SLIDING PILLAR

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ardennes 2001 by Jan & Toon Van Hoorick How it all started As anyone who knows us will tell you, both Lancias and the Ardennes have been part of our lives from the cradle onwards. Our grandfather Leo ‘discovered’ the Ardennes in the 1930s from behind the wheel of his Augusta berlina. It was love at first sight, and the house he built in Houffalize became the destination that we as tiny tots, squeezed into the back seat of a Lancia, looked forward to visiting each year in the holidays... just as our children do now. A few years ago we took our wives, children and Augustas to the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg on a camping trip. It was just a short experiment, but what impressed us and stuck in our memory was how strikingly attractive the landscape was, seen from behind that enamelled steel dashboard, and how much we enjoyed driving on roads that felt as if they had been tailor-made for our old Lancias. It was then that we had the idea of repeating this experience in the company of other confirmed Lancisti. The enthusiastic reaction of a number of those amongst you swept away all further hesitation. We sought the opinion of Ade Rudler, who has been organising the famous Sliding Pillar rally in the UK for many years, and he gave our initiative his full support. Thus in 2001 this first European Sliding Pillar Meeting replaced the UK Sliding Pillar rally. The programme On Saturday morning we set off. First down the road to Houffalize, where we met the late arrivals and single-day participants and displayed our cars in the Place de l’Eglise. The rally started from here and led us through part of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. The carefully prepared route acquainted us with the Ardennes from all perspectives. We were joined at midday by the Lancia Club Belgio, starting that morning in Spa, and they stayed with us for the rest of the day. Saturday afternoon witnessed at least one of every sliding-pillar Lancia model ever built, bar one, on the roads of the Ardennes. Late in the afternoon the cars returned to the Place de l’Eglise in Houffalize where, to live musical accompaniment, the mayor and local inhabitants awaited us with a welcome drink. Meanwhile the preparations for the big Sliding Pillar Party in Les Onays were in full swing. The festive Saturday evening was a memorable one and included a special barbecue in the genuine Ardennes manner and dance music into the small hours. On Sunday morning a substantial breakfast conferred the previous night’s revelries to the past and we started the second day’s run from Les Onays, heading towards Spa, a town whose waters have given it a rich history. Via Francorchamps with its renowned circuit, we visit Stavelot, in our opinion the most attractive little town in the entire area. The last part of the run took us back to Les Onays. On Sunday evening we parked our cars for the last time in the setting sun and proceeded to the farewell dinner. This was the gastronomic highlight of the weekend in a restaurant with one of the best panoramic views of the Ardennes. Farewells and departures were on Monday morning. Plans are already forming for a second European Sliding Pillar Meeting... Enthusiastic reactions By February 2001, when we were writing the first articles of “Ardennes News”, the first registrations had already arrived: some 25, consisting of five Lambdas, two Augustas and Belnas, one Aprilia, nine Aurelias and two Appias plus several undecided. Sixteen came from Great Britain, four from Holland, two from Germany, two from France and one from Belgium. Four months later, we found ourselves with over 50 participating cars, and more than a hundred enthusiastic Lancisti. (See also List of participants). This was far more than we had ever expected for this first European Meeting. The spontaneous reactions we received from participants have encouraged us to organise a second European Meeting, which will take place in June 2003. It goes without saying that we are eager to bring the Lancia Sliding Pillar community back together again on the continent. For more information on the European Sliding Pillar Meeting contact Jan Van Hoorick: jan@vanhoorick.com Jan Van Hoorick Kaudenaarde 61 – 1700 Dilbeek Belgium Tel: +32 2 567 90 01 - Fax: +32 2 511 70 15 back to top
ardennes news by Eduard De Landtsheer The first preparations for the European Sliding Pillar began in the summer of 2000 when we started looking for interesting locations and places to visit, rally roads, etc. Soon after that the arrangements for accomodation and catering were settled. By the end of the year we were able to draw up our first programme, tarifs and formulas and a first invitation mailing with registration form was sent out to the various Lancia Sliding Pillar owners we already knew. When the first reactions came in early in 2001, we felt that we should do something more than just confirm them and wait for more registrations to arrive. In the months leading up to the event, we wanted to inform the participants - or interested, as yet undecided, enthusiasts - about the background of the event, and tell them some more about what the Ardennes have to offer. Thus “ARDENNES NEWS” was born. Being journalists, editors, printers and graphic designers we naturally used our professional knowledge to spread the news on this event. Aiming to reunite Lancisti from mainly the U.K., France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and of course Belgium, this magazine would be edited in English, French and Dutch. Unfortunately we did not have a German or Italian-speaking organiser in our team. Maybe we can find someone for the next meeting? The first issue (February 2001) set out to explain the motives for this meeting, as well as its history. We also wanted to present the little town of Houffalize as well as Achouffe, with its local brewery. Spread over 8 pages, this first issue informed the reader about these subjects and set the tone for this unique event. And since we received the support of Fiat Auto Belgio, we were amongst the first to know about the new Lancia Thesis, presented just then at the Geneva Motor Show, and report on it. In the second issue (April 2001), Ade Rudler reviewed the early English Sliding Pillar events, taking us back to 1991. Whilst we had 25 registrations in February, we could now announce 40 teams, leading us to think we now had a “full house”. Some tourist information on the towns of Spa and Stavelot would complete this issue, together with a historic overview of the well-known Spa-Francorchamps racing circuit. In May we were ready to publish the last issue before the event itself, bringing a - more or less - final list of participants (48 by now) and detailed programme. Tourist information about Bastogne and the Mardasson War Memorial, the Grand-Duchy of Luxemburg and the city of Clervaux was included. An article on Lancias that had raced at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit led us to a tribute to one of the drivers in the late 60’s, Toon Van Beusekom, who also participated this year’s first European Sliding Pillar Meeting. All this information needed 12 pages: the magazine was getting thicker… By now, July 2001, the final issue of Ardennes News has been mailed. Being the ‘morning after’ issue, this Ardennes News, which has grown to 16 pages, contains numerous spontaneous reactions received from participants, together with many photos to remind us of the event. Most participants also received one or more original photographs of their car and/or themselves, together with the magazine, while Ade Rudler, looking forward to 2002, sketches the plans for next year’s Sliding Pillar Rally, back in the U.K. again. An electronic version of Ardennes News (pdf-format – adobe acrobat) can be downloaded from this site. ardennes_news1.pdf ardennes_news2.pdf ardennes_news3.pdf ardennes_news4.pdf back to top
gallery Almost two-hundered images are available now. Click here to see! back to top
list of participants Click on car name for image and use back-button to return to this page. Use gallery above to see all images. Ian Young - Lambda Torpedo 1922 - United Kingdom Leo Van Hoorick - Lambda Torpedo 1924 - België Hugh Ross - Lambda Castagna 1924 - United Kingdom Marc De Bruijn - Aurelia B20 1956 () - Nederland Stafford Buck - Lambda Torpedo 1927 - United Kingdom John Vessey - Lambda Torpedo 1927 - United Kingdom Jonathan Wood - MG Midget () - United Kingdom Elspeth Amey - Lambda Coupé 1928 - United Kingdom John Millham - Lambda Torpedo 1929 - United kingdom Paul Atkinson - Lambda Farina Cabrio 1930 - United Kingdom Göran Inger - Augusta 1933 - Sverige (Deutschland) Gerald Batt - Lambda Torpedo - United Kingdom (never showed up) Mike Wheeler - Augusta March () 1934 - United Kingdom Dominique Cruyt - Belna Pourtout Cabrio 1934 - België Aat Hop - Augusta 1935 - Nederland Umberto Delcorona - Belna Paul Née Coach 1935 - Italia Daniel Pottier - Fulvia Zagato() - France Wim Oude Weernink - Astura Pininfarina - Nederland Don Williamson - Artena 1930 - United Kingdom Ben Courage - Aprilia 1937 - United Kingdom Adrian Rudler - Aprilia 1938 - United Kingdom Bart Kleyn - Aprilia 1948 - Nederland Ronald Barker - Ardea 1949 - United Kingdom Klaus Artz - Aurelia B20 GT 1951 - Deutschland Roger Bowen - Aurelia B10 1952 - United Kingdom Nino Mezzo - Aurelia B20 GT 1953 - Belgique Hans Jungblut - Aurelia B20 GT 1953 - Nederland Ron Francis - Aurelia B50 Stabilimenti Farina 1953 - United Kingdom Sébastien Simon - Aurelia B50 Cabrio Pininfarina 1953 - Suisse Christopher Gawne - Aurelia B20 GT 1953 - United Kingdom Brian Hands - Aurelia B10 1953 - United Kingdom Brin Edwards - Aurelia B20 GT 1954 - United Kingdom Karel Glaaser - Appia 1954 - Nederland Ian Fraser - Aurelia B24 Spider 1955 - United Kingdom Rolf D. Körner - Aurelia B20 GT 1957 - Deutschland Rijk N. Heuff - Aurelia B20S GT 1957 - United Kingdom Karl-Heinz Hager - Aurelia 1957 - Deutschland Geoffrey Hewitson - Aurelia 1957 - United kingdom Uwe Koenzen - Aurelia B20 GT 1958 - Deutschland Claude Pibarot - Aurelia B24S 1958 - France Edmund Rudler - Aurelia B24 1958 - United Kingdom Martin Willems - Aurelia B21 1953 - Nederland Toon Van Beusekom - Appia 1959 - Nederland Nigel Trow - Aurelia B20 GT 1959 - United Kingdom Michel Pineau - Appia 1962 - France Ottorino Romagnoli - Appia Zagato GTE 1962 - Italia Jan Huss - Appia 1963 - France Huib Geurink - Appia 1963 - Nederland Karl Sânger - Augusta 1934 - Schweiz Dirk-Jan Remmelink - Appia Vignale Lusso 1961 - Nederland Geert Soomers - Belna Paul Née - België (*) The car numbers reflect the age of the cars, #1 being the oldest car participating. However, some participants did not show up in the car they announced, or did not let us know the exact date of construction of their car. back to top