Along with the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it now forms what is widely considered to be the most important and prestigious trio of automobile races in the world, known as the ‘Triple Crown of Motorsport’. The circuit has been revised several times since 1929, but still retains the same basic layout. The only Grand Prix that doesn’t follow the FIA 190-mile minimum F1 race distance, it is nonetheless a gruelling test of precision, skill, and speed, unparalleled in the F1 universe. It traverses tight turns, elevation changes, and even a tunnel – requiring lower-than average speeds and formidable skill to avoid collisions it even requires the occasional intervention of a safety car. Held every year since 1955 without exception, the Monaco Grand Prix is laid out across the glittering streets of Monte Carlo. Noghès junior proposed a race confined to the twisting streets of Monte Carlo, and (with the blessing of Prince Louis II and Grand Prix driver Louis Chiron), set to work organising the design of a new track – the ‘Circuit de Monaco’. But the application was refused, as the rally used roads that entered other European countries – it would have to be contained entirely within the principality of Monaco to pass muster. In the 1920’s, his son Anthony Noghès became president of the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), and in 1928, the ACM applied to change the Rally into a national race. In 1911, Monaco resident Alexandre Noghès organised the first ever Monaco Rally, a race that would evolve into the Grand Prix we know today. And nowhere is Monaco’s reputation for glamour and luxury more justified than in its most famous quartier, Monte Carlo this is a land where superyachts and supercars are the transport of choice, the famous casino has a strict dress code, and champagne is the national beverage! But how did this stunning destination come to be not only a playground for the super-rich, but the home of F1’s biggest and ‘baddest’ competition? The tiny, densely populated country of Monaco is nestled by the sea on the French Riviera, where the ruling Grimaldi family castle has stood for centuries atop an ancient rock known as the ‘Rocher de Monaco’.
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