Posted Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 10:34pm

THE SOUTH OF FRANCE — The Rallye Monte-Carlo is not only the most prestigious and glamorous event in the World Rally Championship, but also the most logistically demanding. The race, which starts in Monaco and loops 1,012 miles into the Alps and back over the finish line in the Principality, presents its drivers with the most treacherous stages of any rally on Earth. Over the course of a single afternoon, drivers might encounter dry roads at the sunny foot of the French Alps, deep snow at the summit of a mountain, and sheets of ice on the descent. And these conditions can change by the hour. What was a patch of ice in the morning might be a puddle by the afternoon; a corner that was clear at lunchtime might be covered in dirt and slush by the evening. It’s the drivers who ultimately have to navigate these hazards, but their chances at avoiding disaster are drastically improved by a group of people who operate in the margins. These people belong to scouting teams known as “ice crews,” and they make a rally like this possible.

THE SOUTH OF FRANCE — The Rallye Monte-Carlo is not only the most prestigious and glamorous event in the World Rally Championship, but also the most logistically demanding. The race, which starts in Monaco and loops 1,012 miles into the Alps and back over the finish line in the Principality, presents its drivers with the most treacherous stages of any rally on Earth. Over the course of a single afternoon, drivers might encounter dry roads at the sunny foot of the French Alps, deep snow at the summit of a mountain, and sheets of ice on the descent. And these conditions can change by the hour. What was a patch of ice in the morning might be a puddle by the afternoon; a corner that was clear at lunchtime might be covered in dirt and slush by the evening. It’s the drivers who ultimately have to navigate these hazards, but their chances at avoiding disaster are drastically improved by a group of people who operate in the margins. These people belong to scouting teams known as “ice crews,” and they make a rally like this possible.