High in the speed and black smoke from the exhaust. The 40th edition of Tractor Pulling in Eext is a fact. Every year the event is organized in the middle of the village and a small splash of rain could not spoil the fun.
The anniversary was celebrated yesterday with the old guard and for the visitors there is a party in the party tent tonight, but the rest of the event is as usual. Roaring engines, a lot of smoke and plenty to drink. The grandstand was full and people were also looking at which tractor is best restrained.
It may be the 40th time in Eext, much changed the sport is not in all this time. “The biggest change over the years has been in safety,” said Arend-Jan Weinans of the organization. “Everything has been tightened to keep the sport fun and safe for everyone.”
Anyone who thinks that tractor pulling is nothing more than pulling a far too heavy cart with a much too large engine, will be disappointed. The job alone must be top. Not too wet or too dry, and the required distance to a Full Pull To get it also depends on the circumstances. According to Weinans, around 71 teams participate in different categories.
One of the participants is Team Exception from Exloo. This year they are participating in Eext for the 33rd time. Mark Blom: “You want to perform better for the home crowd than usual, but often that goes wrong. We have now become a bit more sober in it. We are doing our best and with that we usually end up nicely in the middle bracket.” According to him, little has also changed. “It has only become a bit more expensive.”
“It is just a really anniversary year, but anyway it doesn’t matter which year, it is always wonderful to be here,” says one of the visitors. Young and old have been pulled to Eext, often armed with earplugs or headphones. Weinans: “It’s just a lot of noise and smoke, but that’s what people come for.”
Normally, about three thousand people come to the annual event. This year the organization hopes for more, but that is not the most important thing. “If everyone has a nice day and everything goes without too many craziness, then it is a successful day.” Is tractor filling not a craziness? “No. If there are no strange things with tractors, it’s a nice day for us,” concludes Wijnans.
The result does not matter for Team Exception. “We hope it will remain a beautiful day today and that we can simply put a nice run again.”