Antique Classic & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians more than 30 years old and unabated energetic !!

 

President’s Newsletter Vol 24, April 2026

 

Dear Members,

Now that our classic cars have been well checked and conserved during the winter period we can resume our activities, be it by ‘marketing’ our Fellowship or be it on the road with tours.

With the fine support of our Chapter in Germany (ROFD) we presented ourselves at the Retro Classics in Essen in April and will do so at  the Auto Storiche in Bologna in October. These high class international fairs attract visitors from many European countries. Our booths have become meeting points of members and ‘acquisition’ points for new members. We thank Hans-Peter Wagner and his excellent team for equipping and manning the eyecatcher in Essen from April 8-12.

Activities   Tours in 2026

1. ACHAFR Europe Tour : pre-tour Sept 7-9 , main-tour Sept 9-13, 2026

   ACHAFR will organise the Europe Tour bringing us to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The pre-tour will show the beauties of Bruge (Brugge) on land and water and the brand new Squadra Abarth & Rally Collection  of the owner and former rally-driver Guy Moerenhout, who collected as many as 175 classic and rally cars.

   For the main tour we will stay at the superb 4 Star Castle Hotel Bloemendal in Vaals, the Netherlands. It will be the base hotel for 4 days. From there we will test the Spa-Franchorchamps Circuit, visit the southern area of the Dutch Province of Limburg and parts of Belgium and by special invitation the Townhall of Aachen, the construction of which had been initiated by Charlemagne (748-814). We will receive a special honour to visit the Townhall and the Crowning Hall and see amongst others Crown jewels memorizing the 31 King and Emperor Crownings during the period 813-1531.

   Up to now members from Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, Italy and the Netherlands  have already registered for the pre-tour ( 22 teams) and  the main tour ( 35 teams). Of course, we will welcome additional participants, who are invited to consult our website www.achafr.eu.

2. Tours organised by Chapters

   In addition to the ACHAFR Europe Tour, members are invited to join tours,   which are/will be prepared by fellowships

   Our friends in Germany organise the 9^th Muensterlaender Castle Tour on May 2, the 5^th Husum Coast-to-Coast Tour from July 2—5 and join the Oldtimer Grand Prix on the Nuerburgring on August 7-9 as well as Goodwood Revival on September 17-21.

   The fine weather in Italy has enabled ARACI to start with tours as early as March in Piemonte ( March 14-15), Umbria (March 27-29) and to continue in Sicily ( April 10-12) ,Emilia Romagna (April 23-25). In addition, it will organise a very special tour in Albania (May 28-June 3) !!.Following tours in the Apennines and Abruzzo in September, the 2^nd Araci Tour Sicilia may end the tour agenda 2026.

3. Tours in 2027

   The ACHAFR-ROFD Europe Tour 2027 will be held in Germany in the period June 21-27 on the occasion of the 100 year anniversary of the Nürburgring- a very special event!

   From September 3-7 our German friends intend to organise the ROFD-AlpesTour, which will start in Gstaad and bring us via many an Alps pass to highlights like Chamonix, Megeve, Val d’Isere, Briançon, Saint Paul sur Ubaye, Col du Turini finally to Monaco where our classic cars meet classic sailing yachts during the Monaco Classic Week.

   Thus there will be ample opportunities for members of our Fellowship to meet at tours, which have grown to become ‘festivals’ of petrol heads. At those joint events and adjacent social gatherings the close knit car-family attitudes prevail over nationalities and languages and add to Rotary’s philosophy of close cooperation and communication across borders, which is extremely important and valuable in nowadays’ changing environments and tendencies.

By doing so, we KEEP ROTARY ROLLING

With finest personal regards 

Matthijs van den Adel

Antique Classic & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians more than 30 years old and unabated energetic !!

 

 

 

Dear Friends,

Welcome  to the ACHAFR Europe Tour 2026. 

With great pleasure we meet at the Pre-Tour on September 7 in Hotel Le Bois de Bruges NV ,Vrijdagmarkt 5-7,8000 Brugge where rooms and parking spots have been reserved for the participating 22 teams *.

Following sightseeing in Brugge on Sept. 8 we will drive to Lier and visit the Squadra Abarth & Rally Museum with 175 classic and rally cars. From there we will drive to Hotel- Castle Bloemendal, Bloemendalstraat 150 in NL- 6291 CM Vaals and join the participants of the Main Tour from Sept 9-13,2026. Also there rooms and parking spots have been reserved for all participating 34 teams*.

Please be advised that we are looking forward to your final payment before June 1 , 2026-04-28

With best Rotarian Greetings

The Organisation team

Matthijs van den Adel – Johannes Zilkens – Edo Loenen – Seph Jacobs –  Ronald Hagestein

Antique Classic & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians more than 30 years old and unabated energetic !!

 

President’s Newsletter Vol 23, December 2025

 

Dear Members,

The Rallye Year 2025 is gradually going to end and again we can be satisfied with our activities at home and abroad. With the fine support of our Chapters in Germany (ROFD) and in Italy (ARACI) we presented ourselves with booths at the Techno Classica in Essen and at Auto Moto d ’Epoca in Bologna : fairs, which attracted visitors from many European countries. Our booths have become meeting points of members and ‘acquisition’ points for new members. We thank Hans-Peter Wagner and Alberto Cerrachio and their excellent teams for equipping and manning these eyecatchers for so many days. The success inspires us to be again present in Essen and Bologna in 2026: at the Retro Classics from April 8-12 and at the Auto Storiche from October 23-26.

 

Activities

ARACI-ACHAFR Europe Tour 2025-Rotary in the Motor Valley

From June 16-21 President Alberto Cerrachio and his organisation team took us to the Emilia Romagna Region with visits by special invitations from Ferrari and Dallara to the ‘inside world’ of these entities; a great exception and honour ! In Maranello we have been welcomed  by the Mayor, who joined us at the time trials on the city course Traffic with the finish in front of the Ferrari Museum. We have also been favoured by a short opera concert at Luciano Pavarotti House, honoured by us with a support the Foundation.

We owe Alberto and his team manifold thanks for the perfect attuned program  and the unabated marvellous service and guidance. They created unforgettable days to all of us and put the surveyors ‘staff at a high level.

 

Tours in 2025

In addition to the Europe Tour the members of our Fellowships had ample choice of tours at home and abroad- see our letter July 2025

 

Tours in 2026

ACHAFR Europe Tour : pre-tour Sept 7-9 , main-tour Sept 9-13, 2026

Next year ACHAFR will organise the Europe Tour bringing us to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The pre-tour will show the beauties of Bruge (Brugge) on land and water and the brand new Squadra Abarth & Rally Collection  of the owner and former rally-driver Guy Moerenhout, who collected as many as 175 classic and rally cars.

For the main tour we will stay at the superb 4 Star Castle Hotel Bloemendal in Vaals, the Netherlands. It will be the base hotel for 4 days. From there we will test the Spa-Franchorchamps Circuit, visit the southern area of the Dutch Province of Limburg and parts of Belgium and by special invitation the Townhall of Aachen, the construction of which had been initiated by Charlemagne (748-814). We will receive a special honour to visit the Townhall and the Crowning Hall and see amongst others Crown jewels memorizing the 31 King and Emperor Crownings during the period 813-1531.

The announcement of the Tour has found ‘stormy’ acceptance and interest by our members in Germany, Italy, Switzerland ,Great Britain, Spain and the Netherlands and for sure will be a success-for details and registration please see our website www. achafr.eu

   

In addition to the ACHAFR/ARACI Europe Tour members are invited to join tours,   which are already being prepared by fellowships

Our friends in Germany organise the 9^th Muensterlaender Castle Tour on May 2, the 5^th Husum Coast-to-Coast Tour from July 2—5 and join the Oldtimer Grand Prix on the Nuerburgring on August 7-9.

The fine weather in Italy enables ARACI to start with tours as early as March in Piemonte ( March 14-15) and Umbria (March 27-29), to continue in Sicily ( April 10-12) and  Emilia Romagna (April 23-25) and organise a very special tour in Albania !! (May 29-31).Following tours in the Apennines and Abruzzo in September the 2^nd Araci Tour Sicilia may end the tour agenda.

With the year-end looming at the horizon, the Board sincerely thanks all organising and participating members for their involvement and enthusiasm. With you we look forward to 2026 and wish all of you a most happy, healthy and successful year … and are looking forward to seeing you at the tours, which have grown to become ‘festivals’ of petrol heads. At those joint events and adjacent social gatherings the close knit car-family attitudes prevail over nationalities and languages and add to Rotary’s philosophy of close cooperation and communication across borders, which is extremely important and valuable in nowadays’ changing environments and tendencies.

By doing so, we KEEP ROTARY ROLLING

With finest personal regards

Matthijs van den Adel

Antique Classic & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians more than 30 years old and unabated energetic !!

 

President’s Newsletter Vol 22, July 2025

 

Dear Members,

Now that we are at half of the touring season we have already seen many highlight events with our local chapters and ACHAFR.

With the fine support of our Chapter in Germany we presented ourselves from April 9-13,2025 with a booth at the large sized vintage car fair Technico Classica in Essen. Again our presence has been a meeting point of members, a successful tool for acquisition of  new members and station of informing Rotarians and other visitors about our national fellowships and their activities. We sincerely thank President Hans-Peter Wagner and his excellent team for equipping and manning the ROFD eyecatcher for so many days. The success inspires us to also be present at the Auto Moto d’Epoca in Bologna from October 23-26.

 

Activities

 ARACI-ACHAFR Europe Tour 2025- Rotary in the Motor Valley

From June 16-21 President Alberto Cerrachio and his organisation team took us to the Emilio Romagna Region with visits by special invitations from Ferrari and Dallara to the ‘inside world’ of these entities: a great exception and honour! In Maranello we have been welcomed by the Mayor, who joined us at the time trials on the city course Traffic with the finish in front of the Ferrari Museum. He also gave us the honour at the Gala Dinner in the Modena Golf & Country Club. We threw eyes on historic and cultural sites and have been favoured by a short opera concert at Luciano Pavarotti House Museum . We descended into the cellar for maturing culatelli (ham) and did not loose participants in the largest labyrinth in the world (Labirinto della Masone). 

Prior to the Motor Valley, there was a pre-tour from June 14-16 to Treviso and Venezia, where amongst others we visited the islands of Murano and Burano by private boat and were impressed by the artists who at the high 24/7 heat ovens create the world famous Murano glass sculpture and jewellery.

We owe Alberto and his organisation team manifold thanks for the perfect attuned program as well as  the great support and unabated pleasant service. They created unforgettable days to all of us and put the surveyor’staff at a high level. The ACHAFR/ARACI EuropeTour has been an overwhelming success.

 

Tours in 2025

In addition to the ACHAFR/ARACI Europe Tour  the members of our Fellowships had and still have  ample choice of tours at home or abroad , such as

in Germany : the 8^th Muensterlaender Castle Tour on May 3, the 4^th Husum Coast-to-Coast Tour from July 10-13 and the Rotary Classic Car Rallye Kevelaer in August and the Weserbergland Tour from October 2-5

in Italy: Ischia -Isole del Golfo di Napoli (April 24-27), in May in Romagna ( May 16-18), Calabria ( May 17-18), Sun Tour ( May 30-June 2), Coast-to- Coast ( September 4-7), Abruzzo Sardinia ( September 23-28) and in Sicily ( November 6-9).

in Switzerland : Graubünden ( August 29-30)

in the Netherlands: Friesland ( October 3-5)

   

Annual General Meeting 2025 

During the ARACI-ACHAFR Europe Tour the Annual General Meeting of our Fellowshiphas been held on June 19 at Hotel Parma e Congresi, Via Emilia Ovest in  Parma.

With pleasure we welcomed 38 members from 5 countries, who and their vintage cars took the very long drive and journey to join the Tour and to attend the Meeting.

 

i) Retirement of the Secretary

Very much to the Board’s regret our current Secretary Michael is standing down per June 30, 2025. Michael has been a great and always alert member of the Board for more than 10 years. With his unabated support we sailed through the pandemy and have spread wings internationally. With his outstanding service we succeeded to become the most dynamic and largest family of fellowships within the Rotary organisation. This achievement would not have happened without Michael- he deserves our manyfold thanks and we are sure that he will continue to assist us as ‘grise-eminence’. For his service the Meeting named Michael Honorary Member and send him the honorary plaque with the text

“Tireless in his service to our Fellowship, always active at events, and with his even-tempered nature ha has always promoted the growth of ACHAFR and, with great dedication, has looked after the interests of the individual national chapters for more than 10 years as Secretary.

For these extraordinary services , the ACHAFR Board awards Lifetime Honorary Membership to Michael Rye”

 

ii) Financial Report

Treasurer Johannes Zilkens presented the Financial Report 2024/2025, which albeit a meagre overall result of € 328 for the year 2024-due to necessary modifications to our website- reflects a financial health status of our Fellowship with some € 7500,- on our bank account.

 

iii) Discharge of the Board for 2024

Members present discharged the Board and thanked for the work done.

 

iv) Election of Board Members

The AGM elected following members for a period of three years until 2028.

Treasurer Johannes Zilkens has agreed to take the role of Secretary.

Edo Loenen will be the new Treasurer from the Netherlands, mainly because only persons residing in the Netherlands can make transactions on the Fellowship’s bank account.

With a view on developing the presence and activities of our Fellowship in Southern Europe the Board proposes to expand the number of Members to four by appointing Luigi Olivieri as its responsible member for the region. He will be supported by Gabriella Ritondo, who has rendered outstanding services to ACHAFR and ARACI in the past and at present.

Matthijs van den Adel is ready to continue as President of ACHAFR

They all accept the respective positions and are welcomed by applause of the members present.

 

With the newly (re-)elected Board and supported by this year’s successful activities we are confident that our Fellowship will continue to flourish and

KEEP ROTARY ROLLING

With finest personal regards

Matthijs van den Adel

Antique Classic & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians more than 30 years old and unabated energetic !!

 

President’s Newsletter Vol 21, November 2024

 

Dear Members,

 Now that the Rallye Year 2024 is gradually going to end, we can be satisfied with our activities at home and abroad. We resumed touring at full speed and endeavour to widen our geographical scope to Japan .With the fine support of our Chapters in Germany (ROFD) and in Italy (ARACI) we presented ourselves with booths at the Techno Classica in Essen and recently at Auto Moto d’Epoca in Bologna : fairs, which attracted visitors from many European countries. Our booths have become meeting points of members and ‘acquisition’ points for new members. The success inspires us to be again present in Essen and Bologna in 2025: at the Techno Classica from April 9-13 and at the Auto Moto d’Epoca from October 23-26.

ACHAFR-RRAF-UK Europe Tour 2024

From September 9-12 we have joined the Europe Tour 2024 in the Normandy, which has been well organized by our friends from RRAF-UK . Following positive experiences in the past, the Board of RRAF-UK decided to take again the lake side Eden Park Hotel at Pont l’Evêque as the base of the tour. From there participants from the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands have been taken to impressive historical, cultural and geographical sites and recovered at the Park Hotel. A special admiration is attached to the representatives from ARACI, who took the 1500km distance from central Italy to the Normandy with their vintage cars ! The Board thanks Peter Griffiths ,Chris Ohly and their organisation team for their work, they have provided us with fine memories of the Normandy. The Tour has been  a  success and again it was a reunion of vintage car friends, which has become characteristic of the Europe Tours of our Fellowship.

During the Tour we had our Annual General Meeting, during which the Board presented the Financial Report, which shows a favourable positive balance. Members present discharged the Board and thanked for the work done. 

ACHAFR/ARACI Europe Tour 2025

During the AGM the President of ARACI, Alberto Cerrachio  presented the outline of the very challenging ACHAFR/ARACI Europe Tour 2025, which under the heading of “The Rotary in the Motor Valley” will take us from June 16-21 to the Emilia Romagna Region with visits to historic and cultural sites and by very special invitations from Ferrari and Dallara, which by great exception will  show us the ‘inside ’of the entities. We feel very honoured !

A pre-tour will take us from June 14-16 to Treviso and Venezia, where amongst others we will visit the islands of Murano and Burano and of course Piazza San Marco. 

No wonder that the Europe Tour  finds ‘stormy’ acceptance and interest by our members. By end-October already 32 non-Italian teams have applied for registration.

The Board thanks Alberto and his team for the challenging and detailed program at such an early stage! For sure the Tour will be a great success.

Tours in 2025

In addition to the ACHAFR/ARACI Europe Tour  members are invited to join tours, which are already prepared.

Our friends in Germany organise the 8^th Muensterlaender Castle Tour on May 3, the 4^th Husum Coast-to-Coast Tour from July 10-13 and the Rotary Classic Car Rallye Kevelaer in August. 

The fine weather in Italy enables ARACI to start with Tour Sicilia already in March 21-23, to continue in April with tours in Umbria (April 4-6) , Isole del Golfo di Napoli (April 24-27), in May in Romagna ( May 16-18), Calabria ( May 17-18), Sun Tour ( May 30-June 2), Coast-to- Coast ( September 4-7), Abruzzo Sardinia ( September 23-28) and to end in Sicily ( November 6-9).

Other Chapters are in progress of organising tours and those will be mentioned in forthcoming Letters and on our website www.achafr.eu 

The year-end is looming at the horizon, thus the Board sincerely thanks all organising and participating members for their involvement and enthusiasm. With you we look to 2025 and wish all of you a most happy, healthy and successful year … and are looking forward to seeing you at the tours, which have grown to become ‘festivals’ of petrol heads. At those joint events and adjacent social gatherings the close knit car-family attitudes prevail over nationalities and languages and add to Rotary’s philosophy of close cooperation and communication across borders, which is extremely important and valuable in nowadays’ changing environments and tendencies.

By doing so, we 

KEEP ROTARY ROLLING

With finest personal regards

Matthijs van den Adel

Antique Classic & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians more than 30 years old and unabated energetic !!

 

President’s Newsletter Vol 21, August 2024

 

Dear Members,

This year we have resumed our activities at full steam. We have widened our geographical range to Japan, presented our fellowship at fairs in Essen and Bologna and hit the road in many countries- see my Letter March 2024 . And the ACHAFR/RRAF-UK Europe Tour is still ahead of us !!

1. ACHAFR/RRAF UK Europe Tour 2024

RRAF-UK invites us to the Europe Tour in the Normandy from September 9-12. Following positive experiences in the past the Board of RRAF-UK decided to take the lake side Eden Park Hotel at Pont l’Eveque as the base of the tour. Due to the overwhelming interest the tour has quickly been fully booked and will see participants from the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The Board is confident that the tour will be a great success and again be a reunion of the petrol head family, which has become characteristic of the Europe Tours of our Fellowship.

During the Tour we will have our Annual General Meeting. The Board will then reflect on the activities of our Fellowship in 2024 , will present the Financial Report 2024 of our Treasurer and will ask for your discharge- see the Agenda and the Financial Report in the annex.

2. ACHAFR/ARACI Europe Tour 2025

During the Tour in the Normandy the President of ARACI, Alberto Cerrachio will present the outline of the very challenging ACHAFR/ARACI Europe Tour 2025, which under the heading of “The Rotary in the Motor Valley” will take us from June 16-21 to the Emilia Romagna Region with visits to historic and cultural sites and by special appointment to  Ferrari and Dallara. A pre-tour will take us from June 14-16 to Treviso and Venezia, where amongst others we will visit the islands of Murano and Burano and of course Piazza San Marco.. We are sure that the Europe Tour will find ‘stormy’ acceptance and interest by our members.

So far this year our Fellowship and its Chapters have shown dynamism and offered ample opportunities to join a variability of tours and thus strengthened the main characteristic of our Fellowship: ‘family festivals’ of petrol heads. At those joint events and adjacent social gatherings the close knit car-family attitudes prevail over nationalities and languages and add to Rotary’s philosophy of close cooperation and communication at home and across borders, which is extremely important and valuable in nowadays’ changing environments and tendencies.

By doing so, we 

KEEP ROTARY ROLLING

With finest personal regards

Matthijs van den Adel

Antique Classic & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians more than 30 years old and unabated energetic !!

 

President’s Newsletter Vol 21, March 2024

 

Activities 

1. Presence at the Techno-Classica in Essen Germany from April 3-7,2024

For the first time our Fellowship will present itself at Europe’s largest Antique and Historic Car Fair in Essen. With the great and thankful support of our German Chapter ROFD we will attract attention of the thousands vintage cars enthusiasts from all over Europe and inform them of the activities of the Fellowship and its chapters via an own booth located in Hall 7( nr. 7-096 ). We are confident that due to the fine organization of ROFD this presence will support the acquisition of new members and strengthen our (inter-)national appearance. President of ROFD Hans-Peter Wagner and his team as well as myself are looking forward to welcoming you at the booth during those days.

2. Spreading our wings

Our Fellowship and its activities has attracted attention with vintage car owners in Japan. On February 17 I attended a meeting with the Assistant Governor as well as Presidents and Representatives of Rotary Clubs of Tokyo, Yokohama and Hayama. I highly valued the presence of the President of The Classic Car Club of Japan. Following the presentation of the characteristics and charities of our Fellowship interest in joining ACHAFR has been expressed and will be followed up. Our Fellowship will be honoured to widen its wings with a Chapter in Japan

3. Tours in 2024             

Great Britain

RRAF-UK invites us to the Europe Tour in the Normandy from September 9-12. Following positive experiences in the past the Board of RRAF-UK decided to take the lake side Eden Park Hotel at Pont l’Eveque as the base of the tour. Due to the overwhelming interest the tour is already fully booked and will see participants from the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. We are confident that the tour will be a great success and a  reunion of the petrol head family, which has become characteristic of the Europe Tours of our Fellowship.

Italy 

Araci  will organise the Umbria Legend 2024 from April 5-7, the 7^th Tour d’ Abruzzo from April 19-21, the 6^th Edition of Calabria on Tour from May 17-19, the 7^th Rotary Sun Tour from May 30- June 2, the 100 Miglia of Calabria from June 20-23, the 7^th Tour d’Abruzzo from Sept.19-22, the 2^nd Tour of Marche Nature and Arts from Oct. 11-13 and Around the Waters of Saturnia from Oct. 25-27

Germany

ROFD organises the 7^th Muensterlaender Tour on May 11 and the 3^rd Husum Coastal Tour on May 30 

Switzerland

The Swiss chapter RDCV organises the North-Western Switzerland Rotary Challenge from July 12-14

Netherlands

RRAF-NL organises a one day tour in mid- Netherlands on May 18 and a Tour on the islands of the Province South-Netherlands on Oct.5-6

More rallies organised by national chapters will be announced in due course, thus please regularly consult our website www.achafr.eu  

As shown in the above our Fellowship and its Chapters are showing dynamism and offer ample opportunities to join a variability of tours and strengthen the main characteristic of our Fellowship: ‘family festivals’ of petrol heads. At those joint events and adjacent social gatherings the close knit car-family attitudes prevail over nationalities and languages and add to Rotary’s philosophy of close cooperation and communication at home and across borders, which is extremely important and valuable in nowadays’ changing environments and tendencies.

The Board wishes you all a very challenging and successful rally year and  is looking forward to seeing you again at one of the above mentioned tours. By doing so, we 

KEEP ROTARY ROLLING

With finest personal regards 

 Matthijs van den Adel