4 x 4 Magazine chief editor Pascale de Ravet putting her Defender through its paces at the Wienerberger excavation site in Tielt: on June 28 you can drive your own 4 x 4 here to the limit...   

Do you fancy putting your beloved 4 x 4 through its paces this summer? Then there is an excellent occasion to start it all: drive on Sunday the 28^th of June to Tielt, and spend for a mere 50 Euros with all your friends and passengers a splendid day driving on unhardened country roads through Flanders fields, only to top it all off with taking your 4 x 4 through the mud holes and most challenging terrain in the clay excavations site of the stone/clay-brick manufacturer Wienerberger.

They make it all happen for you in Tielt on June 28: Pascale de Ravet (behind the wheel), the 4 x 4 event manager of Lions Club Patrick Ampe and Ludo de Ravet, standing on the right.

This event is organized now for the 10^th year both by the local Lions Club Tielt and the Belgian magazine ‘4 x 4 PLUS’, which uses this event also as its annual “readers day”, and who will have not less than 30 people on the track providing all the necessary technical and logistical assistance to let the event run smoothly.

Your servant was invited by Pascale de Ravet, chief editor of the 4 x 4 magazine, and her father Ludo de Ravet, who produces the magazine, for a press pre-view day of the event. As a passenger in the de Ravet ‘family’ Land Rover Defender expertly driven by Pascale de Ravet, I got a first impression of the unhardened country roads, well indicated in the Road book, which is offered to every participant in the event. These roads lead to the massive excavation site of the Wienerberger Group, which is put at the disposal for the event by plant manager Karel Coene.

The site sports also a sizeable “mud hole”, where you can take your 4 x 4 through its paces and plaster it from top to bottom with a thick coat of good Flemish clay…

Steep hills and challenging terrain is also provided for, so you can test your driving skills to the limit. The nice thing about it is that there is not the slightest hint of competition in this event, so you can discover your car and your own talents at your own pace…   

You can take of course your own SUV through its paces, but the excavation site has with its 'mud hole' more difficult things in store for 4 x 4 'diehards' ...

I was also warmly welcomed and hosted that day by the members of the Tielt Lions Club, who also welcome foreign visitors to this event, where they hope to surpass the magic number of 500 participating cars, after having 450 cars last year.

 Clay-pigeon  shooting…

The Lions Club in Tielt also organizes now for the 13^th time a clay-pigeon shooting event, taking place on the Wienerberger excavation site from 13 to 18.00 on Saturday June 27, followed in the evening by a massive barbeque, where some 500 people are expected. The club organizes the weekend for a good cause, notably to fund the activities of a centre for handicapped persons in Tielt, named MIVALTI.

On the picture below you see Lions Club Tielt 4 x 4 event manager Patrick Ampe with Lions Club Tielt president Jan Vervelghe holding his rifle... testing their talents behind the wheel and  the trigger!     

The Lions Club hopes to attract more foreign visitors to this event, and indeed it certainly is an interesting and fitting venue for the 4 x 4 enthusiasts who want to start the summer season with the proverbial ‘bang…‘ from the exhaust.. the rifle or both!

Hans Knol ten Bensel

Just a practical note: you can subscribe for the event on www.4x4event.be or www.lionstieltevent.be