HAN4L team waved off by Arnhem mayor and Moroccan ambassador
They have been on the road for nearly a week now, from Arnhem to Biarritz in France and to the Moroccan city of Marrakech. With 4 students from HAN Automotive Engineering are in pimped-up Renault 4Ls for the 4L Trophy, a charity rally.
Arnhem mayor Ahmed Marcouch is particularly proud of this student project. Full of enthusiasm, he also told Moroccan ambassador Mohamed Basri about it. He wanted to see it! Together they came to a HAN Engineering and Automotive lab in Arnhem on Friday afternoon 10 February to wave off the student team HAN4L and wish them good luck!
“The passage to adulthood takes shape in this trip. With 2 old Renaults 4L, the students will go across Morocco in 5 stages up to Marzouga, overcoming the stones, wadis and dunettes, arriving in Marrakech. This one will not only be gripping, but also bring a great insight to the students: empathy”, mayor Marcouch says.
School supplies, food and toys
“I imagine these boys will spend the next few weeks experiencing how beautiful Morocco is and getting to know the locals with wonder. Because along the way, they will bring school supplies, food and toys to isolated Moroccan children in the province of Errachidia – also on behalf of ‘Enfants du Désert’ and the French Red Cross. This way, the students also see how these children live and grow up in the Moroccan Atlas and in the desert. Who knows, the students may come to understand how they can help each other and the children.”
According to the mayor, entire genres are dedicated to this impressive form of coming of age. “Yes, that is the coming of age,” he said.
Unforgettable experience
Student and team leader Thomas Kersten is impressed by all the Renault 4s he has seen at the starting point. A collection of 700 special cars. Being on the road with these cars is an unforgettable experience for him. “Everything rattles. It’s really French comfortable,” Thomas says.
He is also happy to share that he finished his internship at Axces Emission Technology, just in time to go on tour with HAN4L. “I have been working on a modular waste heat recovery system to be used in shipping. This internship has given me a clearer view of what i want to do after my study.”
Caravan of historic cars
The HAN students’ 2 Renault 4s have been taken care of, though. Not everything is original. The old carburettor engine has been replaced by an engine with an injection system and there are still wild plans for the next Trophy to turn it into a hybrid car.
For now, at least, there is a Tour de France horn on the car, which will often be heard on the road. But even without the horns, the caravan of historic cars is of course quite conspicuous. In 10 days, the horn should be heard at the finishing point in Marrakesh.
Sources: HAN and Omroep Gelderland
Photography: HAN4L, Erik Rijpstra
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