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WRC: Five of the best stages - #4 Col de Turini

Autosport magazine took five rallying aces to their favourite stages in the world that you can drive yourself. Now, autosport.com brings you the video footage from their spellbinding rides, and each driver's account of his exploits. Today, it's Ari Vatanen’s guide to the Monte Carlo Rally’s Col de Turini stage

David Evans Feb 15, 2009, 4:31 PM

High in the Alps behind Monte Carlo lies the Col de Turini, a 1607-metre peak dotted with two small guesthouses and a pair of ski lifts. These serve the French and Italian skiers who descend upon this tranquil spot as soon as the snow falls.

For the remainder of the year the place is a backwater, connected to the rest of the world only by a trio of narrow, winding ribbons of tarmac which converge at the Col's summit. Here, passing traffic is limited to the odd lost tourist and the comings and goings of the handful of local residents.

One of these residents, a woman in a headscarf, is occupying the phone booth outside the empty cafe on the summit. The silence is deep, the only sound carried on the gentle mountain breeze being the top notes of animated conversation leaking from within the confines of the phone booth.