There's not been much mentioned here on the club for next years Viva Italia so just to let people know the date has been set for the 28th April, my ferry is booked so fingers crossed for some good weather again.

https://www.viva-italia.nl/

I'm sure closer the time Rene will post club details and discount codes.

As always... well, apart from last time. Ill be on for the jolly, ferry booked
Look forwards to seeing all there and buying something italian to take..

IM booked to go!

I will let you guys know as soon as possible , keep you posted. Mir and i looking forward to this. you`re most welcome.

The 28th of April 2019 Viva Italia is on the agenda, and I will like to invite you to come over.
I have reserved 35 spots on the paddock and also a paddock tent.
We will get a paddock code like the years before , so you can purchase your club entree tickets with a discount only when ordered online.
Here the link : https://www.viva-italia.nl/
The discount is 5,-euro max 2 per car for 10 ,- euro per ticket ,on the track 15,- euro per ticket
The code I will send to the contenders as a pdf file, you have to print out the paddock ticket , and put it in sight behind the windscreen the day of the event when you going on the paddock.
The club entree ticket you don`t need to print out , download it on your mobile so they can scan it , no screenshot/photo , that wouldn’t work.
There is also the possibility to go on the track, as soon as I have the info i will let you know.
The 27th of April the night before Viva Italia we gather for a diner at Restaurant van Veen , if you want to com please let me know so I can give them the right numbers.
Here the link of the Restaurant : https://www.restaurantvanveen.nl/
This year we also have special for this event designed T-shirts, if you want one please let me know , so I can give you the E-mail address of the guy who takes care of these.

I will look after coffee/thee/cookies/soda asking price for this is 5,- euro per car including the rent of the paddock tent . you can pay it on the day itself.
I you have questions please let me know.

Greetings René Besselink

I fancy that via the Hull Ferry.

Thanks for the update René

Hi René, all the best to you guys

I'll not be able to make this due to some fairly good reasons, but since Emilia is now over there I'll see if I can persuade her to join in the fun and say hi!

She loved it last time (2 years ago)

You'll have to let us be the judge of that Simon?! As you know, you have set the bar very high, missing several ferries in quick succession is not a good enough excuse, for example...

All right, all right

Yes it's true Emilia thought she'd have a much better chance of getting there if she lived in the same country!!

But, (wriggling to his own defence), BumbleBee is due for some serious work at that time which will preclude any flights of fancy....

I have invited her already , so that's taken care of , now have to find a way to get bumblebee over to Assen, on a trailer an option ?

Lol, probably more reliable than a ferry

Am working on a cunning plan...

you are most welcome

I may be up for this as well M62 over to the Hull ferry then Rotterdam to Assen is almost the same mileage as Warrington to Edinburgh which is a fairly regular trip for me. And I mean the city and not Simon in case rumours spread Need to check diary as it's Easter holiday time but fingers crossed....

Sounds good. Done it before to Spa Italia so if car is good to go will definitely do it from Hull

Here are a few links of accommodations in and near Assen :

https://www.bedandbreakfast.nl/bed-and-breakfast-nl/assen/nederland/c2759633

https://www.valkexclusief.nl/hotels/hotel-assen/

https://www.debontewever.nl/en/


Greetings Rene

Thanks Rene. I've just booked in at the following hotel over 27 - 29th:

Stadsherberg, Brinkstraat 85, Assen, 9401 HZ, Netherlands

Studio apt incl breakfast and all taxes for £155 which is a good deal I reckon. Fully refundable up to the 25/04 so happy days

That is a good adres they had changed there name , it use to be Hotel de Jonge , they can help you out with safe parking.

For people who are interested , the evening before Viva Italia the 27th of April we having a diner at the Zalen centrum van Veen , here is the link : https://www.restaurantvanveen.nl/

The menu is a Schnitzel/Saté buffet with vegetables potato`s and chips , as desert ice cream, the costs are 25,- euro per person ex drinks.
We will have a private room for our group , I made some pictures that will illustrate the room.




They have plenty and big parking spots.
It will start at 19:00 hours
The address is : Restaurant-Zalen van Veen
Witterhaar 14
9405 VK Assen

If you want to participate please let me know as soon as possible .

Greetings René

Well as Mr Rod Stewart would sing "We are sailing, we are sailing". Ferry booked heading over on the 26th from Hull and returning on the 29th

Do you will com and join us at the dinner the night before Viva Italia ?

The new for the Viva shirt is ready , it will kost 10,- euro ex shipment , when you are interested please let me know by sending me a pm , than i will give you the details for ordering one.

Here a teeser of the shirt.



Greetings Rene

Looking good Rene!

Thxx , every year we try to make a special T-shirt only for Viva Italia.

This will be our official club shirt by the way

Nice.
Are they open to other dominions - at least prior to Brexit?

Yes they are i will give you the details from the guy who is taken care of it per pm, Brexit or no Brexit

But i don't no what the shipment costs are for the shirts.

The pdf file with the paddock and ticket code for purchasing the clubintree tickets are on there way to you , if you did not get one please let me know , I also will post the track time table for the guys who want do track time soon.

If you have questions please let me know.



greetings Rene'

Start
Einde
Activiteit
11:00
11:20
Tracktime Italiaanse auto's overig, sessie 1
11:25
11:45
Tracktime Italiaans motoren, sessie 1
11:50
12:10
Tracktime Italiaanse motoren, sessie 2
12:15
12:35
Competizione di Tempo (Time Attack)
12:40
13:00
Parade Lamborghini & Ferrari
13:05
13:25
Tracktime Italiaanse auto's overig, sessie 2
13:30
13:50
Parade Italiaans overig (parade sessie 1)
13:55
14:20
14:15
14:35
Parade Italiaans overig (Lancia Club)
Display Supercars
14:40
15:00
Parade Ferrari & Lamborghini
15:05
15:45
Competizione di Tempo (Time Attack) inclusief finale!
15:50
16:10
Track Time Italiaanse auto's overig, sessie 3
16:15
16:35
Tracktime Italiaanse motoren, sessie 3
16:35
16:55
Tracktime Italiaanse motoren, sessie 4
17:15
17:35
Tracktime Italiaanse motoren, sessie 5
17:40
18:00
Tracktime Italiaanse motoren, sessie 6

Thanks René

Btw "overig" = remaining......

I'll come also

René you have PM

Right, that's me in Flying over to see my daughter and partner that weekend in Haarlem and will drive up to Assen on Sunday - see you guys there!

Already answered back , you are most welcome

greetings Rene'

Nice to see you again , do you need paddock tickets ?

Well if you can squeeze us in René, in whatever rental scrapper we turn up in, that would be

Maybe you can at least get something Italian Simon?

Not one of these though....

Yes i can

Can anyone direct me to a booking page in English?

nog niet klaar...

...but easy enough to work out.

Select how may "Entreeticket" (adult age 15+ entry ticket) you want at 16 €, also "Entreeticket kind" (kids 6mo - 14) at 5 € plus "Tracktime" track sessions at 40 € and/or parade lap at 20 € (that

The club ticket that René has hopefully sent you has the "club code" that you enter into the "Korting" (discount) box and press the arrow, it should take off 6 € per adult, maximum of 2 x 6 € off = 12 € discount.

Paying using Credit Card or PayPal adds another 5%. There are free payment options (Ideal, Bancontact and Sofort Banking) but not obviously available to us in the UK. However, it looks as though Transferwise can be used for Sofort, so I will try that to see if I can save the cost of a beer...)

...ah, but then you get to another page where you have to add your details, again in Dutch, but still easy enough to work out.

Or just pay (more) on the day

Ok cheers Dave.....takes deep breath



Edit...All set!

Glad to have you along Simon

On Sunday the 28th of april we gather at the Hof van Parijs at nine in the morning and drive of to the circuit at half past nine together .

Here a map and som foto,s from the location.











Greetings Rene'

Sorry René, that is not the weather that we are expecting, please fix it for us to have sunshine

ok , i will fix this , i order full sun and a temp of 25 degrees Celsius , do you take your short legs with you DaveG ?

Yes, I will bring my short legs, and my short arms too Do you want me to bring anything for you or Mirjam, short or otherwise?

Som typical English wil be great , but you and the boys coming over is the most important thing .



Greetings Rene' and Mirjam

The paddock line up for Viva Italia has arrived , the RD03 is our spot it's marked in yellow .




Almost two weeks to go , i can't wait


Greetz Rene

I'm painting the dinghy already....

Has anyone got recommendations for accommodation in Assen?

I've always used AirBnB or booking.com, but not much time left now...

How many people?

E&K, and me

Rene, have you room for three more at the restaurant?

Yes i have , i am going to call them on Monday , its 25,- euro per person , so i will put you on the list , see you soon .


Greetings Rene

Hi Reně

Just checking restaurant details for Saturday evening, is it Restaurant Zalen van Veen, the link you gave earlier (https://www.restaurantvanveen.nl/) doesn't work any more?

Working for me Dave?

Laptop need a fuse?

Working for me also , no panic , you and the boys com over at our house and we will go together to the restaurant.

Web site is working now, I had already made a note of the location, see you there!

Today is the last day you can order your Viva Italia T-shirt . See you guys soon.


Grtzz Rene

I suppose there's no-one going out via Hull on the Friday evening?

Harwich for a few of us overnight..See you there.

Time is ticking down!! Looking forward to it!

Has anyone checked how much unleaded is over in Holland - it would appear it's c £1.55 per litre I'm on £1.21 for branded down the road from me. Best to fill up before getting on the ferry!

ISTR it's more expensive, from Calais I can't get there and back (and race around the track!) on one tank, and yes it is pricey in NL, I tend to fill up in Belgium (bit cheaper than France) but I guess you don't have that option?

That's me in Haarlem

Looking forward to seeing y'all tomorrow

Sitting in pub relaxing in Harwich...See you guys tomorrow!

Drive safe guys and girls , see you all tomorrow . A tank filling in the Netherlands isn't cheap , i know .

Hi Rene,

In the track time schedule, is Auto = cars and Motoren = motorbikes? (literally "engines")

Interesting crossing over. Cptn Pugwash announced it would be force 6 - 7 and he wasn't joking! Now I know how my y-fronts feel in a tumble wash! Anyway what a relief to drive on free flowing motorways rather than the Manchester and Leeds mayhem yesterday.

We're down the road in Dwingeloo in an amazing airbnb, only 20-odd mins away

a motor is bike in Dutch car is auto .

See you soon

Thanks Rene and to Mirjam for the welcome and the personal touches on Saturday night. And sorry again for the embarrassment at the race track which I gather has been captured for posterity!

Thank you guys for making the effort to come over to us , i hope you enjoyed your stay in Assen and viva Italia off course , pictures will follow as soon as possible.

Mirjam and i had a great time and you are most welcome to join us again next year.

greetings Rene' and Mirjam

I think you were the hero of the day , but the look on your face after you had been on the track was epic , great to have you here, you are most welcome next year.

Seems we missed something!



Was the "end result" still similar to this?




A few coops amongst a great turnout


Pre-event sortie (3-camera compilation, slightly inferior video quality 1


Pre-event sortie2 (single camera)

There are one or two more vids, mainly of the steel grey (Rico's old one) and the sprinty with the side flashes that kept going off just before the chicane - apparently he's always there but doesn't appear in the paddock with the rest of the coops.


Huge thanks once again to Rene and Mirjam for their tireless work and organisation - across several fields - not to mention their hospitality and friendship. Craig went into the restaurant on Saturday evening not knowing a single person but left on Sunday having made friends and a whale of a time Emilia continues to be more of a petrolhead each time and oddly enough on my return, as well as the journey over, all went amazingly to plan.....well what else would one expect

Apologies for dashing off early but said as many goodbyes as possible - we left at 3, (2 UK time) and I was sitting in the house at 8
Next morning my head didn't know where the hell it was

Thx Simon for your nice comment , we do our best to give everybody a good time and feeling welcome . thank you for making the effort to com over to us , it was great to see you again , not in a coop , but that's ok for now , hope to see you again. you're most welcome.


greetings Rene' and Mirjam



By the way nice foto's and videos , my compliments.

At the restaurant the night before...

At the meeting point #1

At the meeting point #2

At the circuit #1

At the circuit #2

On the ciruit...(note G-Man/Alan carrying on past the chequered flag when everyone else is coming in )

Ah, well done Alan, wondered what all the fuss was about

Hope you enjoyed yourself anyway!

Many thanks to Rene and all involved with Viva 2019, weather was kind enough not to rain until after the event had finished, was chilly but an enjoyable day

Some great pics there peeps And thanks Dave - my humiliation is finally complete ..

Pics or it didn't happen. We all know it's the Scotsman in you trying to get max VFM

You're welcome Countrycruising , it was a pleasure to have you al over here, and G_Man , don't worry you where on the track as i said you're my hero of the day.


Greetings Rene' and Mirjam

Yes Alan thanks for taking the heat off my previous travel idiosyncracies

Footage uploaded of arrivals at the gate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0oi-tyt5mg

Coupes feature c 4.5 mins in with a decent shot of yours Joe.

Bangin' toons in the background

Here a compilation of Viva Italia , special thanks to Marc de Haan , Eveline van Assen and Mirjam Besselink for making the pictures , hope you enjoy .