The Lions Club Tielt proudly presenting the 11th edition of their 4 x 4 event...

Next week you can enjoy some serious off-road fun again in Tielt, where the Lions Club Tielt holds together with magazine « 4 x 4 plus » for the 11^th time its famous 4 x 4 event. Again the clay fields of the brick manufacturer Egem in Egem-Pittem, which is part of the Wienerberger Group, will be the ideal setting for some challenging off-road work.

Hans Knol ten Bensel

A readers’ event…

The bi-monthly magazine « 4 x 4 PLUS » organises  on this occasion also its national readers day, and  a team of not less than 30 persons will provide the necessary assistance and logistical support. Participants can enter the fields at 9 AM, and can drive directly to the location in Egem-Pittem, or one can start in Aalter at the premises of PLASTIVU, very close to the roundabout one hits when taking the Aalter exit on the Brussels-Ostend motorway. Participants receive there a roadbook, which will allow them to drive to the destination in Egem-Pittem via off-road tracks in the region, a route which gives them already healthy off-road pleasure for about one and a half hour. So it is (almost) half the fun in just getting there !

Press Communication officer of Lions Club Tielt, Philippe Tack concentrating on the steep hills of the clay pit with his Range Rover, with the car(and its driver)  proving up to the task...

The roadbook is designed for SUV’s with medium off-road capacities, with limited terrain difficulty, allowing average owners with limited off-road experience to get a taste of off-road driving through muddy country roads.

Philippe Tack of Lions' Club Tielt speaking at the press conference, with Ludo de Ravet, editor of 4x4 PLUS magazine second from the right.  

The clay-fields of the brick manufacturer in Egem are of course far more challenging, and there is not only a lot of wet, sticky clay, but there are also some very steep hills and descents. The true « die-hards » will have most fun in the « mud-pit », which some enthusiasts will actually never leave for the whole day.   

One can pre-register on the website of the 4 x 4 PLUS magazine, www.4x4plusmagazine.be or www.lionstieltevent.be.

For the sheer fun of it…

There is no competition between the participants whatsoever, so this is the ideal occasion for you to test the limits of your car and to concentrate just on that. In previous years, some 450-480 enthusiasts participated at the event, and the organisers hope to achieve this year the magic number of 500 participants.

Numerous sponsors are also present, for instance Land Rover Bruges and Courtrai, Audi-VW dealer Decancq, Tyres Mortier with « G-Treffen » (Mercedes-Benz), Novoto and Terminus Brugge (Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge dealers),  Flanders Off Road and Isuzu Benelux.

At the press conference, your servant was pleasantly surprised to meet Marie-Lise Verschelden, Press Relations & Interactive Manager of Chrysler Belgium Luxembourg NV and Peter Gemoets, Public Relations Manager Mazda Motors Belux, as both Chrysler and Mazda dealers sponsor this event. You see them both on the picture above.  

Public Relations Manager Peter Gemoets (on the right) posing together with Philippe Tack before the Mazda CX 7, which proved in its element on country roads around Tielt.  

There is also a special demo circuit laid out for the sponsors, so besides taking your own car through its paces, you can have some thrilling test and demo drives in Tielt… and enjoy afterwards a drink in the sponsor hospitality tent.

With this event, the Lions’ Club Tielt supports a centre for invalid persons in the Gruuthusestraat in Tielt, which is a noble cause indeed .

We can only conclude : don’t miss the rendez-vous in Tielt…

Hans Knol ten Bensel