THE STORY OF 2008
The start of the Tulpenrallye this year takes place in Annecy. In 1948, the idea for the Tulpenrallye was first discussed by Lake Annecy. Sixty years later, the event returns there for the start of the 55th edition. The beautiful Impérial Palace is chosen as the headquarters, where the cocktail party with all participants and officials is held on Sunday afternoon. A total of 184 teams appear at the start.
To increase the excitement in the Expert class and to differentiate more between the Expert and Sport classes, an evening stage is added to the Expert class route. This stage is mostly driven in the dark and is scheduled for Wednesday this year. Midway through the rally and through the wine regions around Riquewihr in the Vosges, with many small roads that are not easy to find, the Expert participants experience a beautiful evening, while the other teams are treated by local hospitality in Riquewihr. The evening stage includes a significant number of gravel roads and a river crossing.
The organization decides to support a charitable cause this year. The Stichting Kinderen Kankervrij KiKa unveils its new tulip in April, in the presence of a large number of cars and participants from the Tulpenrallye. RTL presenters Rick Nieman and Roderick Veelo participate on behalf of KiKa in the rally with a beautiful Porsche 911 from Pon Porsche Import. They present KiKa chairman Frits Hirschstein with a 10,000 euro check during the prize-giving ceremony, which is doubled by a lottery during the evening by the participants.
The Tulpenrallye also recognizes that sustainability is becoming an increasingly important theme and enters into a partnership with the newly established Stichting Oud voor Behoud (Foundation Old for Conservation). Together with them and Staatsbosbeheer, the Tulpenrallye forest will be planted at the end of this year to make a tangible contribution to offsetting the CO2 emitted during the rally. The forest is funded by the Tulpenrallye organization and by a large number of participants supporting this initiative.
In the weeks leading up to the rally, there is still a lot of snow in the Alps. Route planners Brugmans and Daamen have a lot of work to do to recheck the routes. Ultimately, the problems are manageable, and only the route over the highest mountain, the Col de la Croix en route to the Les Diablerets ski area, needs to be adjusted. The first two days of the route cover the highest mountains in the Alps. There is still snow along the roads everywhere, and the two tests set up on these days in parking lots in ski resorts also traverse paths with lingering snow. After a brief visit to Switzerland earlier, the organization this year takes on the challenge to drive more in Switzerland. From the Portes-Du-Soleil ski area, where lunch is served on Tuesday, the route goes to Lyss, where overnight accommodation is arranged on Tuesday, and the caravan only returns to France on Wednesday afternoon. Via the two Ballons d’Alsace, the teams arrive in Riquewihr on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, the route leads to another new country in the Tulpenrallye: Germany. The finish is in Bad Kreuznach, where participants are welcomed by a large number of spectators in the Kurpark. On Friday, the teams drive to Kasteel Vaeshartelt, including a test at the Nürburgring. Saturday’s route goes through the Netherlands with several challenging map-reading sections in Brabant and a test at the Eindhoven kart circuit.
The team of Rutger Reinders and Erwin Berkhof convincingly wins the 55th edition of the International Historic Tulpenrallye. The young team takes the lead in the Expert class during the second stage and maintains it until the finish on Saturday at Grand Hotel “Huis ter Duin” in Noordwijk, not relinquishing it. The battle in the Sport class is intensely exciting throughout the week of the rally and is ultimately decided in favor of the team of Janhein de Rooij and Fred Hak with a 1965 Porsche 356. The Tour class is won by father and daughter Pim and Stéphanie Brunet de Rochebrune with a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL. This year, the rally is held every day in exceptionally beautiful weather and over many mountainous sections. With 19 retirements, this is quite a challenging edition of the Tulpenrallye!
