a magical memory for the amateur runner, almost 80 years in the clock. But the story does not stop there.

At the beginning of 2024, the father and the son will challenge himself: participate together in the historic test. More than 40 years after this first participation in Monte Carlo, Daniel Dumond will therefore team up with his son Xavier. “I would have liked to be able to do it before with him. The circumstances made it now”, says Daniel. “It’s a pride, a passion. We’re going to feast on”predicts the retiree.

It is a project that Xavier put me in my legs. And I’m proud to do it with him. It is a pride to do it, father and son. We will do it with pleasure and passion. And we’ll see what’s going on.

René Dumond

Valentinois driver

-

A pleasure shared by his son. The latter admits, it is a novice in mechanical sport. “I have never rally. It’s going to be my baptism of fire. I have never done a rally with my father. It’s a lot of emotions. It’s intense, we’re going to do more than 3000 km In 4 or 5 days, there is a lot of concentration. assure Xavier Dumond.

“The ideal would be to make the same car with the same decoration. He told me Banco!”. Committed to the historical category, Xavier saw things big and proposed to his father to go up, piece by piece, a Renault 5 Alpine Turbo identical to that of his youth. Long -term work. A year to find the right car and the rooms. It is also necessary to count the time devoted to the preparation of this 160 horsepower racing car, a little boosted. On arrival: a shiny and curling car that has not aged.

“At the beginning of 2024, I started looking for the car. When we had it, there was dismantling. It was necessary to sand the car to be able to repaint it in the original color. Then there was The engine preparation has changed all the trains, the stirrups. details Xavier. Xavier even contacted the old sponsors.

If the son manages logistics, it is Daniel, the father who holds the wheel. Xavier will be the co -pilot. The Valentinois has decades of piloting to its credit. An experience that allows him to approach the historic monte-carlo without stress. “42 or 43 years ago, we were worrying when we left. Now, I don’t do it anymore, “ Explains laughing the experienced pilot, harnessed and well wedged in his bucket seat. “We have no apprehension. In a historic rally, we don’t really speed up, we do regularity. It is to be as ready as possible of the average that we are imposed”, Add the pilot. There is no point in running, it makes it regular and know how to keep your average.

The kick -off of this 2025 edition is planned for the Thursday January 30or four days after the arrival of 93ᵉ Rallye car Monte-Carlo.