Bernard Darniche is a French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 former rally driver. He won the European Rally Championship

European Rally Championship

The European Rally Championship is the European continental championship series in rallying. It is organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile .-History:...

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

Lancia Stratos

The Lancia Stratos HF, widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a car made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for High Fidelity...

. He also holds the record for most victories in the Tour de Corse

Tour de Corse

The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...

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

Didier Auriol

Didier Auriol is a French rally driver.Born in Montpellier, and initially an ambulance driver, Auriol made his name as a French rally driver in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first from his country to do so...

.

He competed in the first World Rally Championship

World Rally Championship

The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...

s in 1973, winning the 16th Moroccan Rally

Rallye du Maroc

The Rallye du Maroc was a marathon rally, similar to the Safari Rally. It was first run in 1934, and held intermittently until 1988. Established by the Royal Automobile Club of Morocco, it is one of the more difficult automotive rallies...

 and placing second in the 44th Alpine Rally

1973 Austrian Alpine Rally

The 1973 Austrian Alpine Rally was the 44th running of the Austrian rally, and the ninth round of the inaugural World Rally Championship season. Run in mid-September around Baden, Austria, the rally was entirely on gravel surface special stages...

, 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

Col de Turini

Col de Turini is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Alpes-Maritimes in France. It lies near Sospel, between the communes of Moulinet and La Bollène-Vésubie in the Arrondissement of Nice.It is famous for a stage of the Monte Carlo Rally which is held on the tight road with its...

 stage, a 1,600 m Alpine

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 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	16ème Rallye du Maroc	1973	Alain Mahé	Alpine A110 Alpine A110 The Alpine A110, also known as the "Berlinette", was a sports car produced by the French manufacturer Alpine from 1961 to 1977. The A110 was powered by various Renault engines....
2	19ème Tour de Corse Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...	1975	Alain Mahé	Lancia Stratos HF Lancia Stratos HF The Lancia Stratos HF, widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a car made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for High Fidelity...
3	21ème Tour de Corse Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...	1977	Alain Mahé	Fiat 131 Abarth Fiat 131 The Fiat 131, additionally called "Mirafiori", is a small/medium family car produced by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1974 to 1984. It was exhibited at 1974 Turin Motor Show....
4	22ème Tour de Corse Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...	1978	Alain Mahé	Fiat 131 Abarth Fiat 131 The Fiat 131, additionally called "Mirafiori", is a small/medium family car produced by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1974 to 1984. It was exhibited at 1974 Turin Motor Show....
5	47ème Rallye Monte-Carlo Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...	1979	Alain Mahé	Lancia Stratos HF Lancia Stratos HF The Lancia Stratos HF, widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a car made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for High Fidelity...
6	23ème Tour de Corse Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...	1979	Alain Mahé	Lancia Stratos HF Lancia Stratos HF The Lancia Stratos HF, widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a car made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for High Fidelity...
7	25ème Tour de Corse Tour de Corse The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...	1981 1981 World Rally Championship season The 1981 World Rally Championship season was the ninth season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 12 rallies...	Alain Mahé	Lancia Stratos HF Lancia Stratos HF The Lancia Stratos HF, widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a car made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for High Fidelity...

External links

• Profile of Darniche and list of results, Rallybase.nl