Three Isuzu North America service technicians punched their tickets Wednesday night to the company’s global tech competition.
Matt Bertagnoli, of Lynch Isuzu Truck in Waterford, Wisc.; Josiah Carr, of Susquehanna Isuzu Truck in West Milton, Penn.; and Kiel Trout, of RWC Isuzu Truck Seattle, bested nine other service techs from across the U.S. and Canada in the company’s second annual North American competition for the right to to represent the U.S. in Isuzu’s I-1 Grand-Prix tech competition in Japan in December.
Wednesday’s competition, held at the company’s Center of Excellence Training Center in Pittston, Pa., consisted of three exercises: a diagnostic and repair station, a component repair station and a written test.
Bertagnoli, a veteran technician of 18 years, said Wednesday’s competition was “fun,” but adds the written portion of the testing was most difficult.
Trout, a 14-year career technician, said the stress of Wednesday’s event “hit me about the time I got ready to go to bed [Tuesday night]” but agreed the written test was his most difficult task because it drew against foundational knowledge he’d learned “a long time ago.”
Carr, despite having only six years in the field, is the veteran of the group. He was the only contestant who had been in the U.S. competition before, having missed the Top 3 cutoff last year.
The U.S. contingent in December will be faced with the challenge of competing against other teams from around the globe and working on Japanese models of trucks equipped with a 24-volt electrical system, using a diagnostic platform not found in North America.
