The lost talent

After 34 years Mats Lysen replaced Piet Kruythof as the youngest ERC round upper class winner.

Last weekend in Hell Renault Clio campaigner Mats Lysen has won his first ever ERC round in the main category, the Supercar class. Thereby the 19-year-old Norwegian has also broken a record that lasted for almost 34 years. The teenager has now replaced someone who was, during the short period of being a part of our sport, a promising Rallycrosser himself. His name is Piet Kruythof, he is a Dutchman, he raced a Renault-Alpine A110 in his days, and he made the overall victory of the Dutch ERC round on August 21 1977 his.

Sometimes life has pretty strange coincidences on offer. Like the day before yesterday, when yours truly heard for the first time after three decades something of Piet Kruythof. John Wheeler, an Englishman who in 1987 bought the former A110 1.8 16V of Kruythof and has over many a year restored the car to its specs as used by the Vialle Team, send me some information and several pics of Piet Kruythof being reunited with his machinery in February 2010. Only a couple of days after Kruythof’s record became history…

Piet (DOB 30.10.1956) started to race in the Junior category of Dutch Rallycross in 1974 after being encouraged by his father, a Renault dealer, as well as his older brother Cees who was already known as a Rallycross driver. His first car was a Renault Dauphine and after he quickly scored some good results he got a more powerful 1470cc engine of the Renault 16 for his Dauphine. Both Piet and Cees claimed regularly good results in the Dutch Rallycross Championship and at the end of 1976 were asked by team manager Thom Meylink to become part of the Team Vialle Autogas, joining their compatriots Jos Fassbender and Theo Jansen. Sjef Vialle, the company owner and sponsor, made use of the excellent AVRO television coverage of the 1970s events at the Eurocircuit at Valkenswaard to promote his LPG fuel company.

In 1977 and 1978 the four car Vialle team was a competitive squad in the Dutch Rallycross series as well as during their sporadic ERC commitments. At Valkenswaard Piet claimed overall victory of the 8th round of the 1977 ERC as well as becoming the GT category winner of the 1978 Belgian and German ERC round, while on home soil bagging the 1978 Dutch GT title. After Piet Kruythof, Jos Fassbender and Cees Kruythof took a 1-2-3 victory in the German 1978 ERC round at Buxtehude on October 1 the Team Vialle Autogas was disbanded. While Cees continued with his Rallycross activities for some more years younger brother Piet left the sport, took the decision to marry, bought a house and, thereby, ended his rather short and very promising motorsport career.

No regrets of missing a full ERC programme? “Perhaps some, as the Alpine A110 was a fantastic machinery in damp and wet conditions. Especially compared to the by then dominating and very powerful Porsche 911s. We had 190 to 200bhp only while they had 320 to 350bhp Kremer, Kannacher, Tebernum etc. mills from the German circuit racing Porsche’s. However, the 911s were heavier and did not handle nearly as well as my A110, which could brake later and hold tighter corner lines,” said Kruythof in February 2010.

Their four cars were sold by Team Vialle Autogas, Piet’s A110 with Renault-Gordini 1774cc 16 valve engine went to André Albers, the rallycrossing father of ex-F1 pilot Christijan Albers. Albers Sr. sold it on to Dutchman Willem van Dalen who used it for several years in Rallycross untill John Wheeler purchased the car in 1987.

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