The Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) is a motoring club based in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. The club serves as the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

for motorsport within Monaco, and it organises the prestigious

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...

and

Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...

. The ACM is a member of the

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...

(FIA) , representing Monaco as a mobility and sporting club.

History

Founded in 1890 as an association of cyclists called the ''Sport Vélocipédique Monégasque'' (SVM), the club began to incorporate motorists in 1907 and was renamed the ''Sport Automobile et Vélocipédique de Monaco'' (SAVM). Alexandre Noghès, the SAVM's president, started planning the principality's first international motorsport event, the

, at the behest of

Albert I, Prince of Monaco Albert I (Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi; 13 November 1848 – 26 June 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 10 September 1889 until his death in 1922. He devoted much of his life to oceanography, exploration and science. Alongside his expeditions, ...

. The rally would start at points across Europe, then converge on Monaco to finish. The club ceased to organise cycling events following the First World War and was renamed the ''Automobile Club de Monaco'' (ACM) in 1925. The ACM applied to the AIACR (the forerunner to the FIA) to be upgraded from a regional French club to a full national member, but had their application refused because no motorsport event was held entirely within Monaco's borders.Hughes, M. 2007. ''Street theatre 1929''. Motor Sport, LXXXIII/3, p. 62 Antony Noghès, the son of the club's President, organised the inaugural Monaco Grand Prix in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

on a circuit around the streets of Monaco, and the ACM was promptly admitted to the AIACR. The Monaco Grand Prix was part of the European Championship in the 1930s, and was included in the inaugural Formula One World Championship in 1950. The Grand Prix has been held continuously since 1955, and despite minor modifications over the years, it is still largely run over the same circuit as the inaugural race in 1929. The ACM also organises the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, a series of races for

historic History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

Grand Prix cars held over the Circuit de Monaco, and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique classic rally. Other motorsport events held by the club include the Monaco ePrix and the Junior Monaco Kart Cup.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Motorsport in Monaco

Auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

National sporting authorities of the FIA