The champ's back
Page 37
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by lain Sherriff • A very-much-off-form Reg Tooze, of Regent Oil Co., qualified for the 1968 LDOY Final at Torbay on Sunday with 253 penalty points. His opposition in class F2 was D. S. Moore, of Continental Oil Coy., who failed to complete the kerb parking test.
This year Regent Oil presented a trophy for the best bulk tank driver at Torbay and it was won by a Conco man, G. S. Horsley, who was second in class E2.
The champion for the centre was W. Brooks, of Renwick, Wilton and Dobson, who also won Class C and the award for the best Torquay entrant. He collected only 66 penalty points.
Although there has been an event in Devon for many years this officially counted as a new round. Now the Torbay event, it is supported by the new Torbay Borough Council. There were 120 entrants-an increase of 20 over last year and this despite the fact that some competitors have been drawn-off to a new round at St. Austell.
A greater proportion of professional hauliers entered at Torbay than is normal, three qualifying for the final. The team prize went to SPD Ltd., Exeter. An SPD team man, Mr. D. Taylor, won class El with 90 penalty points.
The first three places in class D were closely contested with only two points separating first and third.
For domestic reasons Tate and Lyle Ltd. enter the competition every second year; invariably they are represented at the final. This year L. Kerswell has secured a place by winning class G with only 96 penalties. It was the most spectacular event-the culmination of the Borough's safety week. The enthusiasm displayed by Mr. L. Newman, the secretary, appeared to be infectious because a crowd of almost 4,000 attended.
One special attraction which aroused a great deal of interest was the exhibition of specialized vehicles, from open-top buses to container skips. The Heathfield Dumper, road tested by CM and reported on January 5, was prominent among the exhibits. The road haulage industry may be accused of many things, but never that it loses an opportunity. . . The blacking-out material used on rear facing windows in many cases exhorted all and sundry to kill the Transport Bill.