Tulpenrallye 1964

The story of 1964: The system for deciding the overall winner had again been altered by clerk of the course Piet Nortier, this time to prevent crews from forming alliances within a class. The amateur class, introduced with such success, was of course retained (90 entries), and measures were taken — sealing the cylinder head, engine and carburettor — to limit the service the works teams could give along the way. A number of secret technical checks were also planned along the route, so that it could be established whether the (works) competitors were still driving the same cars. Paddy Hopkirk, the winner of the Rallye Monte Carlo, did enter, but in the end stayed away because he preferred to concentrate on his preparations for the Targa Florio. Among the contenders were Erik Carlsson, the Frenchmen Gréder and Delalande (the previous year's winners) and Pat Carlsson-Moss. The Dutch favourites were Ben Pon, in a works Porsche 904 GTS, Rob Slotemaker and Dries Jetten. The route this year came to only 2788 km and the rally went no further south than Belfort. There were twelve special tests (64 km in all) and the special stages had been reintroduced as well: eight sections with a combined length of 74 km, to be covered at an average speed of 70 km/h. The run through the Vosges, driven at night, was 400 km long and had to be completed at an average of 60 km/h. The Joffre route from Bitschwiller to Masevaux was the last special stage in the Vosges, and an exceptionally difficult one. The Ballon d'Alsace was the final test this time. For the first time since 1957 the route passed through Germany again, where four tests were held. At Eberbach in particular the local authorities were most helpful: straw bales were laid along the route and a telephone was even placed every 500 metres. The rally included 62 manned controls. The first test, at the Belgian circuit of Zolder, was won by Ben Pon. On the second test, at the circuit of Francorchamps, the Briton Frank Powell had an enormous slide in his Jaguar E-Type, after which he asked ‘Is there a good restaurant in the neighborhood? We surely need a drink’. On the third test, at La Roche, it began to rain very hard indeed and a number of competitors went off the road as a result. The Alfa Romeo works team overslept during the 70-minute rest halt at St. Maurice sur Moselle and dropped back to 16th place. Rob Slotemaker's troubles began before the rally had even started, when his Simca failed scrutineering and a new engine had to be fitted before he could start in another class (tuner Henk van Zalinge fitted it in a single night). Before the start of the Zolder test the driver's seat turned out to be completely loose, whereupon co-driver Leen Biesheuvel nailed it back into place with a saw, a hammer and nails. On the La Roche hill climb the Simca's tyres then proved to be wrong, and they were changed at Sarrebourg. On the last test, the circuit of Zandvoort, his engine gave out and he had to retire. A great deal of spannering went on along the way among the various crews. Van der Bos and Hulsker, for instance, fitted a new windscreen to their car with a good deal of tape after the original had shattered; but as it rained during the rally, a fair depth of water gathered inside. Ben Pon, who had started as one of the favourites after his bad luck of the previous year, had to retire in Germany with trouble in the front suspension, having won the test at Eberbach beforehand. The prize-giving and the closing party were held on the Friday evening this year. The overall winners of the rally were Timo Mäkinen and Tony Ambrose in a Morris Cooper S, whilst the ladies Carlsson-Moss and Nyström won the Coupe des Dames. The Swedish crew won the Nations Trophy and the married couple Carl and Ellen Syberg were the winners in the amateur class. The prize for the best club team went to the Royal Dutch Automobile Club, with Dee-Gillissen, De Man-Aardse and Jetten-Hendrikx.