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The ferry across the IJssel river with Dick and Jacqueline disembarking in the NA Magnette.

Bronkhorst city limits sign. Note that the city Bronkhorst is located in the county of Bronckhorst (with an extra letter c) No idea how that happened. From L to R: NA Magnette, Debbie, Jacqueline, Dick, Jeroen, and Stefan.

The 50-mile-long rally circled through the national parc and surrounding areas with a stop at the steam locomotive museum in Beekbergen. Many of the 80-plus-year-olds took a break to let their drivers look at the steam engines and enjoy the box-lunch we got at the start. The route also included a ferry across the IJssel river near the village of Bronkorst (yes, just like the family name of the Bronkies) which offered an unique photo-op. Bronkhorst is one of the smallest cities in The Netherlands with a population of 157 in the 2010 census. It goes back to the 7th Century and received formal ‘city rights’ in 1482.

The Netherlands is mainly a flat country. And with flat, we mean Flat with a capital F. Only Limburg, one of the 12 provinces is hilly in its far Southern tip between Belgium and Germany. Except for only a few places (half a dozen or so), the other 11 provinces are just like enormous pancakes, Flat. An overpass across the rail road tracks or an express way is commonly referred as a ‘hill’. The Triple M Rally went across one of the exceptions, The Posbank at 269 ft. of elevation. It even has a switchback! To put the elevation in perspective, the city of Bronkhorst is at 36 ft. of elevation, which is already considered high as 50% of the country is only at 3 ft. or less. And all the 80-plus-year-olds drove up the hill under their own power and arrived back at the glider airfield of Terlet.

The 1932 F2 Magna of Kick and Irene Fakkeldij (Alexandra’s parents) experienced some fuel pump problems.

Although some of the 80-plus-year-oldshad to put the hood up (or bonnet open) to fix a minor technical problem, we didn’t hear a single horror or bad-luck story about a rally-ending malfunction. Isn’t it fantastic that 30 of these old MGs can enjoy an entire day of driving without any major problem? And if a minor thing does come up, a few simple tools, a little help from friendly fellow MG drivers, and some fun and a smile will usually get the MG on the road again quickly. These cars were made to be driven and that’s what they do in The Netherlands. Cecil Kimber, John Thornley, and all the people who worked in Oxford and Abingdon, would be proud of the Bronkies and the Dutch Triple M folks.

After dinner, the four Bronkies MG’s ‘drove’ through the early evening to arrive back home at their garage before dark.

Big Thanks go to the Bronkhorst family for their hospitality and for letting us drive the PB again. And of course, to the Dutch Triple M Group to remind us again that 80 year old MGs can really be driven.

~~ Reinout & Henneke Vogt