British Success in Nice Rally
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By a Special Correspondent
THREE British vehicles gained major awards in the 9th International Coach Rally at Nice last week. An A.E.C. Reliance with Burlingham 30-seat body, entered by Sheffield United Tours, Ltd., secured high honours in both the driving and technical tests and the concours d'elegance.
A Grand Prix d'Excellence in the concours d'61egance, and a special award in the technical competition, went to another A.E.C. Reliance, with Gangloff body, operated by Auderset et Dubois, Geneva.
Ideal Tourisme, Liege, secured a Prix d'Honneur in the class for vehicles with fewer than 30 seats with their Perkins' oil-engined Seddon with bodywork by Jonckheere.
France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, Italy and Switzerland, as welt as Britain, were represented in the record entry of 67 vehicles.
Entries for the rally were divided into five classes. There was a class for town buses, and another for local service coaches. Excursions coaches used exclusively on one-day tours had a class of their own, as did long-distance coaches and long-distance luxury coaches. The town-bus class had three sub-sections and all the others five subsections.
Judging Complicated
Judging was made more complicated by a rule framed to avoid risk of penalization of "old vehicles which still have their running value." This enjoined the judges to " content themselves, if necessary, with penalizing vehicles of really inferior quality, or which are too old and which no longer have the necessary standard, and those whose construction does not comply with the tourist conception."
it is small wonder, therefore, that the judges made no attempt to list winners in their individual order of merit, the awards merely being classified under seven general headings.
The technical trials, which were well organized, were held at night on the promenade. They included tests in turning in a confined space, reversing, accelerating and parking.
In the concours d'elegance marks were awarded for ventilation, heating, safety, maintenance and repair facilities, accommodation for passengers and luggage, visibility and comfort.
A number of entries appeared to have been built regardless of cost. A oneand-a-half-deck coach, operated by Transcars, of Caen, was said to have cost about £16,000 to build. With the exception of the driver's compartment, the whole of the lower deck was given over to luggage accommodation. It also had, amongst other interesting features, a refrigerator, cupboards for passengers' clothes, a toilet and a bar.
A general impression was that most of the coaches entered in the rally were fitted with adjustable seats.
PRINCIPAL AWARDS Grands Prix d'Excellence
Inktmediarire International d'Antsterdam (Mcrcedcs-Dombury),. jointly with Loisirs de Normandie and G. Aubin, Bolbec (ChaussonHispano-Suiza); La Compagnie des Trolleybus, Limoges (Renault): Voyages Gcneralcar. Bruxelles (Volvo-Joneicheere); Auderset et Dubois, Geneva (A .E.C.-Gangloffl
Grand Prix d'Hogneur
Voyages Generalcar, Bruxelles tVolvo-Jonekheerch Cars Hourtoule, Gastines, lointly with Perrior, Trappes, and,StaVO, VersailleS (ChaussonSamna); Compagnie Francaise des Tourisme, Paris (Snorer-Le Bastard); Lvon-yoyages, jointly with Lyonnais (Mercedes); Societe Neeriandaise de Tourisies, La Haye (Magirus-Ronie).
Prix d'Excellence Sheffield United Tours, Ltd (A.E.C.-Burlingham).
Prix d'Honuenr
Societe Generale des Transports Departmentaux, jointly with Transcar S.G.T.D., Llialons-surMarne (Floirat-Hispano-Suiza); Bayern-Express. Berlin (Bussing-Emmelman); 'Voyages Ideal Tourisme, Liege (Bussing-Ioneltheerch Van Bilk, Eindhoven (Bussing-Rosot); Les Cars Tixier do Saint-Eloyks-Mines, Travail, Montlucon (Berliet); Autobus Chaumontais. (Berliet): Jean Cartier. Salt-Fond (Belgique) jointly with Voyages Fayt et Schepers. de Bruxelles (Volvo-Van Moon.