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From 3 to 40 years: The BeForty really is the future
What a weekend! We had to wait for 3 years, but it was definitely worth it. Exhausted but fulfilled we arrived home on Sunday night. On the 23rd and 24th April the BeForty took place in the Netherlands. Well actually the party really began on Friday…
We arrived at the hotel, where there was a great reunion of not only old acquaintances but also many new faces. Belgians, Dutch, Germans, English and French were well represented this year. On the forecourt slowly but surely a mouth-watering line-up of cars appeared. I can already hear you thinking, what rich kids. Maybe there is some truth in that, but there were a lot of participants working hard, including some in the classic car world. This group really is the future.
After the briefing on Saturday morning we were off. With a route map that required some attention, we drove through the typical Dutch landscape of meadows, dykes and small villages. Thirty-five cars found their way to the coffee and then to the bbq lunch in the beautiful garden of car enthusiast Bert Degenaar. We sat on picnic blankets between the fruit trees that were full of blossom. The food was delicious, the surroundings beautiful, the weather perfect and, of course the company was delightful. A deliciously relaxed afternoon, all made possible by the help of friends and close family.
The BeForty rally is for drivers under the age of 40 driving pre-1940 cars. The youngest passenger was 3 years old; a 14-year-old enthusiast who could not wait to get behind the wheel himself and a 40-year-old driver who sadly took part for the last time, in the oldest car — a 1902 Panhard Levassor — plus everyone else in between. What a great group of young enthusiasts!
Not being all that familiar with the old cars, and maybe not having that much (technical or mechanical) knowledge can’t really stop you from participating in the rally. Every now and then we found a car(s) with a group of people on the side of the road helping each other to fix minor issues. And hey, not one of the cars had to use the back-up car with trailer so we think we did pretty well getting everyone to the finish!
Organisers Milton and Nilo did an amazing job finding really nice places for a wine and cheese stop and picnics in the woods. La vie est belle as the French would say!
As not everyone was fully refreshed at the start on Sunday, we set off a little later than planned and made it an unforgettable day. Just like the day before, a lot of kilometres were driven. On this last day, we drove 120km in total over both paved and unpaved roads.
It was great to spend the weekend with this group of young international car friends. The organisers excelled themselves and received well-deserved praise. Well done guys! We would like to thank everyone for this amazing and unforgettable weekend.
Next year the rally will be held in Belgium. Already excited? Send an e-mail to office@prewarcar.com, and we'll keep you updated on the next BeForty.
Pictures by the Fam Smit, Marion van Maanen, Loïc Maschi and Morris Klein.
Published:
Friday April 29th, 2022
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Comments
Chip Wright
29 April 2022, 15:24
What a wonderfully eclectic collection of cars! So nice to know there is a younger generation willing to forego all the creature comforts of modern transport to just let loose and enjoy the pure joy of driving...
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Guy Mahy
29 April 2022, 12:00
Very nice comments and pictures for a very nice event.... maybe the cars are a bit above average (in value) but they are on the road with young people at the wheel. They believe there is a nice future for these historic vehicles and keep our little world well alive!
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