Quote Originally Posted by djip View Post
This rule has existed since ancient times, even when the field was 300+ starters. Only the top 60 classifiers (number that I remember) after the "common run" (major , multi-days section over Ardeche, Vercors, Chartreuse ... all possible Alpine mountains) were eligible for the last sectionwhich was a full night on the mountains above Monaco. Labelled in French "la nuit du Turini - Turini's nigh". The survivors were greeted by the (warm) sunrise above Monaco in the wee hours in the morning. Part of the magic... we teenagers were listening the radio all night - the morning in school was a bit hard !
The Turini night (2009-2011 for me) was possibly the most intense rally experience of my life. There were even crews who celebrated passing the midnight Turini stopping there for a while (even Daniel Elena as a driver did so). We got back to Menton around 4-5 a.m. but happy. Fantastic times even without WRC!