RALLY

MAINE RALLY – 2

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Next door is Liberty Graphics which makes beautiful silk screened products. We then followed the Moosehead Trail on our way to a picnic lunch in Unity, ME. Unity has become the center of sustainability and the organic movement, with the headquarters of the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association being cited here as well as Unity College. MOFGA and their annual fair are the authorities on all things organic, and the college has developed a strong curriculum featuring green living and sustainability. The Town is also home to a growing Amish population, as we leave town you may spot signs for the Amish Butcher/Charcuterie where you can pick up some… Continue reading

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MAINE RALLY – 1

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We mee at Lincolnville Beach and take the ferry to Islesboro Island. Maine has over 3,000 islands along the coast, ranging from tiny rocks to full-fledged year round communities. Islesboro is the latter, 14 miles long with 560 year-round residents. Settled by westerners in the 1760’s, by the mid 19th century Islesboro had the largest shipping fleet on Penobscot Bay. By the end of the 19th century however it had become a popular destination for wealthy families from Boston and New York. The large summer homes built in the ‘cottage style‘, are evident today. This summer respite was invaded by the roaring and snorting GP Bugattis… Continue reading

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LONDON GOT ATTACKED BY VETERANS

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OMG!!! Too much to report after such a long radio silence… So many events to write about and my apologies for the delay, but due to some personal issues it was way too quiet out here. Let’s go for the London Brighton Run today. As I had to go to the UK, which is yet another story and I will tell all about that next up, I was not far from London, just at the right moment. Some friends with an addiction for veteran cars were participants and convinced me to give it a try, because you know I am all about vintage swag, at least most of all… How does a day look when doing this crazy event? Well… Continue reading

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AN EXPERIENCE NEVER TO FORGET! – 3

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On each rally I might make some mistakes, but the most important is that I learn a lot too, and on this rally it was all about the safety concerns with vintage automobiles and the need for regular checking of the brakes, etc. The experience I gain is a valuable lesson and a reminder for you all, especially when this is all new to you…

Luckily the last day of this magnificent rally was very safe, because Tino and Luca had fixed the brakes as well as possible the evening before. Safe enough to drive across the Simplon pass back to Brig. It is very pleasant to wake up and have the view of an amazing collection of cool bolides with the hills of Lago Maggiore as a backdrop, palm trees, and petrolhead friends already preparing their car for the next tour. And then there is the best part! Roaring engines which are just awakening and excited to hit the road again. The most fun part is… Continue reading

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AN EXPERIENCE NEVER TO FORGET! – 2

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VERY SHOCKING and terrifying…!!! That’s what I promised in my last report, so sit back and enjoy my horror experience. It all started at 9 AM again as we took off to explore Lago Maggiore after we did some tinkering to make sure all engines were ready for conditions that were going to be quite challenging. Especially for us Dutch people who live in a totally flat country. My dad was joining me this day, but what he didn’t know was that his nerves were going to be tested to the extreme after he had taken his seat next/behind me. The first kilometers were a party, because Amillion was really feeling like an athlete. The RB magneto did the trick and we were enjoying the sun, the sound, the roads and the surroundings.

Our first stop was a cave, again… In Vaals, with the International Cercle Pegase Club rally we had been trapped in at least 3 caves, so Amilcarists seem to be real cavemen and to love caves, although I am a bit claustrophobic. It was a cultural thing with a museum attached to it, showing how the mountain people used to live a long time ago. I learned that… Continue reading

 

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AN EXPERIENCE NEVER TO FORGET! – 1

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First of all my apologies for my radio silence, September is a busy month… You will get the Prescott report and all the other reports soon, but let’s first start with the latest rally I did in Italy and Switzerland.

Last Thursday we trailered Amillion for some 1000 km to the start of the Escapade Cyclecars et Grand Sport – Le Tessin et ses Vallées in Brig in the Rhone valley in Switzerland. After a glimpse of Molsheim and the famous Bugatti heritage, the first serious mountain pass that Amillion faced was the Grimsel Pass (2,164 m – 7,100 ft) and my reliable German Black Beauty did a great job pulling the red dandy across the pass. Of course there are many ways to Rome and we choose the Grimsel Pass to say hello to my dad’s fave Swiss Alps hotel, the idyllic hotel Baeren in Guttannen.

After a 10 hour drive it was time to meet new friends… This rally had been organized by the Swiss representation of the Cercle Pegase, the French Amilcar Club. A nice turnout of all kinds of cyclecars and light sports cars with around 40 equipes were ready to… Continue reading

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ROARING STREET PARTY IN THE STREETS OF VAALS-2

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Some of the pitstops were quite interesting. One of them was a visit into a now defunct Belgian mine, for the ones who dare to overcome their claustrophobia. When in the elevator to descend in this earth, you feel like a prisoner with a death sentence. When in the rusty, cold, wet, and creepy tunnels we heard the stories from an ex-mine worker. It was impressive to see, but most of all to imagine how bad the circumstances were when our spokesman was still a miner. Only imagine to be underground all day with a noise that makes you feel like a lunatic. Even horses were down there and once they were, they did not come to the surface anymore until they had died. Quite a sad situation. There was some equipment left in the mines, like a drill, producing a noise like hell. After this experience even the C6 racer… Continue reading

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ROARING STREET PARTY IN THE STREETS OF VAALS-1

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It was a close call, because two days before the rally started my Amilcar was not running so well. Luckily magic does exist. My CGS “Amillion” still needs to run-in as it never really had been driven after its restoration many years ago.

As we arrived in Vaals (NL) I saw next to me a fine CGSs arriving, that had just attended the Mille Miglia, so I felt like this was going to be a fantastic race as well. I parked Amillion in a field and one after the other arrived, in total 60 voiturettes from all over Europe! I am new to this cyclecar world and so is my dad and we were happily surprised with our first impressions. In the hotel we were welcomed by a fine Amilcar boat-tail model and of course by the organizers. After we all gathered there was a fine first event. Some of us, who were too lazy to… Continue reading

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RENCONTRE INTERNATIONAL BUGATTI (PARADISE) MONTREUX

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The moment had finally come… A friend of mine (thanks Walter) told me some months ago that the International Bugatti meeting was scheduled to take place in Montreux (the Swiss Monte Carlo), where I happen to live. My Bugattist heart was beating like mad and I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas to come.

And last week Santa Claus indeed delivered my presents, many months before his anniversary: more than 40 Molsheim born jewels arrived in my hometown. What a beautiful uproar… Continue reading

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PREWAR WALHALLA HETZBERGER GALLERY

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The upload issue is solved, so here are some more pix as I promised. Computers are a bit like cars, just never give up. There is always a solution if you are patient enough and think logically… Continue to see more pix

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PREWAR WALHALLA AT THE HETZBERGER TROPHY

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You may never have heard of this event before. The Hertzberger Trophy is a very discreet Dutch event for a specially selected group of owners of amazing prewar cars. This is a 2-day rally with tour and sports class. The participants are battling for the Hertzberger trophy, which is a brons sculpture. Another prize was a nice limited edition watch made by jewelers Schaap – Citroen from Amsterdam and designed by Van der Klaauw from Friesland. The rally goes from one historic estate to the other, while making sure the drivers and especially their navigators are put to the test to follow the rules, which is of course not made easy!

This year’s Hertzberger Trophy was the third edition and since this is a young event, the zest is increasing each year. A prestige event with 45 dream cars and many interesting participants. It all started with Eddie Hertzberger himself. Eddie was a Dutch race driver and the first and only GP winner until… Continue reading

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JOIN ATHLON’S TOUR OF THE CENTURY

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Have you always been dreaming of a rolling automotive museum? Then pay attention, because Athlon (market leader in car leasing and mobility in The Netherlands, see athlon.com) is looking for striking cars to join, especially prewarcars! From September 16th to 18th Athlon will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the ‘Werkspoorkathedraal’ in Utrecht see werkspoorkathedraal.nl. The event will be quite unique as Athlon aims to show a car from each year between 1916 and 2016 and to show as many different marques as possible.

First the participating cars will be exhibited for the public and of course well guarded, knowing how valuable those prewar treasures are. The Athlon crew will also take good care of the participants who join in this event. Especially the last day will be a great party when … Continue reading

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MILLE MIGLIA 2016: IN BOCCA AL LUPO! – 2

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Anyway the Amilcar made it, though the magneto gave some trouble due to the rain. Luckily we had a technical team following us for such circumstances. Mike Kastrop and Frido Roetgerink were following us in the van of Lammertink, fully prepared for anything that might happen…

Next up Sander Drijber and Fons Aarents were ready to start with the Salmson 2300 sport. Comfortable and dry at least, and enough horse power to keep up the speed. Myself, I left the starting line with Djuri Jambor in the Alpine A106, which had done the race twice before and also… Continue reading

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MILLE MIGLIA 2016: IN BOCCA AL LUPO! – 1

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I admit… the last weeks of Februari were nerve-shattering. Would we be allowed to participate or not? Although I was fairly certain about my Alpine 106, which had already taken part in the Mille Miglia twice before, I had dared this time to enter two more cars of mine, which, admittedly, would be driven by friends. These were an Amilcar CGSS from 1927 and Salmson 2300 Sport from 1956. So, a French party. We were overwhelmed when we heard that all three cars had been accepted. But that’s where things really begin!

Everyone who thinks that the Mille Miglia is a luxury tour through Italy will be deceived. You really need to put your foot down those 4 days, from early in the morning until late at night. And all this… Continue reading

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THE MILLE MIGLIA AT ITS BEST

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As I told before, sadly I didn’t make it to follow the Mille Milgia this year, but some friends did! Here is a magnificent photo report made by Wim Haze. I am sure this slide show will tell you more then thousand words, though the follow up report of the Mille Miglia is really impressive too! One of the participants who brought 3 of his French bolides did owe me something, so he… Continue reading

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BEACHIN AND ROARING ENGINES ALL THE WAY FROM ITALY

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The world of vintage and classic cars is an impressive world to discover with so many great elements. One of them is the rally sport, or as some say the sport of reading maps. This is something that raised my interest after I met some very interesting rally drivers. At first I thought I would not really like to navigate, and still I prefer to drive myself, but actually navigating can give great satisfaction too when you are good at it (or becoming good at it). After my first adventures with rallies and navigating, I will share my adventures with you, but first something that is really great, the Tulpen Rallye or Tulip Rallye!

The Tulpen Rallye is the crème de la crème when speaking of Dutch rallies. For 63 years a huge number of participants (this time more then 200) start in Italy and drive to the finish in the coastal town of Noordwijk where the party takes part in Huis ter Duin. This year the start was at Saint-Vincent in northern Italy from where the participants covered some 2674 exciting and Spartan kilometers, with a number of them exposed to… Continue reading 

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SERIOUS BUSINESS AT TECHNO CLASSICA ESSEN – 3

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You probably already know that Techno Classica is in scale the largest exhibition in Europe when it comes to vintage and classic cars, so there is still a lot to share with you. Last report we were at the ‘card board’ replica palace. Around it several very special cars were exhibited that have been driven in the Mille Miglia. One of the most iconic superstars was the Mercedes 300 SLR. Juan Manuel Fangio was second on the stage of the 1955 Mille Miglia with this German marvel. More sporty icons were a Ferrari 750 Monza, a highly original Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo, Fiat 8V Zagato, Maserati 300 S, Maserati A6GCS, a Porsche 550 Spyder, etc.

Another part of the exhibition was the upstairs hall where a lot of clubs found their spot. By the way, I have not even seen the entire exhibition in one day, sadly. While making a short walk around the clubs, I was first not so impressed, but then… Continue reading

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HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THE SAMILCAR – YOUR AMBITIOUS BLOGGER ; )

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To give you a personal update, which is also about that surprise I announced before… First of all I am looking for my very first own vintage car! After driving those two GREAT Delahayes, I can’t wait to also have a taste of a fierce little cyclecar-racemonster! Nothing better than driving all different kind of cars! The Bugatti drives made me really excited to acquire a fine and manoeuverable little racer, but a bit less expensive than a Bug… So a ‘poor man’s Bugatti’ it should be! : )

I have already seen quite a few charming cars like the Amilcar, Salmson, Riley and Rally… BNC is also very nice. I don’t mention Bugs, because for now they are unaffordable for me… The first experience was an Amilcar while on our way back home from Martin Waltz’s museum near Freiburg. It was the first time I saw (and drove in) an Amilcar in real life and I was impressed! One thing I kept in mind was to… Continue readinghttp://crankhandleblog.com