National Coach Driver Win4
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right Trophies
ALTHOUGH entries for last weekend's National Coach Rally were drawn from as far afield as Sussex and Worcestershire, the bulk came from the Northern counties and the total support for the event was much the same as previously. This situation gives further justification to the suggestion made in the official programme by Mr. Stanley Ireland, North Western chairman of the Passenger Vehicle Operators' Association, to the effect that, whilst it was excellent for the most modern examples of the coachbuilders' art to be displayed to the public, the committee might seriously consider widening the scope of the fixture and taking it to some of the larger centres of population.
During the past four years the foundations of the rally have been laid by the Wigan and District Excursions and Tours Operators' Association, but many figures in the passenger world clearly feel that there is now room for expansion and new ideas. Uncertainty over the regulations last week-end led to some protests—and there is obviously need for some clarification.
Best performance in the event was achieved by Wallace Arnold Tours Ltd. (Leyland-Plaxton 45-seater; driver, E Patrickson),. this success carrying with it the title of National Coach of 1964. The runner-up was R. H. Harrison (Morecatnbe) Ltd. (Leyland Royal TigerPlaxton 51-seater; driver, 1. Hunter). An impresSive collection of no fewer than eight trophies was carried away by J. T. Wareham (J. W. Fieldsend Ltd.. Thames Plaxton 41-seater), a previous winner, whose performance earned him the title of National Coach Driver of 1964.
Wareham's performance on the road and in the Saturday eliminating tests showed him to have a 15-5 mark advantage at that stage over E. Patrickson (Wallace Arnold). Actual best performance in the driving test was by Noel Tatlock (J. B. Tatlock and Son, BedfordPlaxton), who was Coach Driver of the Year for 1963.
The event was started from Wigan on Saturday morning by the Mayor, Cllr. J. Johnson, then covered an 86-mile road course of a mixed nature, which included
time checks, secret time controls and a regularity section with a tolerance of only 15 seconds. Those unpenalized on the last-mentioned stage included J. E. Leigh (J. E. Leigh, Bedford-Harrington), W. Grundy (Yelloway Motor Services Ltd., A.E.C.-Harrington), W. E. Begg (R. E. and W. E. Begg, Bedford-Duple), H. J. Measham (Blundell's Coaches (Southport) Ltd., Bedford-Plaxton) and H. Liptnt (T. Unsworth and Sons (Wigan) Ltd., Bedford-Yeates). Certain coaches were said to have stopped to wait out time just out of sight of one of the observers, an eventuality that will no doubt be covered by future regulations. The leader at the end of the road section was Patrickson, with a loss of four, marks, followed by .Begg, with five marks lost. The Saturday afternoon tests on the Middle Walk of Blackpool promenade were undertaken by 29 entrants out of a total of 3g on the programme. There were five tests, the one offering the most
opportunity for spectacular driving calling for a run forward on one side of a rectangular island and a reverse down the other. Whilst there were some excellent demonstrations of skilful handling, not all the drivers appeared to realize that the offside kerb should be regarded as a boundary. In the course of the afternoon quite a few of the oil drums that marked the island were flattened or bowled over.
Best performance overall on the test was by Tatlock, followed by Leigh. Tatlock was demonstrably the fastest at the island and also best on the double reversing test. Wareham gained premier honours an speedy starting (driver dismounted and standing away from the vehicle), parking, and the acceleration and braking tests.
Those qualifying for the Sunday afternoon finals, on the basis of their test and road performance, were Wareham, Patrickson, Leigh, Hunter, Liptrot, S. E. Davenport (J. Lofthouse, Bedford-Plaxton), T. Hughes (Hirst Travel Services. Bedford-Duple). A. Hilton (Warburton Bros. (Bury) Ltd., Albion-Duple), and J. Hawley (T. D. Jackson, Bedford-Plaxton).