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Do you have any titbits of Industry gossip? if so,
Page 22
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please contact Backfire, Commercial Motor, 1.2, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS, or fax 020 8652 8969. Alternatively you can e-mail: brian.weatherley*rbl.co.uk Racing...
Normally, any truck drivers caught dumping thousands of tonnes of shale on the hallowed turf of the Millennium Stadium would be arrested for fly tipping and hanged in the grounds of Cardiff Castle. Rut once a year, they get away with it.
The occasion? The Fiat Vans FIM Speedway Grand Prix where, In less than a week, the rugby pitch Is transformed into a short oval race track. We did try unsuccessfully to obtain some pictures of the trucks during the build-up (honest), but were unsuccessful. Instead, we found one of the start line crew resplendent in the sponsors livery.
Fortunately Fiat's products, used for the parade laps, performed perfectly on the night—unlike the shiny red tractor towing the trackwatering hawser. Just before the final, and in front of TV cameras beaming to 18 countries around the world, Its driver was seen valiantly fighting the gear lever for a good 10 minutes before managing to eventually find a gear— unfortunately, one which returned him to the pits at a tortoise's pace.
More racing...
Lutz Bernau proved unbeatable as the European Truck Racing Cup series moved to the south-west of France on the weekend of 21-22 June. The German driver took four wins in heatwave conditions at the demanding Nogaro circuit.
An audience of 26,000 braved temperatures approaching 40'C to watch some fiercely contested-races--with the Castrcl-sponsored MAN drivers filling most of the leading positions.
And still more racing
Meanwhile, drivers heading along the Mb in the West Midlands may have been slightly puzzled to see hundreds of mountain bikers racing around fields in Sandwell on the weekend of 21-22 June. Drivers may have been even more confused to see lights still traversing the fields well into the wee hours of the morning. The reason for this midnight lunacy was the annual Saab Salomon Mountain Mayhem—a 24-hour mountain bike race that seeks to reduce its participants to gibbering zombified wrecks by its close. One of Backfire's more energetic colleagues took part in the madness, dragging his team kicking and screaming to a magnificent 56th place and several sets of very tired legs.
Rule Britannia
The perception that British drivers are the best in Europe is unfounded, according to new research from insurer Direct line. In fact, Brits behind the wheel have more accidents per head than German, Italian, Spanish or French motorists—possibly because we spend more time behind the wheel than anyone else.
Germans were the best drivers, despite having the second-highest accident rate, the survey found. And rather unsurprisingly Italians had the worst driving reputation of any nation.