Tour de Corse
HOME » Magazine » February 2025 » Rally News » Tour de Corse
The 25th edition of the Tour de Corse Historique, which will run on 4-11 October will be an exceptional event, with a celebration of the Renault 5 Turbo and a new start from Calvi. For the first time since 2013, the rally will not start from Porto-Vecchio, as work to develop the port is being carried out. Instead, this year’s pre-race festivities will take place in Calvi, including two days of technical and administrative checks as well as a test day and an opening evening on Monday, 6 October. The capital of the Balagne region and its 13th-century citadel will also host the rally’s finish on Saturday, October 11th.
Another special feature will be the Renault 5 Turbo, which will be the honoured model, with the support of The Originals Renault – La Collection. This tribute echoes the fortieth anniversary of the car’s last world championship victory, in the 1985 Tour de Corse.
Unveiled at the 1978 Paris Motor Show, the R5 Turbo revolutionised the world of rallying by being the first car to be specially designed for the discipline – with a mid-engine rear-wheel drive layout, it retained the general appearance of a city car produced in the millions. It was marketing genius!
If there’s one driver associated with this car, it’s obviously Jean Ragnotti, the man who gave it its three WRC victories: Monte Carlo 1981, Tour of Corsica 1982 and 1985. With several evolutions, including the introduction of a 350 hp “Maxi” version in 1985, the R5 Turbo proved to be exceptionally durable. It was still competitive on asphalt at the end of the Group B era, as demonstrated by François Chatriot’s second place in the 1986 Tour of Corsica. More than 5,000 examples of all versions of the car were built, and its Group 3, Group 4 and Group B versions continue to enliven each edition of the Tour de Corse Historique in the VHC and VHRS categories. This will be the case again in 2025, with some exciting surprises in store.
Entries have just opened and competitors need to be quick, as the 380 places are likely to be snapped up within days.
These stories are all from the pages of Historic Motor Racing News. Some have been abbreviated for this web site. If you'd like to receive the full version, please visit our subscription page where you will find postal subscriptions available. A full subscription also entitles you to access the current issue online (available soon), so you can take it with you and read it anywhere, and we are working on providing full access to our archives of back issues exclusively for our subscribers.