Truck & Driver UK – August 2019

16

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Summer 2019 Truck & Driver

Norway wins Scania’s

European Driver final!

T

&D were invited to the
Scania HQ in Södertälje,
Sweden in May for the
seventh year of the
European Driver Competition
finals, where 30 drivers from 30
countries were represented.
Flying the flag for the UK at the
huge event was Artur Brejnak,
who drives a Scania, delivering
to Aldi supermarkets.
Scania pulled out all the stops
on this one, lining up a taxing
programme of tests for the
drivers aimed at compressing
just about everything you’d ever
encounter as a driver into two
days. On the Thursday night, all
the drivers were introduced.
Hundreds of people were packed
into the hall; from each country
there were not only the drivers,
but second- and third-placed
stand-ins, driver-trainers, friends,
family, press and PR people.
This led to a colourful, carnival
atmosphere, some of the nations
having brought sizeable, not to
mention loud, support groups.
Think Eurovision Song Contest
but with trucks.

Off-road victims

Action began properly on Friday,
with the drivers shuttling between
the various locations; load
securing, first aid, pre-shift
checks, eco-driving were all
things everyone would be familiar
with. The off-road section
claimed many victims though,
with manual gears and the
diff-locks required.
There were also sections
devoted to moving a truck using
only its cameras, and a defensive
driving simulator. That night there
was a buffet dinner set in a castle
where the leading drivers from
the first day were announced.
The following morning, it was
all about low-speed
manoeuvring. ‘Knock the King’,
the task chosen to reduce the
competitors from 30 to 18,
involves having to shunt back

Off-road section caught out many drivers

Truckscene

and forth, knocking red pins over

with the trailer and your front

wheels. Artur put in an outstanding

performance in the UK final, but

on this occasion it wasn’t to be

and he narrowly missed making

it into the quarter final.

Next up was the ‘Twisted

Water Challenge’ where the top

nine drivers were able to choose

their opponents. The trucks, with

a water tank strapped on the

back, had to be slalomed between

cones and over a ramp. The idea

was to keep as much water in

the tank as possible, not hit any

of the obstacles or boundaries

and finish before your rival. There

was a shock in this round, as

Estonia’s Risto Kumm, who had

Fantastic, colourful support on hand

Britain’s Artur greets the cameras

A total of 30 countries were represented

Knocking the red pins over needs great accuracy

Norwegian winner

Andreas and his prize