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SMOOTH RUNNING AT NORTHAMPTON
Page 66
Page 69
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AFTER several days of hot sunshine, the weather reverted to our more normal brand with clouds and a few scattered showers on Sunday, when the Northampton round of the L.D.O.Y. was decided. Not that the conditions were really bad at all; they just seemed worse in comparison with the brilliant previous days.
The organization at Northampton this year ran smoothly most of the time, the vehicles following one another through the three manceuvring tests with regularity and the minimum of delay. There was perhaps a little slowness in finalizing the results, but nothing that called for any strong criticism.
More than 100 competitors went through their paces between 9 a.m. and just after 4.30 p.m., when the East Midland Licensing Authority, Mr. C. R.
Hodgson, wound up the day by presentlog the prizes.
Particularly intriguing were the various techniques employed in the loading bay test, many of the drivers appearing deliberately to use at leasi one shunt to ensure a better final stopping position, rather than trying to get into the final position in one move to avoid losing marks for.each shunt.
A good contest for the overall individual winner was wort by M. Blandford (ExpressDairy Co. (London) Ltd.), who lost only 79 marks. There were three drivers who lost less than 100 marks and, as last year's lowest marks were 135, it suggests that the -standard among the leading drivers was higher this time. Blandford scored a comfortable victory in Class C, his loss of only two marks in the bay test being particularly meritorious.
The loss of 88 marks by J. Dakin—the 1963 Lorry Driver of the Year—in Class B also represented a 'comfortable win, and he repeated his 1963 victory over runner-up M. I. Challis (F. S. Challis), though this time with a slightly smaller margin.
The closest class was E2, won by R. V. Woolley (Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd., Roy ston) with the loss of 148 marks (112 of these being in the width-judging test). Runner-up S. L. Wilson (A. Lilley and Co. Ltd.), lost 162 marks and third man R. Mayes (Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd. (Midland)), 173 marks.
Last year's award winners, Express Dairy (London) Ltd., with the same team of J. Dakin, W. Warner and F. Scales, were pushed down to third place IhiS
time by Wm. Moorhouse and Sons Ltd. IT. Adlarn, N. Thorpe and E. White) and Phipps Northampton Brewery Co. Ltd. R. W. Snedker, A. J. Whitehead and P. L. Goff).
Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd., Royston (O. Jest, R. V. Woolley and F. R. Freeman) took fourth place, Moorhouse's winning margin over Phipps was a mere one
point. G.K.