We arrived in Valence on the Thursday and had a first official dinner - the first social event of the rally, not the last - offered by the local authorities and automobile club. It's already the moment to meet again competitors of last years, see new faces and make the first small chats. After a good night of sleep, 22 hours of driving were foreseen between Reims and Valence before the actual regularity stages would start. This means that after having completed the administrative and technical control Friday late morning and afternoon, a second social event took place at the city hall of Reims before the start of the first car at 19h00. We started just after 20h00.
A strange organisation in a CP (contrôle de passage) in Cézanne where the locals didn't make the difference between a CP and a CH (contrôle horaire) and only let in one car per minute ... This means we lost about 20 precious minutes as time is always quite tight. And then we met the snow for the first time. Normal will say "those who know": the "plateau de Langres" is well known for this. And we go from CP to CH with local organising committees who very kindly foresee coffee, soup, breakfast, lunch, ... not sure any more in which order ;-)
Nothing really special to mention untill the car begins to lose power. Just before Valence, no power at all any more, the motor gives the impression to stick as soon as we try to give gas. Lots of people look, give their opinion - they always know better - and after discussion with the assistance, we try to get to Reims, thanks to a helpful service car of another team. Some more trying just in front of the CH and we get into the "parc fermé". Fortunately, we are allowed to have a look and Jean-Pierre finds that there is no grease at the rotor, the "vis patinées" stay open. He can fix it and we know we can start again the day after...
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