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136 
East Kent Win Coach Rally T"
Page 64
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premier award in the _ third British Coach Rally held in Battersea Park, London, last Sunday. went to a 1957 Beadle-bodied A.E.C. Reliance 32-seater operated by the East Kent Road Car Co., Ltd. Driven by Mr. L. C. Smith, this vehicle became the overall winner by gaining the highest combined total number of points for the concours d'elegance and the driving tests.
A 26-seat Duple-bodied 1954 Leyland Royal Tiger entered by Southdown Motor Services, Ltd, took first place in the concours d'elegance, the runnerup being a 1957 Bristol LS-E.C.W. .34-seater of the Eastern National Omnibus_ Co., Ltd. Interior of the Leyland was fitted out by the operators themselves.
Coach Driver of the Year is Mr. C. B. Kenzie, who obtained the .highest marks in the driving tests, using one of the oldest vehicles competing, a 1950 Bedford-Duple 24-seater owned Kenzie's Luxury Coaches.
42 Vehicles Entered
Forty-two coaches were entered by 33 operators, some of whom sent vehicles from places as far away as Sheffield, Loughborough, Gloucester and Shanklin, I.o.W., to participate. • A large proportion of the entries came from the London area.
Driving tests were divided into five timed sections. An acceleration and braking test required vehicles to accelerate from a datum line and brake in a " box " 45 ft. long and 9 ft. wide.
This was followed by a difficult parking test in which contestants had to drive forward from a starting line, stop astride a second line and reverse from the centre of the roadway to bring their off-side wheels within 6 in. of the kerb in one movement.
In a garaging test, which brought to light a variety of styles, coaches had to start from a given line, drive round an obstruction into one garage, reverse through 180° into a second box and accelerate away to stop astride a finishing line beyond the first garage.