Bernard Jean Darniche (born 28 March 1942 in

Cenon Cenon (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Senon'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is a suburb of the city of Bordeaux, and is adjacent to it on the ea ...

, a commune in the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

department) is a French former rally driver. He won the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champion ...

in 1976 and 1977 and the French Rally Championship in 1976 and 1978, each time behind the wheel of a

Lancia Stratos HF The Lancia Stratos HF (''Tipo 829''), known as Lancia Stratos, is a rear mid-engined sports car designed for rallying, made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. It was highly successful in competition, winning the World Rally Championship in 1974 ...

. He also holds the record for most victories in the

Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was the French round of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season until 2008, was part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 2011 to 2012, and ...

which he won six times (1970, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981), a feat later equalled by

Didier Auriol Didier Auriol (born 18 August 1958) is a French former rally driver. Born in Montpellier and initially an ambulance driver, he competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first drive ...

. He competed in the first

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

s 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 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 Prince Albert I, the rally was intended to demonstra ...

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 A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

normally driven in darkness. The so-called "Night of the Long Knives" has seen Darniche victorious on ten occasions.

WRC victories

Complete IMC results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

*
Profile of Darniche and list of results
Rallybase.nl {{DEFAULTSORT:Darniche, Bernard 1942 births Living people French rally drivers European Rally Championship drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Rally Championship drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Audi Sport drivers BMW M drivers Oreca drivers