In this article we present details of the retro female rally as part of Child CARE Monaco’s charitable fundraiser. Sunday, 17 September, was a significant date as something incredible happened in Monaco. More than 80 ladies dressed in colourful retro outfits were assembled together and moreover, driving some exceptional collector’s cars. This was the 4th female rally, founded by the Child CARE Monaco organisation, pursuing its main goal of charity. All the collected funds will be invested in the purchase of equipment (computers, solar panels, bicycles) for the school in Rajasthan, India, built by the association in 2015.
The race beganat 8:30 at Place du Casino. Further, the route as planned by the animation organisers remained a surprise for all participants of the rally. Marilyn Milardi and Laurence Lorenzi, who won the 2nd elegance prize driving the Mercedes 190 SL, were accompanied by a small and brave Chihuahua which, despite everything, kept up its energy until the award was presented. HelloMonaco managed to find out from the creative participants of the rally about the chosen route and the highlights of the entire trip.
“Right after passing Place du Casino, we headed to Nice on the Promenade des Anglais, and then we reached Villeneuve-Loubet by taking the highway. Further on we headed to Le Bar-sur-Loup, and then Gourdon and Vence. The final point of the rally was at Hôtel Ralais Châteaux, Le Mas de Pierre in Vence. The entire route was about 160 km and, you know, for us it was not heavy-going at all, in fact the opposite: it was great, as the whole time we were enjoying the beautiful scenery and the rally itself was perfectly organised! Martine (organiser) was the best! Along the road there were quizzes, and based on these the winner was selected. For example, one of the most amusing tasks was tasting the flowers added to our food. Right after, we had to determine the name of the flower that was just eaten! I must say that it turned out to be quite a difficult ‘mission’!”
At the end of the rally, all the participants returned to Monaco. At the finish line at Place du Palais about 50 vintage cars were parked and the spirit of the competition began to fade. The Award ceremony took place in a restaurant in front of the Prince’s palace. Martine Ackermann, the founder of Child CARE Monaco, told HelloMonaco about her impressions after the event, whether everything went according to plan and whether she was happy with the results of the rally, find out further:
“I’m incredibly happy! So many women came from all over the world especially for the rally. About 80 women from San Francisco, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, London! Winners will be awarded for the selected categories: jury prize, elegance prize, and the quiz prize. Monegasque government deputies will present the awards to the winners. The most exciting event for me was a picnic in the mountains near Gourdon, because with such a huge number of wonderful women you will never get bored! Unfortunately, this time the Prince could not join our event because of his absence in the Principality, but let’s hope that next year he will show up at the awards ceremony for sure!”
Summing up the rally, we can name a lot of winners. In the category of “elegance” three teams were chosen: the teams of Lisa BJørsen, Laurence Lorenzi and Florence. The jury’s prize went to the Swedish team in the thematic red and white chequered dresses, in the 70s silver Daimler DART, which won the rally last year, and, finally, the Sylvic and Catherine team won the quiz.
Let’s hope that the honourable charity mission of Child CARE Monaco will be successfully brought to an end and, of course, we will be looking forward to the 5th women’s rally with even more participants and wonderful cars. Last, but not least, many rare cars were spotted this year during the rally, for instance, a classic Citroen DS, which was used for the production of the movie “By the Sea” with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
All in all, this retro female rally seems to have been a great success and has surely raised generous funds and awareness for the needs of the school in India, which will be fortunate to receive their needed equipment.
