March 23, 2024 - Rain, hail, sun, cold, the Zuiderzee Rally 2024 had it all. As the traditional opening event of the Dutch rally season, the Zuiderzeerally has built a reputation for weather conditions and this year was no exception. The twelve participants of the Motul Clio Rally Trophy were presented with four seasons in one day, with the associated treacherous conditions on the stages.
Before the start, the service area on the quay in Kampen is hit by a hailstorm that turns the roads white, but when the first participants leave, the sun and wind have ensured that the road is dry again. The choice of tires therefore becomes crucial and while most people play it safe and fit rain tires, Jeroen Klein Kromhof takes a gamble by starting on slicks. A decision he soon regretted. “I thought maybe I'm smarter than the rest, but I really had to hold back, I couldn't warm up the tires and had no grip at all, especially in the mud sections it was bad. In retrospect it was a bit of a stupid choice,” he ponders his decision.
Everyone says they start the match calmly. Ben van de Laar explains why. “It's really tricky, super smooth. You leave in the sun and when you drive away it is heavy rain or even hail, which makes it really challenging, but that is also very beautiful.” However, the question is whether everyone actually leaves peacefully. Already in the opening round, Ceriel Klein Kromhof clocked a third fastest time overall among all the Rally2 violence and after the first three tests we met the first three Rally3 cars in fourth, fifth and sixth place overall.
Maurice Kuijsterman is on the road with the two-wheel drive Rally4 and surprises everyone, including himself, with his speed. Despite the wet and slippery conditions, he sets times among the Rally3s and opens eighth overall. "I did not expect it. It takes some getting used to, but it really is a super car. The feeling is immediately very good and sometimes we are still in front of the Rally3s so that is nice,” he grins from ear to ear.
In the Rally5 category, the experienced newcomers Johan Deen and Harmen Scholtalbers are immediately the fastest. The very experienced duo has minor technical problems, but the speed is immediately good. “It's going well, there is something with the box that means I have to connect it myself, but we are driving and have a big smile,” he sounds satisfied. Meanwhile, Elbert Deij makes a small mistake, almost slides down a dike and loses 15 seconds, but remains hopeful “the day is still long and with those hail showers anything can happen.”
Esmee den Hartigh and John Coumans both still have some 'winter rust' to shake off, for which the circumstances are not really suitable. Coumans almost choked on KP2 “just pushed a little too much I think, the rear broke away and we went backwards down the dike. We are still here and everything is still on the car, just keep it going.”
The image of the match remains the same for the rest of the day. The hailstorms continue to pass and the roads become increasingly muddy and slippery. The credo of the race is 'survival', but because everyone is so close to each other, the race is still on the cutting edge, resulting in many damaged mirrors.
Although everyone experiences his or her own adventures, not much changes in the rankings. It is exciting until the last test, but Ceriel Klein Kromhof ultimately wins the first rally of the year and finishes no less than fourth in the general classification. Just nine seconds later, Ben van de Laar finishes second, ahead of Jeroen Klein Kromhof, who in turn has to give in to Van de Laar by just three seconds. After the finishing podium there were smiling faces everywhere, the cars didn't make a sound in the tough conditions, so the drivers could fully focus on driving and the sporty competition from start to finish. Maurice Kuijstermans was just unable to keep up with his four-wheel drive competitors on the slippery roads, but he remained very close. He finishes a strong seventh and it will be interesting to see what he is capable of in dry conditions. On the last test we lose Willem Wouter Overbeek, he hits 8 bends before the end of the road and gets stuck.
Johan Deen immediately enhanced his return to the sport with a convincing victory in the Rally5 class. The gearbox functioned optimally again from the second cycle onwards, after which Deen continuously recorded top 15 times in the general classification and finished 11th overall. The victory was nice, but especially the pleasure of driving made Deen satisfied. Behind him, Henri Kamphuis finished second. On test 4, unlike a number of other Clios, he escaped a flat tire after which he brought the car home safely. John Coumans and Renaldo Lier complete the podium after a tough match. Coumans hoped that it would become dry as the match progressed, but he came home from a rude awakening. A nice third place was reward for the hard work.
Esmee den Hartigh and René Bril shook off some mirrors along the way (“then they have something to do at WDM”) but stayed away from major problems. As the competition progressed, more and more 'winter rust' disappeared, resulting in the duo finishing just behind the podium in fourth. Elbert Deij and Nadia Muilwijk had a puncture and had to change a tire on stage 4. They launched a final offensive but fell just short of catching up with Den Hartigh.
Ingmar and Britt Kobes were almost surprised in the morning and slowed down a bit to concentrate on finishing first. In the afternoon they were hit hardest of all by a hailstorm, which left them with nothing but white vision and had to get off the gas completely. Nevertheless, they came in P6. Mark Bierbooms and Nard Ippen complete the top seven. It took some getting used to and was an incredibly educational race for Bierbooms, who took the wheel again for the first time after two years. Just like Deij, they had to change a flat tire on test 4, otherwise there might have been more in them.
The next round of the Motul Clio Rally Trophy is the Monteberg Rally on May 5 around Poperinge, Belgium.
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