Drivers' contests fewer but better
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ALTHOUGH the number of regional centres in the Commercial Motor Lorry Driver of the Year Competition has dwindled this year, their administrative quality and enthusiasm certainly have not. The adjudicating panel of the Sam Gunnell award for the best centre has had even more difficulty than usual in choosing between eight or nine almost equal degrees of excellence.
All the national stewards have commented on the splendid spirit existing between competitors and organisers. This is partially a reflection of the national council's constant effort to clarify the regulations and remove anomalies, which has resulted in only seven 'protests being lodged, three unsuccessfully, by some 1,800 competitors.
Another thing that impresses me, having suffered the slings and arrows of the results room 30 years ago, is the speed with which accurate results are now posted. To put 126 competitors through a series of exacting tests, including a 171/2-mile road route, and announce the last results in 7hr 35min is the stuff that dreams were made of.