Either way
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a -Winner (fETHODS for arriving at the overall 1. winner of the Leeds round of the Try Driver of the Year competition re different last Sunday from those opted in 1961—but the same man won.
was P. E. Steel (S.P.D.. Ltd.), %LC., who dropped 59 points in iss A against 75 by the next best in it category.
Last time the decision was on straight .rking but this year Leeds followed the irk practice and ail 11 class winners t in a final for which four 3-4-ton xvans, owned by B.R.S., were provided. that there should be the minimum advantage for those more accustomed driving other types of vehicle they were available to each finalist for a useful practice period after his class win.
Runners up in the final were D. Bowland (Joshua Tetley and Sons, Ltd.. Austin), winner of Class F2, who scored 96 in the decider compared with 83 by the winner, A. Prentice (Geo. A. Moore and Co., Ltd., Commer), winner of Class C whose penalty in the final was 103. Both were notably good on the tricky reversing test in the decider but Steel was first-class all the way through. For Express Dairy (Northern), Ltd., J. Hart, J. Hudson and F. Gara (all Commer) returned a total of 350, so beating Pease Transport, Ltd., whose score was 391.
Sgt. F. T: Gatecliffe (521 Coy. R.A.S.C., M.T.T.A.), Commer, has been a consistent performer in the Leeds competition since 1956, and this year carried off the Class S (Services) trophy for the fifth time. Sgt. Gatecliffe and Sigm. Watson (24 Sig. Regt.) were among the 11 drivers who completed the not-soeasy road circuit entirely without penalty. Although the R.A.S.C. contingent were unable to repeat their last year's team success they continued to show a high measure of skill in handling vehicles that are more rugged than refined.
As is customary, the Leeds competition was had on the Montagu Burton estate where the factory road provides ample space for the tests and there is extensive parking. In the latter connection valuable help was given by the R.A.C. in handling the 130 vehicles which took part. The set-up for the loading-bay test was difficult but practical, a feature being that the reverse was on a rising gradient which is possibly why more than the average number of drivers touched the rear barrier during the class contests.
Out of the 11 finalists only one made contact with the "wail " here, their chief fault being a tendency to cut too close on the near side. What was clear was that mirror driving with small vehicles does not come particularly easily to those accustomed to handling the heavies.
A change in the local authority's relationship with the Leeds organizing committee brought alterations in the administration but the West Riding centre is amongst the oldest and most experienced concerned in the .competition so that, despite uncertainties, arrange ments were unimpaired. A.T.