The ELE Rally is being held for the sixtieth time this year. Striking participants are Leo Kurstjens (56) and his son Wout (21) from Esch. They both crawl behind the wheel of a rally car. This Friday and Saturday the family bond does not count and they are competitors: “We want to win each other.”
It will be the second time that father and son Kurstjens ride against each other. At the beginning of April they participated in the Zuiderzee Rally, with Leo finished a place higher than Wout. Extra special is that Leo Navigator Theo Dijkmans from Leende has sitting next to him, while Wout has Max as Navigator, the son of Theo. “It was cool to be allowed to debut, we received many nice reactions,” Wout looks back on his first rally. “Unfortunately we were overtaken by the fathers.”
For both teams, finishing in the Zuiderzee Rally was more important than the result. “But during the Ele Rally it is serious,” Wout continues. The name of his father, Leo Kurstjens, is best known in the kart world. For years he was at the start of the largest tournaments in the world. He then chose the car race, but after about eight years he didn’t like that anymore.
“You only drive an hour a day, that didn’t shy away,” Leo explains. “Moreover, the world was much less pleasant than when karting. I then opted for the Super Art, after I saw it on the Assen circuit. You can get speeds of 240 kilometers per hour. The speed experience is much higher than in the car.”
“Nice to be able to drive as fast as possible on the public road.”
But in the end Leo has been dreaming of a place in a rally car for twenty years. And through his navigator Theo he got the chance in an electric Opel Corsa last year. Then he rode two games in a Renault Clio, including the Ele Rally.
“Rallysport is much more intensive than racing on the track,” explains Kurstjens Sr.. “You are going to explore a day and then ride a rally. I love speed and want to do something. And of course it is nice to be able to drive as fast as possible on the public road. Although it is mentally heavy. You can’t have weak moments, then you are sitting against a tree.”
The love for racing passed from father to son. Although Wout as a child was not so crazy about speed. “When I was six, I was put a kart, but I was scared,” he says. When I was a little older, I joked at my father’s company for a joke and I played football for a long time. But when I was about fourteen years old, I decided to get into my old kart again. That’s how the ball started rolling. “
Since this year, Wout, who participates in Karten for the Dutch title, is also active in rally sport. Just like his father, he wants to be at the start of the Ele Rally as well as possible. But good preparation is difficult for him.
Wout: “To get my license I was allowed to borrow the Clio for a day, but otherwise I drove few kilometers with it. During the exploration of the route you just have to drive in a normal car. You should also not drive faster than allowed. That provides the necessary challenges.” Leo nods and indicates that everything is about performing from Friday evening. “We take the competition very seriously,” he emphasizes.
On Friday 23 and Saturday 24 May there will be classification tests at the Ele Rally in various places in Southeast Brabant. The start is Friday at 6.22 pm on Kerkplein in Son and there is also the finish on Saturday at 10.24 pm. Divided over four events, 130 teams participate.