For more photos, go to the Scania Polska Facebook fanpage

Sumbar, aged 30, has worked as an international driver for nine years. For the moment he drives only locally. His dream is a Scania R 500 with a V8 engine.

Sumbar entered the competition “just for fun”. Nevertheless he beat drivers with more experience from YETD, for example Rafał Rogalski, 31. Rogalski participated in the YETD for the third time. He has made it twice to the European final! Quite a track record.

The final was held at the new Scania Service premises in Gliwice, the largest Scania workshop in Poland which was officially opened this weekend.

It wasn’t only the drivers who could compete. The approximately 400 visitors were invited to drive a slalom track using a Segway.

Andreas Söderström, winner of the Swedish national YETD final

Day 2 of the Swedish national final attracted some 400 spectators. The grand-stand was filled to the last row while the most fanatic fans were leaning towards the railing surrounding the arena.

After Day 1, Joakim Mörk from Kalix in the north of Sweden was in the top position, while Andreas Söderström from Växjö in south of Sweden finished last, resulting in Söderström being the first driver to enter the arena to “Knock the King” where the drivers first reverse the trailer in slalom and then knocks down four pillars with the front wheels and end of the trailer respectively.

Little did the spectators know that the driver on lane 1 in the first heat should eventually secure his ticket to the European final of YETD.

Spectacular performance
From a spectators point of view, the final was a real nail-biter. The drivers became better and better through the heats, putting pressure on each other resulting in fights over seconds.

On the grand-stand, with a perfect view over the two tracks, the drivers’ nerves became visible to the spectators. It really became clear that small mistakes made a huge difference.

Improving the skills
The “Knock the King” duels are really something to watch. The longer the competition went on, the faster the drivers accomplished their tasks.

As the final heat started, fans gathered around the arena discussing the finalists’ previous heats.

Nerves the key to success
Even though the finalists Andreas Söderström and Patrik Segeman didn’t score the best times, the final showed the difference between keeping one’s calm and not. Segestam, who performed extremely well through his way to the very last heat, made a minor mistake by knocking also a blue pillar. This probably cost him the victory. And as Söderström knocked his last king only seconds before Segestam, his fans leaning towards the rail cheered with joy.

Söderström and Segestam really gave the spectators value for money – an extremely tight final. The European final in Södertälje 8-9 October will be just as thrilling. Be there!

Eco-driving, a part of the Young European Truck Driver 2010

Just as the fog left, eight quiet finalists showed up early Friday morning for the eco-driving part of the Swedish national final of Young European Truck Driver 2010. In the afternoon, the spectators affected the nerves during the manoeuvring part.

The eco-driving part was performed on public roads, an environment familiar to the eight Swedish national finalists of the Young European Truck Driver. According to the instructors and judges, they all performed well.

After this relatively quiet part of the final, it was time to move on the manoeuvring part which took place on an arena at the fairground of Lastbil 2010 – Sweden’s largest trade fair for trucks and truck accessories. And you could almost tell this was a new situation for the contestants. With spectators gathering around the arena, the nerves became visible immediately.

The so called Combo was a tough challenge for many of the drivers. Knowing the exact position of a vehicle most of them had never driven before was sometimes too difficult. Andreas Söderström from Växjö explained one of the difficulties:  “It feels awkward to actually use the truck to hit things, when we’re supposed not to hit things at all in our ordinary work”. Perhaps that put extra strain on the drivers.

Patrik Segeman, Karlstad. One of the Swedish finalists.

The nerves were visible also among some of the close to 300 spectators. Girlfriends, mother-in-laws, and friends showed up to support their favourite. Hillevi Johansson was one of the first female truck drivers in Gothenburg. He was there to support her son-in-law Patrik Segeman from Karlstad. She knows what he was up to as she entered a truck driving competition already in the early 1970s.

To keep the thrill, the results after the competition’s first day are a well kept secret. Check back tomorrow afternoon to obtain the final result.

At its heart, a Scania driver competition is a training event. Competitors learn the best ways to increase fuel efficiency and reduce heavy vehicles’ impact on the environment. The events also build awareness about road safety.

To day, more than 100,000 truck drivers have taken part in Scania’s Driver Competitions. These training events – developed in line with the EU Directive on Drivers’ Training (2003/59), which deals with “the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers” – are a direct result of the company’s view that the driver is the single most important factor for efficiency, environmental performance and safety in the trucking industry.

In 2003, more than 6,000 drivers in 15 European countries participated in Scania’s instructional competitions. Two years later, all European Union member states as well as Norway, Switzerland and Turkey held such events, putting more than 13,000 drivers to the test. Outside of Europe, the competition attracted some 14,000 competitors. In 2007 the competition turned into a truly global event covering 40 countries with more than 43,000 trainees.

The 2010 Scania Driver Competitions are being held in 25 countries around the globe, and more than 40,000 drivers have entered the competitions so far.

For more information, go to:

• Scania Driver Training
• Scania Driver Competitions

Stian Østby. The winner of the YETD final in Norway

At last. Norwegian truck driver Stian Østby won the national final at his fourth attempt. His performance was followed by hundreds of spectators who also took the opportunity to test-drive the all-new Scania R 730.

For Stian Østby it all started back in 2003. At that time he was 22 years old and signed up for the Young European Truck Driver competition. Despite his youth, he ended up second. It took him seven years to enter the podium again. This time as the winner of the Norwegian national final and thus securing his place in the European final held in Södertälje in October.

Østby was a superior winner. He performed very well during the eco-driving, but he knocked his competitors during the “check before driving” test in which the drivers in a given time frame are asked to find ten faults on the vehicle that may affect road safety. It could for example be low tyre pressure, lamps that are not working properly or stones that has got stuck in the tyre pattern. Östby was the only driver scoring full. Impressive.

For more photos from the final, go to Norsk Scania’s Facebook fanpage

The national final was held in conjunction with an open day at the Scania’s Demo Centre in Norway. The interest to test drive the all-new Scania R 730 and other Scania trucks was on top for the whole day. The pedal cars attracted an huge interest as well, especially as the organisers had built up a track similar to the Young European Truck Driver competition track. These two activities certainly kept the visitors to stay for the whole day.

Family happiness. Belgian winner Lionnel Collette with family.

This weekend’s competition venue in the Netherlands was the well-renowned Truck Star Festival in Assen. The festival celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, and the weather, the crowd and all the exhibits did their part in making it a fantastic weekend. All the main manufacturers were there, along with more than 2,000 truckers exhibiting their artwork. Scania brought two magnificent R 730s to capture visitors’ attention.

Several competitions were held during the weekend, among them the Young European Truck Driver finals for Belgium and the Netherlands. All contestants went through trials in precision manoeuvring, theory and load securing.

Security matters. Belgian contestant receiving his load securing scores from sergeant Filippo.

First up were the Belgian contestants, all of whom tried their best to manoeuvre, secure and keep calm in four different tests. When asked about the secret of success, several drivers answered, “There is no secret, you just need to stay calm and focused.” Nevertheless, the main judge grew a bit worried halfway through, saying that “several of them are driving a little too fast. They need to be calmer.”

At the end of the first day, a dazzled, happy and proud Lionnel Collette stood at the top of the podium.

Focusing pays. Dutch winner Dave Roovert highly concentrated.

During the second day, Dutch contestants stepped up to the challenge. The audience included several Belgian contestants looking to figure out what they could have done differently – and one with a very relaxed smile. The contest was a close one, in which drivers with previous YETD experience battled hard against young and hungry newcomers. Finally, Dave Roovert managed to secure first place and take the honour of representing the Netherlands in the YETD final in Södertälje.

It remains to be seen how these two do against the other finalists in Sweden, and who will go home with a brand new Scania R-series truck in October.

The winner Patrick "Schilli" Schildmann from Grevenbroich

Scania Deutschland broke new ground this year with a major partner for its national YETD competition. Germany’s main automobile club, ADAC – Europe’s biggest, with 17 million members – cooperated with Scania to arrange the contest, raising the number of applicants to more than 3,000.

“The ADAC involvement helped to raise awareness of the competition and to increase the understanding among car drivers of the job of truck drivers,” Thomas Bertilsson, MD of Scania Deutschland says.

Crowded on and off the track

And Christoph Walter, Head of Safe Driver Training at ADAC, is equally enthusiastic about the cooperation:
“We feel very comfortable with Scania; we have the same way of thinking. I´d say we are both characterised by competence, experience, willingness to innovate and dynamism.” The regional finals took place in ADAC’s training centres throughout Germany. Three drivers from each heat qualified to the national finals at the legendary Nürburgring race track, in connection to the 25th International Truck Grand Prix.

With the ADAC cooperation this year, the German competition had no age restrictions – although it was still integrated into Scania´s international Young European Truck Driver. Of the top ten drivers in the finals, eight were above the YETD age limit of 35 years, evidence that experience pays off when it comes to safe driving. But the winner, Patrick “Schilli” Schildmann, showed maturity well above his age of 27.

“It was a very hard competition. All the moments in the finals were extremely difficult. I knew I was driving well, but in the end I could hardly believe I had won it,” he says, with his hands full of winner cups, travel checks for the U.S. and a ticket to the European finals in Södertälje, Sweden in October.

Proceed to gate. Gabriel Warde, winner of the Irish YETD competition, is on course for the European final in Södertälje.

The Irish final in Scania’s Young European Truck Driver recently took place over two weekends. Driver Gabriel Warde, with a near flawless performance, was named the winner by an independent jury from the Irish Road Safety Association.

The Irish national final of the Young European Truck Driver was held in early summer at the Scania distributor Westwards’ facilities in Strokestown, in County Roscommon. Spectators were treated to both a thrilling competition, a close-up look at the new Scania V8 trucks, and the trailer from the Irish Road Safety Association with its simulator.

A champion in action. Gabriel Warde, winner of the Irish YETD 2010, in discussion with a member of the jury.

The final was held over two weekends, 26–27 June and 3–4 July. At the first weekend, 30 drivers performed the fuel economy driving and fault detection parts of the competition; from there, 14 drivers made it to the contest finale the following weekend, which tested their skills in manoeuvring the vehicles.

The competitors were coached by the YETD 2007 winner Tom Sharkey who drove the track. The competition’s jury comprised representatives from the Irish Road Safety Association.

The final contest was extremely tight, with the drivers making few mistakes. Gabriel Warde won the day with near-flawless driving. He’ll be representing Ireland in the European final on 9 October in Södertälje, Sweden.

The majority of the competitors found the “reverse the garage” manoeuvre very tricky, and their best advice to future contestants was to practice.

Winner Warde says he normally drives a truck from another manufacturer. Looking forward to the European final in Södertälje, he says he plans to “contact Scania to test a vehicle” and “practise a lot”.

1^st: Gabriel Warde
2^nd: Eric Kelly
3^rd: Robert Baker

On display. New Scania vehicles, mainly V8 trucks, were on exhibit during the opening day of the Irish YETD at Westwards, in Strokestown, Ireland.

Independent. The Irish Road Safety Association acted as an impartial competition jury for the Irish YETD competition.

Precision driving. The drivers showed excellence during the final’s manoeuvring tests.

Fuel efficient driving – one of many things a skilled driver has to master.

During the recent Dutch semi-final, one of the drivers who recently got his driving license scored an extraordinary 99 percent on the Scania Driver Support part of the Young European Truck Driver Competition.

Robert van der Linden, born 1986, who just recently got his driving license, scored an amazing 99 percent in the part of the YETD competition involving Scania Driver Support, a system that coaches the driver to save fuel and use the truck’s capabilities optimally. Apparently van der Linden made almost perfect use use of the truck’s rolling weight, the new Scania Opticruise as well of the Scania Retarder.

The reason for him scoring that high, despite his youth, could well be the fact that in order to obtain a Dutch driving licence, you nowadays have to drive according to something called ‘Het Nieuwe Rijden’ (‘The new driving rules’) which includes anticipating and fuel efficient driving.

A strong performance – the new Scania R 730 exhibited during on of the Dutch semi-finals.

It’s poised to be a nail-biting national final on 25 July in Assen during the Truckstar Festival.

As close as it gets – the semi-finals are tough events for the many excellent truck drivers participating.