| After missing out on last year’s Euro trips to Mania and then Essen, I decided that I had to make myself available for the next one that came along. So imagine my delight when a weekend in Belgium was planned to include DTM racing at Spa, the Mechelen tuning show & then Retro Mania! |
 |
 |
| We rocked over to Lee’s place on the Friday night, arriving at about 3am local time! Lee was fast asleep, but a few knocks on the window soon woke him and before we settled in, a quick tour of the local town was taken for my benefit. The plan was to be leaving at about 9 o’clock the next morning to drive to Spa… |
 |
 |
| We eventually made it to the Francorchamps circuit early in the afternoon! In time for the Polo Cup race, Seat Leons, and the DTM (German touring cars) feature race. It was an excellent day out though; despite the fact it rained (typical Spa weather apparently) – made all the better when Lee worked his magic and scored us all paddock passes for the day! That really made it for me, we got right in amongst the action… although we failed to blag our way into the VW hospitality tent. Did they not know who we were? |
 |
 |
| That night we sampled Belgian beer and Pola convinced me to try a ‘Flugals Nest’, a local dish a bit like a big scotch egg. Yum! It all turned a bit messy after that, culminating in the viewing of a very ‘educational’ DVD that I’d brought over… |
 |
 |
Sunday morning took us a few miles down the road from Lee’s place to visit a local tuning show. I must admit to being a bit sceptical of what we would find, but as we entered the show (with Kylie pumping full volume!) I was happy to see a huge carpark full of beautifully Euro-styled cars, including Pugs, Fords, Opels and of course, various Dubs – including the guys from cleaned.be! |
 |
 |
| However, it was Retro Mania that we’d travelled for, so bright and early on Monday morning we once again crammed into Lee’s mk4 and headed for the show. We ended up parking a little way away, but this allowed us to admire the vintage Volkswagens & Porsches that were now rolling along the main road in a steady stream and entering the show. |
 |
 |
| Once inside, the cars were arranged depending on type and I headed straight for the nearest vehicle, camera at the ready! There were some amazing examples, beautiful Beetle cabrios and Karmann Ghias from all-over the region – all given the retro touch. |
 |
 |
| Being a Euro show, there was plenty of autojumble, with lots of parts you’d just never see over in the UK. Chrome bumpers for the cab project were tempting me, while Pola was after some spotlights for G194. Happily for my bank manager, I resisted, but the spotlights and a roofrack where amongst the haul for Ben! |
 |
 |
| Being Brits seemed to make us almost celebrities, with the locals impressed at our efforts to visit the show. It was good to see different ideas on styling older dubs – being limited on engine mods, the Belgians were not afraid to go to town on the ‘show’ rather than the ‘go’. One cabrio was done with a terminator theme, including paintwork, interior, the whole shebang! |
 |
 |
| All-in-all, a superb weekend was had by all. Big thanks to Lee for putting us all up and to Slugga for the driving duties! |
| Words & pictures by Tris. |