Some call it a 'miracle' that which half a century, exactly on January 28, 1972, led the Lancia Fulvia HF 1600 of Sandro Munari and Mario Mannucci to win the 41st Monte Carlo Rally.
More simply, it was an unexpected undertaking and against stronger opponents, given that the Turin coupe had to contend with much more performing cars - such as the Alpines, Datsuns and Porsches - and above all against more organized teams with more important budgets
. the images of what the unforgettable Michele Fenu de La Stampa defines as 'the winning trio: Sandro, Mario and Fulvia' submerged by photojournalists, professionals and enthusiasts at the finish line on the docks of the Principality of Monaco, with the black bonnet with white Lancia Italia lettering still thrills today.
The Fulvia HF 1600 was a small 100% Italian sports car, designed and built in Turin and gradually developed to try to be more competitive (the first series was a 1300 and had 140 Hp while that of the Monte Carlo was a 1600 with 160 Hp for a weight of 860 kg) from the Lancia Squadra Corse which had to compete with the 160 hp Alpine A110 but with 750 kg of weight, with the 270 hp Porsche 911 S and the Datsun 240Z of the Nissan sports brand that had 240 CV
An underdog game, as Sandro Munari himself recalls in an interview with Rally magazine, explaining that "the newspapers at the beginning of 1972 spoke only of the Alpine Porsche duel", the Lancia Fulvia HF came from a long competitive season (it had made its debut in 1967 by winning the Tour de Corse) and above all from a company phase in which retirement had already begun, with the activation of the Stratos project.
So what happened on the night between Thursday 27 January 972 and the following Friday 28 seems even more incredible.
In what has been fictionalized as the 'night of the long knives' - says Mattia Losi in the book of the same name by Ephedis Edizioni, Sandro Munari and Mario Mannucci with the Fulvia HF number 14, triumphed against all reasonable predictions and wrote an indelible page in the great book about this sport.
The Fulvia remained third for the entire race, not far from the very fast Alpines.
The decisive special stage - recalls Losi - was the last, the Colle del Turini, where the Alpine Renault suffered gearbox problems, and one after the other withdrew.
The Porsches were already behind, penalized by a wrong choice of tires.
And so Munari-Mannucci, with years of experience behind them, won the Monte Carlo Rally and made history with the 'Fulvietta' in the history of rallies.
"I remember Sandro's hands on the wheel, imposing with infinite gentleness impossible trajectories for anyone else - writes Losi - I remember Mario's voice as he read with absolute precision the notes that indicated the way forward: they were no longer the words of a navigator, but a poem. I remember the Porsches and Alpines, passed one after the other: crashed into the mountain, motionless with the transmission destroyed ".
In his book he explains: "This is what the old Lancia mechanics were for: not to run faster than everyone else, but to never stop. To overcome any obstacle, to stay on the road when others flew on treacherous ice. Old school ? Yes, old school: and as the French would tell us shortly thereafter, chapeau! ".
An underdog game, as Sandro Munari himself recalls in an interview with Rally magazine, explaining that "the newspapers at the beginning of 1972 spoke only of the Alpine Porsche duel", the Lancia Fulvia HF came from a long competitive season (it had made its debut in 1967 by winning the Tour de Corse) and above all from a company phase in which it had begun to retire, with the activation of the Stratos project.
So what happened on the night between Thursday 27 January 972 and the following Friday 28 seems even more incredible.
Without knowing it, the winning trio - capable of flying on snow and ice also thanks to the decisive contribution of Pirelli - laid the very solid foundations on that cold night to obtain the 10 World Brand Championships after the 1972 International Constructors' Championship with the Fulvia Coupé HF. : 1974, 1975 and 1976 (Stratos HF), 1983 (Rally 037), 1987 (Delta HF 4WD), 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992 (Delta HF Integrale).
Many and many companies that have made the Lancia brand and Made in Italy great.
(HANDLE).
