Isuzu Motors Limited (Japan) has crowned Australian service technician Peter Carter as the 'Best Individual Isuzu Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) Technician in the World' following the conclusion of the 17th Isuzu World Technical Competition – an international automotive technical service contest known as the "I-1 GRAND-PRIX".

Open to auto service technicians with at least three years' experience of working as a mechanic at an Isuzu UTE dealership or service centre, the competition allows one team per country in each division (Commercial Vehicle and LCV). To take out the tournament, competitors are tested on their technical knowledge as well as their practical application of skills conducted in a high-pressure time-critical environment. Mr Carter prevailed against the strong competition comprising 42 fellow technicians from 21 countries.

"It is surreal; the reality of winning hasn't set in, and I am yet to realise and understand the impact of this result for our dealership and for Isuzu UTE Australia (IUA)," Mr Carter said.

"In 2018 I was selected as reserve for the IUA team that competed in Thailand, so I was able to witness and appreciate how important the I-1GP is for Isuzu. This started my two-year journey of professional development and learning to prepare for the 2020 competition, which was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID.

"When IUA announced the 2022 National Competition, I was enthusiastic to participate and proud to represent my dealership.

"My individual result was the outcome of the support from both my dealership and IUA and it has been a great privilege to represent them both at a global level and remain determined to further my technical knowledge and learning to become a better technician."

Representing IUA through Blacklock's Isuzu UTE in Albury, Mr Carter also teamed up with IUA's in-house technical team member Jake Woods to place 4th in the LCV Teams category. The team's preparation was a combined effort of IUA's Training department comprising John Jones, Colin Mitchell, and Brett Tingwell, as well as support from Mick Cornell from Townsville Isuzu UTE.

Talking after the event, Mr Woods said, "Firstly I would like to congratulate Peter, this is an outstanding achievement not only for himself but also Isuzu UTE Australia as a whole.

"To compete in a competition of this size was definitely an experience that I am grateful to have been a part of and an experience that I will not forget. The competition test questions were based around a basic level of engineering knowledge, really designed to test the technician's knowledge and understanding.

The practical assessment highlighted the strong relationship our team developed during the preparation ultimately delivering a great result."

IUA's Deputy Managing Director Takeshi (Ted) Yasui who oversees the company's Aftersales operations was also delighted with the results.

"I was in Tokyo last week when the winners were announced and the congratulations and compliments we received from some of my international counterparts is indicative of how well success in this competition is respected in the industry. I am extremely proud of Peter and Jake's results as well as the exemplary support from the wider team."

The I-1 GRAND PRIX is an Isuzu global technical competition whose aim is to improve the technical capabilities of individual mechanics and service teams within the worldwide Isuzu Motors group.