Aussie team claims Golden Spanner

GOLDEN TOUCH: The Team Australia trio, including Brisbane Isuzu’s Bernie Pease and James Daffy from Westar Trucks in Melbourne celebrates the win over more than 20 other teams in Japan.

A WINNING COMBINATION: The Aussies celebrate beating the much-favoured Japanese team.

BRISBANE Isuzu wishes to congratulate Team Australia on winning the annual Isuzu I-1 Grand Prix Skills Contest at the Isuzu Kawasaki Training Centre in Tokyo recently.

Congratulations goes to Brisbane Isuzu's Bernie Pease and James Daffy from Westar Trucks in Melbourne on their performance, which saw them bring home the gold ahead of the much-favoured Team Japan, which placed second, and Team Indonesia, which came in third.

With more than 20 teams competing in the event this year, Australia has brought home the Golden Spanner trophy and the title of number one team in the world.

Each team was required to complete a series of tests examining its measurement accuracy, vehicle inspection standards, fault identification capability, repair ability and theoretical understanding.

The victory completes a six-month process for the team members in which they first had to compete as part of IAL's own domestic National Technical Skills Competition for the right to represent IAL and the Australian Dealer Network at the international competition.

IAL national training manager David Smith said the competition was hotly contested by all involved and that to win was a great achievement.

"The trio has created history, becoming the first Australian team to win the competition which is now in its sixth year," Mr Smith said.

"Special congratulations and thanks must also go to team coach Adam Bell and mentor David Smith for their assistance in steering our guys to victory.

"The result is even more impressive considering the significant resources that some of the competing teams allocate in their preparation for the event."

IAL director Phil Taylor said the victory was an outstanding effort.

"This result speaks volumes for the depth of IAL's technical training and the overall abilities demonstrated by our dealer service departments around Australia. It is a win for Isuzu Australia and our customers," he said.