Isuzu Trucks New Zealand has placed third at the annual Isuzu Truck technician world championships in Japan, its best-ever result.
Known as the I1GP, the event is considered the Olympics of the Isuzu tech world and is a hotly contested annual competition attended by representatives from more than 30 countries.
The New Zealand team, consisting of Harry Shaw (TruckTech Solutions, Auckland), Jonathan Ward (Blackwells Isuzu, Christchurch) and coached by Dmitriy Velikanov (Isuzu Trucks NZ), outplaced opponents from traditionally strong performing countries including Great Britain and Australia.
From an individual perspective, Harry Shaw achieved third best technician at the competition and Jonathan Ward finished in fifth place, out of a total of 66 competitors.
“This is one of the best-ever individual and team results achieved by a pairing from New Zealand in this prestigious competition. The guys should be justifiably proud of what they accomplished,” said Dave Ballantyne, general manager of Isuzu Trucks New Zealand.
“The I1GP is a fiercely competitive environment, a real pressure cooker scenario with judges scrutinising your every move across all facets of the competition, so to achieve this result is beyond impressive and a testament to the hard work, dedication and training undertaken by the team and their coach,” he said.
“It also speaks volumes about the training systems and processes at Isuzu Trucks New Zealand and should provide peace of mind for our customers that our technicians are some of the best in the world.”
The team spent five days away from New Zealand and, in addition to the competition, visited the Japan Mobility Show and sampled other cultural experiences.
“I’d like to recognise the achievement of both the team and individuals, and also acknowledge the support of their respective dealerships, TruckTech Solutions and Blackwells Isuzu, who encouraged their involvement and participation in the competition,” said Ballantyne.
“This is a phenomenal achievement and I’m absolutely thrilled for the team.”
