THE STORY OF 2015
On the initiative of new sponsor Athlon Car Lease, the compliance check of participating cars in the Netherlands prior to the rally is being revived. The Prologue at Athlon’s premises in Almere is being organized on a large scale, enthusiastically attended by all participants, and several of Athlon’s relations are being hosted during the event in parallel.
The Tulpenrallye starts for the first time in Italy. A beautiful starting location is found in Saint-Vincent in the Aosta Valley. The cocktail party with all participants and officials takes place on Sunday afternoon on the terrace of the exquisite Gran Hotel Billia in the radiant sun. The organization is welcomed by the mayor in the bright sunshine, Rosemary Smith is honored as a former winner, and sponsor Firezone Oil, together with Brouwers Accountants, announces that they will provide water to the participants every day at the start.
The Vintage class is well-filled this year with 15 participants. Frits Wester and Roelof Hemmen form the RTL Netherlands BN team on behalf of the Red Cross Mappa Mondo. They collect a donation of €50,000 during the rally.
The municipality of Saint-Vincent extends a warm welcome to the participants. On Monday morning, the caravan departs from the shopping street in radiant sunshine. After a short route through Italy, participants reach Switzerland by lunchtime, followed by an afternoon drive through France. The route on this day is fairly simple, but the final sections through the Portes du Soleil ski area provide enough challenge to ensure a clear ranking in all classes by the evening. The Hilton hotel in Evian-les-Bains serves as the headquarters, and all participants enjoy a beautiful first day on the terrace. On Tuesday, there is some delay due to a long traffic jam on the Geneva ring road. Later that day, participants drive through beautiful routes in the Jura region. At the end of a long day, the teams arrive in Besançon, where dinner is served at the beautiful Kursaal.
Wednesday is the traditional Vosges day with beautiful routes through the area where the Tulpenrallye has been most frequently held. Participants enjoy the beautiful rolling landscape and mountains in this region. In the evening, there is a short trip to Germany because the headquarters are located in Offenburg, where a final test is conducted just before the finish. On Thursday, the route heads back to France, including a test at the Chambléy circuit on a former airbase and lunch at a golf course in northern France. At the end of the day, the caravan arrives at the Alvisse-Parc Hotel in Luxembourg, a location that is often part of the Tulpenrallye and other international regularity rallies.
On Friday, the route passes through Belgium. After some problems with local authorities following the 2013 anniversary edition, the rally did not pass through Belgium in 2014. Based on good cooperation with the BFOV and additional measures, passage through Belgium goes smoothly and beautiful routes are driven. Participants are well-prepared for the challenges of Belgian map reading, and in most classes, the differences in the standings remain very close. On Friday evening, the caravan is again welcomed at the Bilderberg Kasteel Vaalsbroek in the south of the Netherlands. In this beautiful ambiance, participants look back on a great Tulpenrallye and prepare for the final day.
The final day heads towards Noordwijk and consists of several map reading sections and some tests on circuits and closed terrains. The most challenging tests are held at the Military Training Center OTCRij, where some very challenging routes are set up. Here, the standings are mixed up quite a bit. Lunch is served at Firezone Oil in IJsselstein. After an intense week and the TulpenrallyeSprint in Noordwijk, participants are welcomed at Grand Hotel ‘Huis ter Duin’, including by the Noordwijk Flower Queen.
2014 winners Alexander Leurs and Peter van Hoof naturally appear at the start to defend their title (Opel Ascona 1.9 SR 1970). Former winners at the start include Hans van Beek (1992 and 1993) with experienced navigator Jaap Verplanken (Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300 Ti 1969), and Jan Ebus (2002 and 2012) with navigator Thijs Bender (Jaguar XK150 1959). Koen Bender (winner of the 60th Tulpenrallye in 1960) starts as a navigator together with René Bender (MG A Twincam 1959). Other significant contenders are the winners of 2009 and 2012: Rinus Sinke and Bart den Hartog (Austin-Healey 100/6 1957). Former course-setter Joep Wanders has registered together with Albert Boekel (Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV 1967). Renger Guliker is naturally present at the start; with Pim t Hart (Porsche 911T 1969). Among the participants is also Rosemary Smith, the winner of the Tulpenrallye in 1965. She starts with experienced English navigator Ryan Pickering in an MG. Also, former WRC rally driver Stein Johnsen appears at the start (Volvo 123GT 1967).
Throughout the week, there is an exciting battle, especially between the Sinke/den Hartog and Boekel/Wanders teams. On Wednesday, the latter team seems to take a decisive lead when they check all Route Controls and incur only 64 penalty points. However, on Friday, Sinke and Hartog perform better than Wanders/Boekel and win back almost 200 points. This lays the foundation for their victory. It remains particularly exciting at the Strijpse Kampen, but all top teams miss some controls here. Rinus Sinke and Bart den Hartog win the Tulpenrallye for the third time. Marcel Geurts and Alfons Geurts (Aston Martin 15/98 1937) are the winners of the Vintage class. In the other classes, the battle is intense throughout the week, and the standings are decided on the final day. Peter and Diederik Struijk (Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF 1971) win the Touring class, and Paul Ruys and Robert Mous (Alfa Romeo Giulietta Ti 1964) reach first place in the Sport class. The Nations Cup is won by Team NL2, with Charles and Jacqueline Serry, Jan Peter and Yolanda Zijl, and Robert v/d Meijden and Jeroen Sertons.
