Truckermania - 26 Truck Drivers From 13 Nations Qualify For The International Drivers' League Finals

STUTTGART, GERMANY, July 22, 2011 (Press-News.org) Stuttgart - Over 9,000 truck drivers accepted the challenge in the International competition for economic driving, which was held from June 1st to 30th, 2011. In national country leagues, participants from Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, The Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Romania as well as South Africa and the Middle East went head to head against each other.

In their respective countries, drivers from well-known companies such as Dreier AG, Sieber Transport AG, DOEGO Fruchthandel und Import eG, S.T.B. SRL, Smeets Beheer B.V., CTR group a.s. or Readymix Qatar LLC reached the finals .

Now the best performers from the national leagues feverishly await the Drivers' League finals on September 3rd, 2011 in Münsingen. There we will see who best masters the challenges of economical, safe and skilled driving. In the scope of the Drivers' League finals, the FleetBoard telematics day is also being held. This will include valuable insider tips and success factors with the optimised telematic application, demonstrated by users for users.

"The record participation of 9,000 drivers in 2011 shows the high demands of our customers for minimal fuel costs beyond daily business and also that they still want to have fun competing against each other," said Markus Lipinsky, Managing Director of Daimler FleetBoard GmbH.
In response to a survey by FleetBoard, 50% of the companies indicated sporting competition as the main reason for participation. 40% of the customers were especially looking forward to the high levels of performance in International comparison. 62% are "old hands" at the Drivers' League with a tradition of participation. 42% of those surveyed even participated in driver trainings ahead of time to achieve the best possible results. 78% of those surveyed reported a special motivation in the company during the Drivers' League, indicated by particular excitement, higher motivation, friendly competition and more intense discussion about economical truck driving.

All together 3,535 drivers achieved a grade of 8.5 or better (on a scale of 1-10), which indicates very good driving styles. In the different regions the national leaders had individual driving style grades between 8.59 and 9.99.

The placing in the online rankings is based on the personal driving style grade for the participant and the degree of difficulty on the tour. These were measured with FleetBoard Performance Analysis during daily business under consideration of consumption and wear relevant criteria as well as vehicle-based and topographic values. With the new Drivers' League app for iPhone and iPad, the driver and company can call up their current ranking in the individual and team evaluations while on the road. Special functions such as the development over time or the comparison with connected colleagues ensure a sporting atmosphere, fun and excitement.

Partners of this year's FleetBoard Drivers' League are: MICHELIN and Krone as the main sponsors as well as Mercedes-Benz TrailerAxleSystems, Voith, UTA, Mercedes-Benz CharterWay and FERNFAHRER. They will reward the best drivers with, among other things, attractive prizes:

1st place: Experience the Truck Race in Spain up close with UTA. For the European Championship Truck Race in Jarama on October 2nd, 2011, UTA will send two people to Madrid for one week. This includes tickets for the racetrack as well as flight and hotel with breakfast.

The company with the victorious driver will receive 3-months free driving on an Actros articulated truck, including FleetBoard Vehicle Management, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Charterway.

2nd place: DTM VIP tickets for final races on October 22nd-23rd, 2011 at the Hockeheimring tracks, including access to the paddocks, exclusive catering and overnight accommodation for two from Mercedes-Benz TrailerAxleSystems.

3rd place: One set of four automobile tyres - summer or winter - from MICHELIN.

The companies with the second and third placed drivers will each receive one set of six truck tyres - with the X ENERGY SAVERGREEN XF and XD profiles from Michelin.

All other finalists will receive high-quality watches from MICHELIN.

For more information and to download the certificates of participation go to http://www.driversleague.com or http://www.media.daimler.com (11A776, 11A777).

About the FleetBoard Drivers' League
The FleetBoard Drivers' League is an annual competition for economical truck driving style joined by transportation and logistics companies from around the world. 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 country will be invited to the finals in Germany. Here, exciting challenges in economical, safe and talented driving will determine the overall winner. The Drivers' League 2011 is in its 9th season and every year there are more participants from all over the world. Over 9,000 drivers from 290 companies are participating. The increasingly high performances at the top of the ranking lists show that more and more drivers and companies are concerned with the consequent implementation of driving styles that protect our resources.

About FleetBoard
Daimler FleetBoard GmbH belongs to the European market leaders on the sector of utility vehicle telematics. The FleetBoard end devices and the services are tailor-made for fleet directors and dispatch agents of truck and transporter fleets of all industries and sizes. For years, FleetBoard has established itself as a fleet management system which leads to increased economic efficiency. Technology which is easy to handle supports the driver in his daily work. The 100% subsidiary of Daimler is headquartered in Stuttgart and has been a DEKRA-tested and certified facility according to DIN EN ISO 2008 since April 9001:2008. Since the market introduction in 2000, FleetBoard has been installed in over 85,000 vehicles for 2,000 customers.