ISUZU technicians Jake Quick from Ballarat Isuzu in Victoria and Drew Murden from Peel Valley Isuzu in Tamworth, New South Wales, have won a bronze medal at the Japanese truck manufacturer’s 2017 World Technical Competition.

Held at the company’s Fujisawa service training centre in Japan this month, the 12th annual competition – which is also known as the ‘I-1 Grand Prix’ – brought together about 80 mechanics from 27 countries, split between two categories – those markets selling vehicles with emissions levels above the Euro 4 standard (eight countries, including Australia) and the remainder covering vehicles below that grade.

The Australian team, which was coached by Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) Queensland service technical manager Brenton Cook, finished third behind Japan (in first place) and the United States.

The second category was won by Indonesia, with Russia taking silver and Qatar bronze.

Although not able to go one better than last year, when the Aussie Isuzu team took silver (behind Japan, with Hong Kong in third), IAL national training manager David Smith said the two local technicians performed extremely well considering competitiveness between the top nations “is only getting fiercer”.

“This year, the ante was upped in terms of the level of competition at the grand prix, so it’s excellent to see the Australian Isuzu Trucks team finish third and bring home the bronze,” Mr Smith said.

“Everyone within Isuzu Australia would like to offer their congratulations to Jake, Drew and Brenton. The trio were excellent representatives of Isuzu Australia and performed fantastically in what was a pressure-cooker situation.”

Last year’s silver medallists were Matthew Kempnich from Gold Coast Isuzu and Ty Jenkins from Westar Trucks in Campbellfield, Victoria. They were coached by IAL’s former Victoria/Tasmania service manager Jason Leckie.

Mr Quick and Mr Murden this year finished at the top of the Australian trials for the event, which were held at IAL’s Melbourne headquarters in August and brought together nine leading technicians from across Australia.

As previously reported, assessment in the global final comprises a series of challenges including measurement accuracy, vehicle inspection standards, fault identification, repair ability and theoretical understanding.

Similar practical and written tests are carried out in the local competition, with Mr Smith pointing to the passion and professionalism shown by all participants, which in turn reflects well on their work at the dealership.

“Having such a talented group ultimately benefits the Australian truck customer, who can buy an Isuzu truck knowing there’s a world-class team of professionals ready to look after them when it’s time for a service,” he said.

By Terry Martin