The 2013 WRC starts at Le Moulinon!

There are those who claim that ‘Le Moulinon-Antraigues’ is the world’s finest special stage. The village at the end of the 37km test is famous for its restaurant, La Remise, and the apple tarts it hands out to competitors. “There’s a good atmosphere at the start, too,” we were told by the restaurant’s owner Yves Jouanny. “There’s an active team of people who make sure that the rally gets just as warm a welcome there!”

So we decided to see for ourselves, which meant an early start before joining the convoy of red lights that twisted along the flanks of the Eyrieux valley, heading into the mountains. On the bridge as we arrive in the small village of Le Moulinon, we are welcomed by a banner wishing us “bienvenue” and bunches of red and white balloons, the colours of Monaco. “There are 600 balloons here, and another 200 in nearby St Sauveur-de-Montagut. We inflated them at five o’clock this morning,” says Philippe Gounon, president of 'Le Moulinon Auto Passion', an association formed to campaign for the stage’s return to the Rallye Monte Carlo. “Thanks to our work with the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), the rally came back here in 2011.”

At the junction with the D261 which climbs to St Julien du Gua, there’s a sizeable crowd at the start control. There are hot drinks and food, too, as well as a stand selling scale models of the cars that have helped forge the Monte’s legend over the decades. There is even live commentary and a big screen showing images of the start line. “At 8:15am, an hour before the scheduled start time,” points out Philippe, “we will offer a glass of champagne to the local counsellors and representatives of the ACM. Please join us…”

We turn down the chance of an early taste of ‘bubbly’, but the popping of the corks symbolises the start of the 2013 season. Before disappearing to interview the indefatigable Jean Ragnotti, who is driving a zero car for the organisers, Philippe adds: “We will have the same set-up in place when the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique visits us next week…”

It’s nine o’clock, already, and it looks like it will be a sunny day. We learn, however, that there are some 13km of snow and ice either side of the Col de la Fayolle. Unsurprisingly, Sébastien Loeb has opted for studded Michelin Pilot Alpin tyres all-round, like most of his rivals, with the exception of Ford’s Novikov and Neuville who have two non-studded tyres on their cars for SS1.

Very soon, Best-of-RallyLive provides us with the times for the 37km test. Stage winner Sébastien Ogier (VW) and Sébastien Loeb (Citroën) are split by just 3.7s, while fellow Citroën runners Sordo and Hirvonen are 20 seconds adrift. Novikov (+29s) and Neuville (+33s) failed to benefit from their alternative tyre choice, while Latvala dropped 33s to his Volkswagen team-mate...

from best-of-rallylive