Saab Cabrio Rally 2021 – Two days without a roof
On September 3, 2021, the very first Saab Cabrio Rally began. An initiative by Alfons Heetjans and Erno Reuvekamp. Both passionate Saab enthusiasts and members of Saab Club Nederland, as well as members of the Dutch Saab Classic Rallyteam, while Alfons also leads the eastern region of Saab Club Nederland. So, as far as the Saab spirit was concerned, everything was in place.
On Friday, September 3, the rally started at IJM Strandhuys in Vught. Twenty teams—the maximum allowed by the organizers—lined up, each with a Saab convertible, eager to get going. After a short briefing by route planner Maarten van Lith of Dutch Rallyevents and a check of the Redrive App on participants’ phones (which would show which checkpoints they had collected), the cars set off at one-minute intervals. The, incidentally, excellent route books were divided into “Fredag eftermiddag, Lördag morgen and Lördag eftermiddag.” Any Saab driver worth their salt understood the Swedish.
The maps for that Friday afternoon were at a 1:100,000 scale, which can be quite tricky. And Maarten van Lith certainly did not turn it into a casual “Kaffee Fahrt.” Navigators really had to give it their all and fell into many of Maarten’s traps. The route itself was perfect, winding through the Brabant and Limburg countryside. The organizers thought participants might stop here and there for refreshments on their own, but that proved wishful thinking. Despite a generous schedule—very generous, in fact—almost everyone skipped the break and tried to arrive more or less on time at Rolduc Abbey in Kerkrade, where prosecco awaited and tall stories began to flow. During dinner, Maarten van Lith explained what we had done right and wrong. Ouch… that stung. Team 19, Jan Willem Nugteren with navigator Kees Vortman, had only two incorrect controls—quite an achievement, considering some teams racked up more than 1,000 penalty points (10 missed controls), up to 5,800 (58 missed controls). But the competition was still wide open.
The next morning the rally continued in Limburg. The weather remained beautiful, so tops came down and the enjoyment doubled. Maarten flagged us off to drive seven stages covering 176.5 km.
Caution was required. The beautiful, narrow Limburg roads were also populated by large groups of cyclists, ‘oldies’ on e-bikes, and plenty of walkers.
Maarten had not made things easy. With arrows and free points, arrows with barricades, arrows and points for the shortest route, border-approach clues, and long arrows that looked like drawn lines, the tasks were varied and challenging. In any case, everyone arrived more or less on time for the break at the “Rijk van Margraten.” From there we followed Limburg’s most scenic tourist roads imaginable—via Vijlen, Epen, Slenaken, Valkenburg and other tourist hotspots—where the number of cyclists doubled again, especially on the Cauberg, since every self-respecting cyclist wants to test their legs there. These were truly the final stretches, and some tasks required real puzzling. One checkpoint turned out to be in the middle of a meadow, and the church of Sint Geertruid also caused some head-scratching.
All convertible drivers were flagged in on time—like Max at Zandvoort—and the convertibles were parked in the inner courtyard of Rolduc Abbey. The prosecco, offered by Saab Club Nederland, went down well.
At dinner, of course, all of Maarten’s traps, jokes, and tricks were discussed at length, accompanied by hearty laughter. Then came the decisive moment: the prize ceremony. Winners—actually, winning women—of the Saab Cabrio Rally 2021 were Gonny Vijn with navigator Marja van Adrichem. In addition to the first-place trophy, they were entrusted with the large challenge cup provided by Saab Club Nederland for one year. With only 900 penalty points, it was a first place worthy of respect—especially since it was navigator Marja’s very first rally. With words of thanks from Saab Club Nederland chairman Merlijn Kalkman, the excellently organized Saab Cabrio Rally 2021 came to an end. Organizers Alfons Heetjans and Erno Reuvekamp promised there would definitely be a 2022 edition, which earned thunderous applause.
Results:
1st place: Gonny Vijn – Marja van Adrichem
2nd place: Erno Reuvekamp – Miranda Reuvekamp
3rd place: Mariëtte Kranendonk – Kees Kranendonk
Written by: Ad van Beurden – Team 17 together with navigator Gep Hoekstra