DAIMLER AND PLAXTON MAKE IT 'THE DOUBLE'
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TWO COACH DRIVERS OF THE YEAR
T\0 Plaxton-bodied Daimler Roadliner eNcriaches ran away with the honours in the 13th British Coach Rally at Brighton at the weekend. The coaches were those which obtained similar titles at the National Coach Rally in Blackpool two weeks ago, a notable triumph for Daimler with their new Cummins-engined Roadliner coach.
A further triumph was that for Bristol, whose first coach to be entered in a British coach rally in an independent's colours earned the title Highest Standard Coach. The Daimler vehicles were a 44-seat coach of Black and White Motorways Ltd., which became the 1967 Coach of the Year in the Concours d'Elegance, and the special 27-seat executives' coach of Evan Evans Tours Ltd., which was the runner-up.
A Plaxtori body was also fitted to the Bristol coach, entered by Flight's Tours Ltd., a consistent winner of titles at the British Coach Rally. The Flight's coach had the distinction of being the first Bristol to be completed for an independent operator since Bristol Commercial Vehicles Ltd. became free to sell on the open market again.
High driving standard
A high standard of driving was a feature of the driving tests but the large number of mini-coaches entered presented a problem to the organizers. Winner of the title Coach Driver of the Year was Brian Dyson who put up a creditable performance in his 12seater Ford /Deansgate mini-coach. This resulted in a protest, however, to the effect that it was not fair to award this title to a mini-coach driver.
Consequently Don Janes, proprietor of Whitefriars Coaches, who also put in a good performance with his special "hybrid" vehicle, a 36 ft. Plaxton-bodied coach on a specially-built Cummins-powered Ford chassis (COMMERCIAL MOTOR, January 27) was elected joint Coach Driver of the Year. Altogether a good day for Cumminspowered vehicles, and for Plaxtons.
Whyte's Clipper Service Ltd., (formerly Whyte's of Edgware), whose special Duplebodied coach for VIPs won the Concours award last year, also carried off some trophies with two more Duple-bodied AEC Reliances. One was a 44-seater which won class D in the Concours (standard coaches seating 31-44 passengers) and the other a special 30-seater which came second in class C (touring and special purpose coaches, not more than 30 seats).
The award for Top Coach on the Road went to Ernest Harrington, driving a Bedford /Duple 41-seater of Wren's Coaches Ltd. for his performance on the road section of the rally. Mr. Harrington incurred only 25 penalty points, and runner-up in this section was Ernest Deakin driving a 1960 Commer /Yeates of Osterley Coaches, who incurred 30 penalties.