World class: Karsten Krueger from Doego Fruchthandel is the overall winner of the Drivers' League 2010!

• 20 truck drivers from nine countries battled for the
championship in the master class of economical driving
• Exciting live finals on September 11th at the Mercedes-Benz
Plant in Wörth, Germany
• Excellent driving skills demonstrated by the finalists

Wörth – Much excitement at the finals of the 8th FleetBoard Drivers' League: 20 truck drivers from nine countries competed in a world class finish on September 11th. The results of four challenging driving manoeuvres determined who emerged victorious in the international Drivers' League 2010. The finalists had qualified ahead of 8,000 drivers for economic driving in their home countries of Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and South Africa.

Karsten Krueger from Doego Fruchthandel / Germany triumphed over his competition after the dramatic and nail-biting finals. The winner's company has been using FleetBoard since 2006 for consistent fuel savings of 8-10% and a yearly reduction in wear totalling up to €900 per vehicle and year. The runner up Sebastian Walczak from HSF Distri Holding B.V. / Netherlands had to accept that there were only miniscule differences in the results. Andreas Brandstätter from Sieber Transport AG / Switzerland managed 3rd place after a high-calibre, exciting final phase.

The atmosphere electrified the drivers, their companions, the sponsors and the fans during the four disciplines. At the Mercedes-Benz Plant in Wörth, the participants showed impressive, world-class driving skills in their attempt to take the coveted title home. They took the competition to a whole new level during this year's event, which coincides with the tenth anniversary of FleetBoard, and had already fought off over 8,000 truck drivers in the national competitions. For the first time, truckers from Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and South Africa joined the competition, and thanks to the particular motivation of the competition, all Drivers' League participants were able reduce their CO2 emissions by an additional 1%, which corresponds to approximately one additional tonne of CO2 per year per truck.

The live exercises included a 60 km long tour on public streets where the economical driving style was measured with FleetBoard Performance Analysis. This considered total consumption and wearrelevant criteria during daily transport work conditions. With peak values (on a scale of 1-10) of 9.0 and better, all drivers demonstrated live how versed they are in the economic handling of their trucks. The marks demonstrated an excellent driving style and correspondingly lower diesel consumption and wear. Furthermore, the finalists had to drive a Zetros off-road vehicle quickly but economically. They did this by negotiating a route whilst trying to use smooth throttle movements, lifting off when ever they could, simultaneously demonstrating their abilities with the engine brake. The right-hand drive truckers from the United Kingdom and South Africa demonstrated impressive skill in the left-hand drive exercises. Due to their enthusiasm, all of the drivers gave peak performances and exceeded all expectations. The decision was, therefore, very close. Graham Huxley (5th place) and Stephen Hornsby (8th place) from Clarke International / UK were overwhelmed: “Our boss is very pleased, because three drivers from Clarke International Ltd. got place 1st - 3rd in the UK. And he is saving lots of gallons fuel by using FleetBoard. It is great to be here, but also difficult: everything in the truck is the opposite way – even the buttons. It is educational and interesting, a good test.” The winners’ prize: UTA will send two people to Madrid for one week. As well as seeing the lively city in Spain, Krueger will experience the finals of the European Championship Truck Race on October 3rd, 2010. The trip includes flight and hotel as well as two entrance tickets for the racetrack in Jarama. His company will receive 3 months "free driving" on an Actros articulated truck, including FleetBoard Vehicle Management, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz CharterWay.

In addition, Michelin presented the companies ranked 1st to 3rd with a set of tyres (6 tyres) with the tread patterns MICHELIN X® ENERGYTM SAVERGREEN XF and XD, which are particularly economical due to their low rolling resistance and good kilometre performance. The runner up, Sebastian Walczak looks forward to DTM VIP tickets for the final race at Hockenheimring, including overnight stay, for 2 people. Andreas Brandstätter received a gift set from the Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH Trucker Selection. Participants ranking 4h – 21st received the Allianz travel kit for truckers from Allianz Versicherungs-AG.

Markus Lipinsky, Managing Director of Daimler FleetBoard GmbH, celebrated with the winners: "All participants in the Drivers' League deserve our respect; they are among the best drivers in the world. The competition shows our esteem for drivers, who are often under-appreciated. With a preventive driving style, they drive safely, economically and with low wear and are the basis for our customers' success."

The TRUCKERMANIA fever didn't abate the entire weekend and it was a special event for everyone present. They took the opportunity to discuss the ideal way of using Mercedes-Benz PowerShift, the cruise control and environmentally-friendly driving and enjoyed this exciting time together as winners of the Drivers' League 2010. Michelin is the main sponsor of this year's FleetBoard Drivers' League. Other partners are: Voith Turbo, UTA, Mercedes-Benz CharterWay, Mercedes-Benz Service, Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH,Fernfahrer and Allianz Versicherungs-AG. They rewarded the drivers with attractive prizes.

The final results and accounts of the event can be found at www.driversleague.com.

About the FleetBoard Drivers' League:
The FleetBoard Drivers' League is an anual truck drivers' competition for transport and logistics companies from all over the world to compete in economical driving styles. For four weeks, all participants' daily trips are measured by FleetBoard Performance Analysis. This considers the degree of difficulty in ranking the national Drivers' League lists and uses various factors such as preventative driving style, speed variation as well as braking behaviour. The best truckers from each national league are then invited to Germany to determine the overall winner.

About FleetBoard:
Daimler FleetBoard GmbH belongs to the European market leaders on the sector of utility vehicle telematics. End devices and services are aimed at fleet directors, dispatch agents and drivers of all types of truck, bus and van fleets in every industry. For years it has established itself as a fleet management system which leads to increased economic efficiency. Easy-to-handle technology supports the driver in his daily work. The 100% subsidiary of Daimler is headquartered in Stuttgart and is a DEKRA-tested and -certified facility according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2008. Since the market introduction in 2000, FleetBoard has been installed in over 75,000 vehicles for 1,500 customers.

Karin Giangrande
Daimler FleetBoard GmbH
Am Wallgraben 125
70546 Stuttgart
www.FleetBoard.com

E-Mail: karin.giangrande@daimler.com
Telefon: +49 (0) 711-17-91909

This release was published on openPR.