Bernard Darniche

Bernard Darniche
Personal information
Nationality France French
Born (1942-03-28) 28 March 1942
Cenon
World Rally Championship record
Active years 1973–1987
Co-driver France Alain Mahé
Teams Alpine-Renault, Lancia, Audi
Rallies 38
Championships 0
Rally wins 7
Podiums 11
Stage wins 115
Total points 87
First rally 1973 Monte Carlo Rally
First win 1973 Rally of Morocco
Last win 1981 Tour de Corse
Last rally 1987 Tour de Corse

Bernard Darniche (born 28 March 1942) is a French former rally driver. He won the European Rally Championship in 1976 and 1977 and the French Rally Championship in 1976 and 1978, each time behind the wheel of a Lancia Stratos HF. He also holds the record for most victories in the Tour de Corse which he won six times (1970, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981), a feat later equalled by Didier Auriol.

He competed in the first World Rally Championships in 1973, winning the 16th Moroccan Rally and placing second in the 44th Alpine Rally, and was one of the top competitors for the remainder of the decade. He finished third in the inaugural FIA Cup for Rally Drivers in 1977, the first of three successive top ten finishes in the drivers' championship.

He also won the Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo in 1979, the event where he holds the record for most wins on the infamous Col de Turini stage, a 1,600 m Alpine mountain pass normally driven in darkness. The so-called "Night of the Long Knives" has seen Darniche victorious on ten occasions.

WRC victories

 #  Event Season Co-driver Car
1 Morocco 16ème Rallye du Maroc 1973 Alain Mahé Alpine-Renault A110
2 France 19ème Tour de Corse 1975 Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF
3 France 21ème Tour de Corse 1977 Alain Mahé Fiat 131 Abarth
4 France 22ème Tour de Corse 1978 Alain Mahé Fiat 131 Abarth
5 Monaco 47ème Rallye Monte-Carlo 1979 Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF
6 France 23ème Tour de Corse 1979 Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF
7 France 25ème Tour de Corse 1981 Alain Mahé Lancia Stratos HF

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Maurizio Verini
European Rally Champion
1976–1977
Succeeded by
Tony Carello
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