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TIES and TEASERS

15th May 1964, Page 70
15th May 1964
Page 70
Page 70, 15th May 1964 — TIES and TEASERS
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ATIE between the leading drivers in Class D at the Birmingham L.D.O.Y. eliminating contest on Sunday, and the subsequent reference by the official in charge of results, Mr. G. Morgan, to section 7 of the national regulations to decide the order of merit, drew attention to the importance with which the national committee rightly regard the route test and to the smaller number of marks lost by the average skilled driver on the road compared with the three marueuvring tests. A detailed examination of this and other class results confirms that the diagonal width judging test normally takes a disproportionately high ton of competitors, and consideration of these observations raises the question (not for the first time) as to whether a better balance could he achieved in the penalties imposed.

No marks were lost on the route test by Class D driver J. W. Bayliss (The Park Bottling Co. Ltd.) at the wheel of a Bedford or by C. Wheddon (Morris Commercial Cars Ltd.) in a Morris, and both drivers lost only 10 marks in the highway code test. A. Hunt (Fisher and Ludlow Ltd.) driving a Morris was penalized a total of 12 points in the route and code tests and all three drivers were penalized 169 points overall. In the case of Bayliss and Wheddon the width judging penalty was more than double the combined penalties of the kerb parking and loading hay tests, whilst in Hunt's case it amounted to over four times his loss on the loading bay test and 1+ times the kerb

parking test. Such detailed variations are generally typical of the results.

Two of last year's class winners, J. F. Wooding and T. E. Lewis, both of the Austin Motor Co. Ltd., were winners again th's year of Class B and Class C respectively, but T. Perks of The British Oxygen Co. Ltd. (Bedford) who was the best C-licensed driver in 1963 as Well as the Class D winner, came to grief in the width judging test and failed to get a place. It was evident that a number of drivers with experience of the competition and accustomed to the head-high pylons of former years, misjudged the spacing and location of the midget pylons which were first introduced in last year's final.

Winner of Class A, W. Aitkin of Joseph Lucas lost 21 points out of 106 on this test, his total being the lowest of the day. Driving for Henry Hope and Sons Ltd., at the wheel of a Thames, L. Onions was awarded the cup for the best C-licensed driver on index of performance after winning Class El with a loss of 226 points, Aitkin was penalized 57 in the width judging test and Onions lost 80.

Many drivers of heavy vehicles, notably of artics, were in trouble when backing into the obliquely located loading bay on the blind side, the difference between the relatively few really good drivers and the average driver being most marked here. A minority of drivers stopped their vehicles astride the " BX " variable line at an angle to the "AB" base line and thereby simplified the manceuvre. There were numerous examples of a vehicle being backed square on into the far barrier and of crashing the rear barrier after a forward shunt. Mr. Gerald Aston, clerk of the course, was heard to ask: "Is it fair? They wouldn't have had to do it in practice."

clockwork with long experience of the job, Dunlop's were first class hosts and there were a fair number of spectators, but oh! those programmes. They were free to spectators but few spectators were seen reading them. The number of omissions of drivers and vehicles totalled about N.

Representing the national committee at the prize giving, Councillor R. W. Brain said that drivers were getting competition minded and that he had every hope the existing 24 centres would be doubled within a short period. Before presenting the prizes Mr. W. D. Capper, chief constable of Birmingham, expressed his regret that the standard of driving shown in the competition was not emulated by drivers generally. P.A.C.B.


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