Hino Trans-Tasman Technical Challenge

Hino New Zealand went head to head with Hino Australia in the first ever Hino ‘Trans Tasman Technical Challenge.

New Zealand’s top Hino technician Heidi Inkster (Truckstops, Wellington) travelled to Australia recently for a head to head technical challenge with Hino Australia’s 2016 champion Asa Pearson. The ‘Trans-Tasman’ challenge, held on the 23rd of August at Hino Australia’s Training Centre in Sydney Australia, was part of Hino Australia’s 2018 Hino National Skills Contest program and was the first of its kind. The two competitors were very evenly matched – so much so that the competition ended in a draw.

“I thought it was a joke when they announced the draw,” said Inkster who felt she was “up against it” given the size of the competition in Australia. “I really noticed a step up in pressure but made sure I took care of the basics and built from there,” Inskter said.

The challenge saw Inkster and Pearson compete against each other simultaneously, and against the clock, with an allocation of 30 minutes to find 4 faults on the new GH1A wide cab Hino. Each fault had a time limit, which once lapsed, was closed forcing the competitors to move to the next fault. “Normally you have time to think about a job but it was really interesting to see how you go under real time pressure” said Inkster. Adding to the pressure was the Go Pro’s strapped to the competitor’s heads and the 160 strong crowd watching the event.

Simon Wilson, Hino New Zealand’s Technical Support Manager, travelled with Heidi and noted “this is the first time a New Zealand Hino technician has competed against an Australia technician and we couldn’t be prouder of Heidi – both in terms of her skills during the competition and how she has represented Hino New Zealand & our after sales partner Truckstops”.

When asked what advice Heidi would offer other Truckstops technicians looking to enter New Zealand’s competition next year, Heidi said “give it a go and give it heaps! I actually learnt tonnes from the online component leading up to the final so even if you don’t make it through you will still benefit from the experience”.

It has been a very eventful month for Heidi who won the New Zealand competition on the 1st of August. Heidi will now have the opportunity to relax while attending the Gold Coast 600 on the 21st of October 2018 before heading to Hino Japan to attend an awards ceremony next year.