Tulpenrallye 1976

The story of 1976: The organisation had overcome the financial problems of the past, thanks to international sponsorship from Gulf. The budget for this rally came to 135,000 guilders, with Gulf meeting a number of the costs. Starting at number 1 was Maurizio Verini, European rally champion in 1973, in a Fiat 131 Abarth Mirafiori. The Finn Markku Alèn started in an identical car, which completed the Italian works team. The contenders from Belgium were the crews Gustaysson-De Langhe, Staepelaere-Vaillant (winners in 1969) and Didi-Lux. Lars Carlsson-Bob de Jong (Opel Kadett GTE), Wim Luijbrechts, navigated by his brother Cees in a Triumph Dolomite, and Rob Slotemaker (Opel Kadett GTE), this time navigated by André Jetten, were the leading Dutch entries. Opel Kadett GTEs had also been entered by Henk van der Lee and Jan van der Mare! Walter Röhrl, the winner in 1974, did not appear at the start, because Opel had entered him for the East African Safari rally. The 1,200 km route took in roughly 197 km of special tests and special stages. The Belgian tests were all on sealed roads, but about half of the Dutch tests were unsurfaced. All the special tests were kept secret beforehand. A number of GULF petrol stations served as route controls, on the model of the STAR rally. The rally ran from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, with a rest halt during the day on Saturday at Colmar-Berg in Luxembourg. Scrutineering took place on Friday 23 April at the Rijks Automobiel Centrale in Rotterdam. This time the start was not held on the Coolsingel but in front of the Doelen in Rotterdam. After the start came the test on the Vlasakkers, followed by a number of tests around Nijmegen, where most competitors lost a little time in the heavy traffic in the centre of the town. By way of tests in Limburg, among them one at Berg en Terblijt, the competitors then made for Belgium. There the police forbade any further running of the tests at four o'clock in the morning, after which the competitors set course for Luxembourg and the rest halt. The first tests in Belgium caused problems when the local marshals failed to appear on time. One of the tests was also cancelled because there was too much loose grit on the road. In Limburg the rally lost time to the crowds streaming in, and after Valkenswaard a number of tests were cancelled in the Netherlands as well. On the test at Middelbeers several competitors became stuck in the mud, but a local farmer was obliging enough to pull them out again for 25 guilders a car. The organisation drew some criticism for the long waits before the tests and for the route marking on a number of them, which left something to be desired. The Italians had trouble with the gearbox of the new Fiats. Verini did win the first test, and managed it once more later on, but beyond that he was no match for the Benelux challenge. The Fiat mechanics replaced a gearbox in 31 minutes, which allowed Verini to play some part in the battle at the front again, but he could only change up as far as fourth gear. Markku Alèn also had gearbox trouble on the first special test (Vlasakkers). After it had been replaced, the coil on his car had to be changed as well. He was then instructed to stop driving for a classification result and to go all out instead, testing the new Fiat machinery to its limit and gaining valuable experience for the coming rallies with the new car. Later in the rally, at Valkenswaard, he was troubled by a boiling engine. The contest was chiefly between Lars Carlsson (Opel Kadett) and Gilbert Staepelaere (Ford Escort), who took the tests in turn. At the rest halt in Colmar-Berg, Staepelaere led by 43 sec, because Carlsson had driven one test on the wrong tyres and had gone off the road once (Papendal). At Linden aan de Maas, Man Bergsteijn took a pothole too quickly in his Datsun Cherry; his car rolled over and slid 25 metres on its roof. During the rally Rob Slotemaker was struck by the professional conduct of the works teams, with all manner of tyres being changed at regular intervals, and by the bumpy forest tracks that so often had to be driven at night. On the 26th special test (Berg en Terblijt) Staepelaere went the wrong way because of the poor route marking, and his lead came down to a few seconds. On the penultimate test, special test 36 at Alphen, the mounting tension became too much for Staepelaere. The wheel was wrenched out of his hands, he went off the road and lost several minutes, and with them the rally. The crew tried in vain to dig the car out themselves, but fortunately a number of spectators were willing to help. The final classification was official within an hour of the finish. The prize-giving was held on Sunday evening at the Hilton Hotel in Rotterdam, though without a cold buffet, to keep the costs down. The Italian professionals made no use of the list of 30 possible grounds for protest that they had ready. Verini-Russo finished second behind Carlsson, followed by Staepelaere (third), Alèn and Luijbrechts. Fifth place went to Luijbrechts after Plas, lying fifth at the time, had to retire on the last special test (Zestienhoven) fifty metres from the finish with a broken driveshaft. Pannekoek-Brouwer won category 2, while victory in category 3 went to van Espelo and Schipper.