LANGLEY, B.C. — The skills of participating drivers were put to the test at this year’s British Columbia Professional Truck Driving Championships, as competitors fought periods of hard rain during the day-long event. The competition, which took place at the Tradex Centre in Abbotsford June 23, saw Daryl Giesbrecht of Surrey (Ken Johnson Trucking) crowned Grand Champion and Jaswinder Singh Diyal, also of Surrey (TransX Group of Companies), named Rookie of the Year.

Adam Besse of Prince George (Canadian Freightways) won the Safety Award, while a Canadian Freightways team comprising Besse, Evan Hirst (Richmond), Dale Scott (Mission) and Hans Wettstein (Surrey) won the Team Trophy.

The Championships are hosted annually by the British Columbia Trucking Association (BCTA). The competition consists of a written test, pre-trip inspection, and driving competition.

To be eligible to compete, each driver must be free of preventable accidents for the 12 months prior to the championships. A preventable accident could include even a minor occurrence such as a broken taillight on a trailer, officials noted.

The competition concluded with a banquet at the Sheraton Guildford Hotel in Surrey, where Shaun Garvey, organizing committee chair from Myrtle Cove Risk Services, and Gary Ryder, chief judge from Chevron Canada, presented the awards to winners in each class. The winners in each driving competition category – Straight Truck, Dean Grant; Single-Single, Dale Scott; Tandem-Tandem, Daryl Giesbrecht; and B-Train, Adam Besse – will now go on to represent B.C. at the 2012 National Championships in Moncton, N.B., Sept. 6-9, hosted by the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association.

Names of all winners, city of residence and company are as follows:

Grand Champion:  Daryl Giesbrecht, Surrey, Ken Johnson Trucking

Rookie of the Year:  Jaswinder Singh Diyal, Surrey, TransX Group of Companies

Safety Award:  Adam Besse, Prince George, Canadian Freightways

Team Trophy:  Canadian Freightways – Team 1: Adam Besse, Evan Hirst, Dale Scott, Hans Wettstein

Straight Truck:
1st Place:  Dean Grant, Crofton, Agrifoods International Cooperative
2nd Place:  Kris Szigeti, Vancouver, Bandstra Transportation Systems
3rd Place:  John Lawley, Abbotsford, YRC Reimer

Single-Single:
1st Place:  Dale Scott, Mission, Canadian Freightways
2nd Place:  Jose Lecinana, Sooke, Canadian Freightways
3rd Place:  Evan Hirst, Richmond, Canadian Freightways

Tandem-Tandem:
1st Place:  Daryl Giesbrecht, Surrey, Ken Johnson Trucking
2nd Place:  Robert Balan, Surrey, Canadian Freightways
3rd Place:  Angela Jones, Aldergrove, Ken Johnson Trucking

B-Train:
1st Place:  Adam Besse, Prince George, Canadian Freightways
2nd Place:  David Lighton, Langley, Air Liquide
3rd Place:  Larry Glover, Nanaimo, Canadian Freightways