A place like no other
When entering the Principality of Monaco from France by road, it is hard to tell where the exact border is. However, the tiny country on the Mediterranean coast really is a place like no other. The annual Monaco Grand Prix is also quite unlike any other Formula 1 race on the calendar and its rich heritage is celebrated every two years during the Historic Grand Prix. Run on the same street circuit as the World Championship round, the biennial Historic Grand Prix has much of the same appeal and attracts bumper grids of Grand Prix cars, complemented by a single sports car grid. The latter is the result of the Automobile Club de Monaco's reluctance to run their Grand Prix for Formula 2 cars in 1952 and 1953, and inviting sports cars instead. One change from previous editions was the addition of a third grid for three-litre F1 cars, which opened the event to ground-effect cars for the first time.
Having missed the event two years ago due to a scheduling conflict, our photographers were back for the 11th Monaco Historic Grand Prix with this 230-shot gallery as the the result.

The stars are the cars
There was a time when old Formula 1 cars were far from desirable but now many demand a premium as they represent a ticket to enter the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. While this year's grid featured many familiar names, there were also rarities that were usually grid fillers in period the likes of ATS, Maki and Token. Traditionally the most revered are the Ferraris, and this year we were treated to a fine selection of scarlet racers. These ranged from the late 1950s V6 Dino through to the full range of 312 B variants used in the early 1970s. A regular but impossible not to mention is the phenomenal 1512 F1, which features a diminutive yet howling, 1.5-litre flat 12. Equally hard to miss was the Tyrrell 007 brought by the Rofgo Collection, which was not painted in the familiar Tyrrell blue but in Gulf colours. It was raced like this in period by an Italian privateer and, perhaps surprisingly, remains the only Grand Prix car to be ever raced in full Gulf livery. The one sports car grid featured a fine selection of Maserati sports cars including a selection of 300Ss, A6GCSs and the highly successful 200S prototype that has recently been painted again after appearing many years in bare aluminium.

The racing
Many of the entrants approach the Historic Grand Prix with the Olympic spirit but some have an altogether different approach and strive for the hugely prestigious victory on the hallowed streets of Monaco. Either way, racing on these streets is a challenge and quite a few cars were damaged both during the practice sessions and the races but fortunately, other than their pride, no driver was hurt. There is something to be said for both approaches but seeing a car raced hard at Monaco is a sight to be seen and once again we were not disappointed with absolutely brilliant drives in all of the races. Perhaps closest of all was the fight in the Series F race between Stuart Hall in a McLaren M19A and Bjorn Wirdheim in his March 711. The latter had set pole and immediately grabbed the lead, and try as he might, Hall could not find his way past during the next 12 laps often running right up to the gearbox of the Swede, who drove a flawless race under great pressure. The three races run in the afternoon on Sunday were affected by rain but that did not deter most of the drivers. Among them was Martin O'Connell, who managed to win the new Series G race in an ATS D4, which in period struggled to make it onto the grid.

Further highlights
In addition to the racing, this year's Monaco Historic Grand Prix also featured several demonstration runs. Among them was the Formula 1 Heritage Parade, which saw drivers like two-time World Champion Mika Hakkinen, Eddie Irvine and Emanuele Pirro demonstrate a selection of the cars entered in the regular program. The event's official timekeeper, Chopard, celebrated Porsche's 70th anniversary with a dedicated demonstration that included Jacky Ickx in his Le Mans winning 936, his daughter Vanina in a 718 F2, Vic Elford in a very early 911 and Derek Bell in an 804 F1. The latter also doubled as a tribute to former works driver, the late Dan Gurney, who won the company's first ever and only Grand Prix in a sister 804 F1. At the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix, Lamborghini and designer Bertone stunned the world with the striking Marzal show car, which was demonstrated before the race by Prince Rainier with Princess Grace in the passenger seat. Rarely used or even seen since, the car has recently moved in private hands and has been completely restored. Resplendent in the original silver over silver colour scheme, it was brought back to Monaco and this time was driven by Prince Albert.

Final thoughts
The 11th edition of the Monaco Historic Grand Prix once again provided a great show throughout. As always, the event provided many of the same ingredients as the World Championship Grand Prix with its track that is not really suitable for racing, lined on one side but ever taller buildings one side and by ever larger yachts on the other. The event also reflected the current state of historic racing with very professional teams running the cars and many owners inviting hugely talented and at times professional racing drivers to pilot their cars. This provides spectators with an idea what it was like when these cars were raced in period but ultimately may also deter owners with more enthusiasm than talent from entering their precious machines. Fortunately there still is a fine balance between the two, and we enjoyed the great array of cars that competed in this year's Monaco Historic Grand Prix. Many of these are featured in our 230-shot gallery.