23 June 2011
By: Tom Spaul
Our 2011 Driver of the Year Grand Final event was once again held at Wentworth Park in Barnsley at the weekend thanks to the kind support of Mercedes Benz.
We saw the 38 finalists battle it out as their driving skills and knowledge were put to the test in three key areas; on road, fault clinic and obstacle test. The on road challenge assessed the finalists driving skills while out on the public road. The fault clinic tested their observation skills and required the drivers to carry out a walk-round check of a vehicle within a set timeframe of 10 minutes and the obstacle assessment tested reverse and forward manoeuvring skills.
The finalists were supported by friends and family who were entertained throughout the day with a face painter, bouncy castle, caricaturist, remote control mini racing, F1 simulator, 4x4 off road driving experience and the chance to drive a 44 tonne vehicle!
The weather was remarkably kind and it stayed dry with the day ending with us announcing the winner and runner-up in the three categories - well done to the below drivers:
2011 Driver of the Year – winners and runners-up
Artic
Winner – David Gerrard, Merseyside
Runner-up - Dave Pain, Redbourne
Rigid
Winner - Carl Wells, Lincoln
Runner-up - Scott Etheridge, Redbourne
3.5 - 7.5 tonne
Winner – Brian Cornford, Hastings
Runner-up – Carl Newman, Mole Valley
Many congratulations to our winners and runners-up and to all our finalists for making it through to the Grand Final. I’d also like to thank the team at Veolia who have worked so hard over the past couple of months to make sure this event was a success!