Tough Test For Army Drivers
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BY TOM WALKERLEY
LATE reports from control centres all over the country would seem to indicate that not all the 181 vehicles in the Army Driving Championship will arrive unscathed and on time at the finish at Kempston, Bedford, this morning. Marks lost on the 1,200-mile road section, in the various driving tests and oVer the cross-country sections, as well as the fog which has blanketed many areas in the past week, have sorted out the skilful, the lucky and the not so fortunate. The results will be published in The Commercial Motor next week.
The Army Championship is the first competition of its kind to be organized by the British Army Motoring Association. Like most competitive events in the Army, it is intended to have useful training value (and not only for the contestants). Two main awards of equal status arc offered to the best individual driver and the best team of three vehicles, in .addition to a host of other trophies provided by the various Commands, RoSPA and the vehicle manufacturers.
Teams taking part consist of two +-ton field-cars (of which 65 are Austin Champs and 58 are Land-Rovers) and one 3-tonner, the majority of which are Bedford RL and QL types. All have four-wheel drive, and the 3-tonners have been carrying 2-1tons of sand, loaded into ammunition boxes.
Proceedings began on Monday when the vehicles completed the first stage of their journey at Bedford. The 165-mile run-in from the five starting points, York, Oswestry, Aldershot, Blandford and Colchester, was made more difficult than had been anticipated by thick fog, which was encountered on most routes. Nevertheless, first man to rrive at the Bedford control, Cfn. Estridge, driving a Bedford RL from Colchester, contrived to be 3 min. early. A little over an hour later, the first of the field-cars scrambled into the control—on time but a little breathless.
Two tests were laid out on the barrack square, one of kerb parking and one demanding a tight S-turn through gates. The entire entry was put through its paces with great expedition because the pair of tests was triplicated, a ploy which might appeal to "Lorry Driver of the Year" organizers. Standards were not notably high among the 3-tonner drivers, although the parking bay appeared to be generous enough. The jeep class, somewhat naturally; found this a good deal easier than the load carriers.
The next leg. from Bedford to Sennybridge, the R.A. practice camp near Brecon, began in the chill hours before dawn on Tuesday. The 3-tonners, timed to average about 20 m.p.h., followed a straightforward route, but the 5-cwt. class, at a slightly higher speed, were also penalized by long stretches of by-road demanding careful map-reading For the late numbers, the Sennybridge cross-country section was made particularly difficult by the onset of darkness. The course here resembled a stricken field, which in fact, it was; in addition to the unmade nature of the track, there was ample bog in which to have unconventional adventures, and it was a kind thought of the organizers . to have R.E.M.E. recovery units at hand. To equalize things, the agony of the field-car drivers went on somewhat longer than the others.
Rack. on the hard road, the competitors made their way to Oswestry through the Welsh mountains. Here again the jeep class had to perform mild miracles of map-reading round the lakes so well beloved by the car rally enthusiasts. Those who were roughly on time reached Oswestry in the middle of the night and were confronted with a test in which the near-side front wheel had to be placed on
a bull's eye painted on the road. This is surprisingly difficult in daylight, and cost a large number of marks in the dark.
The road section between Oswestry'and Carlisle, where the next series of tests was held, was enlivened by the morning peak hour traffic in Warrington and Wigan, and there were those who found it necessary to make up time on the Preston by-pass. More map-reading was required in the Pennines and the going near Tarn Hilt was uninviting. Probably, however, the toughest day's drive was that of yesterday, when there were crosscountry sections at Otterbtirn and Catterick. Both had all the features of Sennybridge, hut at Catterick the military nature of the operation was emphasized by the obligatory use of the prismatic compass. Bleak hillsides were covered by lurching vehicles in four-wheeklrive, their drivers gallantly attempting to pick a usable route and at the same time, keep, more or less, to a bearing. And the crews must have been very, very tired.
It is intended that in succeeding years, the Championship will be preceded by eliminating contests in the various Commarids. When it is considered that these young soldiers are the civilian motorists of tomorrow, nothing but good can result from these competition&