André Nágel and the 1912 Monte Carlo Rally: 3,257 km in Winter

Most rally crews start the year of their rally. André Nágel started his the year before.

St Petersburg, 31 December 1911

On 31 December 1911, by the calendar Russia still used, a two-seat Russo-Balt left St Petersburg for Monaco. It had been built in Riga, by the Russo-Baltic works DARTZ descends from. At the wheel was André Nágel, racer, journalist and head of the works’ racing team; beside him, Vadim Mikhailov.

Ahead lay 3,257 km of winter roads, in an open car, in temperatures down to minus 25 degrees.

195 hours and 23 minutes

They covered the distance in 195 hours and 23 minutes, at an average of 16.3 km/h, and used 600 litres of petrol. The Russo-Balt reached Monte Carlo ahead of every other car. A German newspaper of the day reported that of 82 cars entered by first-class makers, the car of the Russo-Baltic Wagon Factory in Riga had arrived first. The next car came six hours later, and the Russo-Balt beat the time allowed for the St Petersburg to Monaco distance by five days.

The judges placed it ninth overall. They had not weighed the Russian winter against the milder routes of the other teams. Nágel received the award for the best route and the award for endurance, and at a dinner on 23 February 1912 he was given a golden caviar bowl, the Imperial Prix 1912. In Russia he received the Order of St Anne, third class, the first state award for success in motorsport.

After the prize-giving, Nágel and Mikhailov drove another 1,000 km along the Riviera and into Italy, and put the car on a train in Lyon for home.

The racer on the crest

Nágel went on to drive a Russo-Balt up Vesuvius. When DARTZ drew its crest, it gave the winged skull at its centre two faces: Igor Sikorsky, the pilot, and André Nágel, the racer. DARTZ calls it the Spirit of Victors, and says the skull is not a symbol of death, but “the eternal face of those who refuse to die”. The same two profiles are worked into the grille of the Black Stallion CLV.

A hundred years later

At the end of 2011 DARTZ retraced the route. Two golden DARTZ Prombron’ cars left St Petersburg for Monaco, a hundred years after Nágel, as CarBuzz reported in its coverage of the DARTZ Century Run. DARTZ’s own account names the team leader, Igor “Sniper” Ristolainen, and the cars: golden Dictator Aladeen Prombron’s.

A drink for the road

DARTZ also credits Nágel with a recipe. On the original car were containers of pure military spirit, which the crew mixed with snow and Alpine water on the way. That is where DARTZ RussoBaltique vodka takes its story from, and its Rally Edition bottle copies the containers found on Nágel’s car.