A word from the judges

A qualified coachbuilder by profession Hugo Drew is the co-ordinator of the 12-strong judging panel that will run the rule over the hundreds of trucks entered in the various show categories at the Irish Truck & Motor Show. He gave John Loughran the run down on what the judges will be looking out for over the June Bank Holiday Weekend.

Judging trucks isn’t an exact science. There is no mathematical formula to guarantee that the best truck drives away with the “Best Truck” award.
But Hugo Drew and his 12-strong team of judges will be pulling out all the stops at the Irish Truck & Motor Show to ensure that their decisions represent a fair, accurate and honest assessment of the trucks on view.

Hugo was chosen as the “foreman” of the judging panel by the organisers Gabriel Piggott and Finbarr O’Flaherty of Full Throttle Ltd for a number of reasons.

He has a wealth of experience in coach building and spray painting garnered over many years, but as he now works in the construction sector, his impartiality is beyond reproach.

“I spent 30 years in the coach building and spray painting sector. For health reasons mostly, I decided it was time for a change and I took a job in the open air working in construction,” Hugo confirmed.

“Coach building and spray painting is only a hobby now and I wouldn’t have had any input into the trucks that will be at the show. So everything is above board in that respect,” he added.

Hugo is a long-standing Truck Fest fanatic, and travels all over the UK and Europe, visiting all the leading trucks shows. In that light he has seen at first hand, what is required to be a winner at such events.

Hugo and the organisers have drawn up a set of comprehensive guidelines, which will be given to the 12 judges who will be divided in groups of three. “The judges will be told what to look out for, what merits points and equally, what takes away from the trucks,” he explained.

He continued: “All of the judges will be working to the same guidelines and will be working to the same agenda. They will all be looking out for the same good and bad points.”

The judges will be alternated between the various different sections of Limerick Racecourse to ensure they get “a good feel” for the standard in the different judging categories. “Rather than confining the judging teams to a particular area of the racecourse, they will have to judge trucks all over the site. In doing that they will be better able to judge the overall standard,” Hugo opined.

Trucks will be viewed on Sunday evening to give the judges an overall idea of the standard in the various categories. Judging will be carried out in earnest throughout Monday at which stage the “wheat” will be separated from the “chaff”.

“We’ll do our calculations on Monday afternoon. Rather than leaving it to one individual, other judges will be asked to view the contenders. The best truck in each category will be mutually agreed by the judges,” Hugo revealed.

“In awarding the prizes we’ll take great care to ensure the best truck (or fleet of trucks) wins the competition. We are extremely anxious to keep the judging fair and impartial,” he continued.

With 24 categories to be judged Hugo and his team won’t have time to take in the many attractions that will be on offer over the weekend. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

Hugo quipped: “The judges will give it their wholehearted commitment over the weekend. The entrants will be putting in a big effort getting their trucks ready for the show, and we’ll make sure they are judged fairly.”

Most visitors will wait with bated breath for the announcement of “Best Truck”, “Best Fleet” and “Best Livery” but Hugo assures all entrants in each category will be judged with the same level of diligence and thoroughness.

“We’ll put the same effort into judging each and every category. There are 24 five different categories and the judges and the organisers consider them all of equal importance,” he affirmed.

At the time of writing Hugo and the show organisers were carefully selecting their team of judges. Potential candidates were being vetted and CVs scrutinised. “It isn’t an easy task to get 12 suitably qualified people to judge a truck show. But we are getting there day by day, and we are confident that we will have the best judges available in time for the show,” he revealed.

A veteran of the show circuit having frequently visited Sweden, the UK and Germany in the company of co-organiser Finbarr O’Flaherty, Hugo will have the judges “whipped” into shape well in advance of the big event.
Significantly the powers that be have taken the bold decision to spread the prizes over as many entrants as possible.

“The organisers aim to ensure that each entrant’s vehicle will be judged taking into account the vehicles mileage, overall condition, presentation and type of work the vehicle is involved in. Ultimately the prizes will be rewarded according to the efforts made by each entrant,” he remarked.

Hugo has acquired the expertise of Declan O’Mahony of Cork City who has vast experience in computerised results for such events. Declan has prepared a programme to ensure a fast and efficient outcome to the judges marks.

Truckers can help themselves by putting in the effort in advance of arriving at Limerick Racecourse. “Basically a lot of it comes down to cleanliness and maintenance. The trucker’s who invariably come out on top in these shows are the ones that having been preparing their truck over the previous weeks,” he added.

Simple measures such as washing and preparing the truck the week before to facilitate a coat of paint always go down well with the judges. “We’ll be looking for the truckers that have put in a big effort to ensure the truck looks its best,” he asserted.

Truckers who spend the weekend washing, polishing, waxing and touching up their trucks in preference to heading for the beer tent, will reap their rewards on judging day, Hugo explained.

He added: “Some of the lads are only going for the craic, the camaraderie and to be part of the occasion. If they do manage to pick up a prize it’s a bonus. Others will take it far more seriously.”
With upwards on 350 trucks expected to enter the 24 judging categories, competition for prizes will be fierce. And may the best man or woman win!

“The judging of the show cars and motorbikes will be taken as meticulously as the trucks by a different group of judges. These judges are also under the same format rules in processing the end results, we are looking forward to viewing and judging these prizewinning show cars and motorbikes, within the main building,” concluded Hugo.