THE STORY OF 2011
At the request of course planners Adrie Brugmans and Jaap Daamen, a completely new rally area was used for this edition, which was their last. After many years of starting in the southeast mountains, the start for this edition was planned in the west of the country, in Monestier not far from Bordeaux. A beautiful castle and golf course (Chateau des Vigiers) was selected as the starting point, where all teams gathered on Sunday. The hotel set up a large tent for a cocktail party on Sunday, and on Monday, all teams departed from the driveway. From here, the rally went through central France with Montauban and Rodez as stages for the first days. The routes were stunning through these new areas. The caravan reached Vichy on Wednesday, followed by a route to Troyes on Thursday, where the Tulpenrallye had not yet been. The city didn’t have a large hotel for all participants, so the mayor provided the Salle des Fêtes for dining. Friday saw a new location in Dinant in the Belgian Ardennes. The Saturday route went via Brabant, ending with the Tulpenrallye Sprint on the boulevard in Noordwijk.
This edition had several new partners supporting the event. Vredestein remained active, and Ricoh joined as a new partner providing print materials. Gant, a long-time supplier of Tulpenrallye polo shirts, also supplied sweaters for all participants and became a partner of the event. Novabox, by entrepreneur Alexander Mans, was the fourth partner.
The Tulpenrallye once again supported the KiKa Foundation. Frank Versteegh and Wouter Karssen drove the BN car and presented a 15,000 euro check at the finish.
Key participants in this edition included Paul Wignall / Mark Appleton (winners of the previous edition), Jayne Wignall (Paul’s wife) with Peter Rushforth, Daan Reekers / Jaap Verplanken, Cees de Jong / Valentijn de Jong, Cor Lokker / Wilko Vaandrager, Albert Boekel / Joep Wanders, Rinus Sinke / Bart den Hartog, Harm Lamberigts / Peter Rovers, and Jan Ebus / Jan Berkhof.
Jan Ebus and Jan Berkhof won this exciting 58th edition of the Tulpenrallye. They had participated for many years, almost always finishing in the top and previously winning the Coupe Rallye des Tulipes in 2002. Their large red Mercedes just fit into the car lift of Grand Hotel “Huis ter Duin” and majestically entered the Pickézaal in the evening with the winners on the hood. Harm Lamberigts and Peter Rovers came in a close second with only 48 points behind, and Rinus Sinke / Bart den Hartog secured third place. The Sporting class was won by Paul Zweers and Arjan van der Palen, while Willem Kamps and Ellen Witten took first place in the Touring class. Michiel Hehenkamp and Ron Nakken again won the Vintage class in the Bentley.
During the festive awards ceremony, course planners Adrie Brugmans and Jaap Daamen were warmly thanked for the eight great Tulpenrallye editions they had organized and were invited to participate again in the next edition.
