The final Truckfest Peterborough was held at the East of England Showground in 2023, the event having been held there for over thirty years. It was widely expected that the event would be marked by the organisers and the previous years celebrated but its fair to say Truckfest left Peterborough with more of a whimper than a bang. Adverse weather in the run up to the event had left soft ground around the showground and this along with apparent organisational issues caused a problem for exhibiters gaining entry. On the Friday exhibiters were being held in along que to enter, some waiting most of the day and other into the evening. One company that regularly attends with a number of its fleet was held for a number of hours before being told they would not be allowed on until Saturday. They later took to social media telling anyone planning to visit not to bother. When to show opened to the public on Saturday afternoon though there were still trucks outside the event waiting to be allowed in the showground still looked busy. 

Saturday was more of an late afternoon and evening with public able to see the trucks on display and look around the trade stands. In the main arena, hosted by Ice Road Trucker Todd Dewey, the monster trucks gave a display along with Broke FMX motorcycle team. Later as the light faded there was a firework display amd illuminated truck parade in the main arena. Over the two full show days the monster trucks, Slinghot and Swampthing performed car crushing displays while between show the Slingshot rides truck gave people the opportunity to ride in the back of a monster truck. Again Broke FMX performed twice daily while on Monday afternoon the awards presentations were held in the main ring. 

Round the main arena there were manufacturer stands from DAF, Scania and Iveco with a reduced presence from Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, who had bought five electric powered trucks, while Renault had opted to miss the event. These were  joined by a number of industry related stands including driver training, cranes and accessories. On other trade stands visitors could buy truck models from specialist dealers, clothing, magazines and photos. Larger haulage companies had display areas showcasing their fleets which included locals Fenland Haulage, Knights of Old and Welch’s. They were joined by BM Transport who were over from Ireland in a big way creating the BM Style village. There was a notable absence from the large Scottish hauliers W.H.Malcolm who usually attend in large numbers, a rumoured disagreement ahead of the event seeing them withdraw with Scottish entrants joining them. As you ventured further from the main arena there were the usual lines of working trucks from all around the British Isles along with some classic and custom trucks. There was a good amount of recovery vehicles on display from a number of companies while the always popular American trucks were in small numbers compared to previous years. When the award winners were announced on Monday afternoon it was good to hear that the top prize of Best in Show was awarded to the Scania of Fagan & Whalley who also won Best Company owned truck, a true working truck and not a custom painted show truck. 

Photo Galleries

One – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.993556602772299&type=3

Two – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.993604702767489&type=3

Three – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.993634202764539&type=3

Gary Malkin