“When I look back on all those years, I’ve been through everything. It was a formidable time. Rain, sunshine, heat and cold. It doesn’t matter, it was always beautiful and it still remains after 80 years.”
De Lange continues: “The most beautiful TT for me was the year that Wil Hartog won. That was in the pouring rain, but that didn’t matter to me. I was a fan of Hartog. Still. He was one with the engine, in a time when the drivers weren’t hanging out so much.”
In recent years, De Lange has been a fan of Rossi. There is even a Rossi flag in his house. “But Rossi has also had his years. Whether that matters to the TT? Well no, the fun remains. I just love it.”
In any case, De Lange enjoys today in the TT Museum. The historic motorcycles, he thinks they are beautiful. But a highlight is the motorcycle, which is linked to a computer game, on which he can drive around the circuit himself. “This was the day of my life.”