The Border mechanic now has ultimate bragging rights in the garage after he was officially crowned the world's best Isuzu light commercial vehicle technician yesterday.

Mr Carter has worked on cars, trains and even army tanks during his career, but has spent the past 10 years repairing Isuzu vehicles at Blacklocks in Lavington.

The I-1 Grand Prix competition, which pits Isuzu's best technicians from all around the world, normally takes place in Thailand, but ran virtually at the end of 2022.

Mr Carter was required to complete a 60-minute theory test, perform two virtual diagnostics and finished with a 15-minute practical assessment, which was a vehicle inspection to identify the repair work required.

He undertook the tasks at Isuzu UTE's head office in Brisbane and topped the field of 43 mechanics from 21 countries.

"It was a little bit surreal. It was really unexpected," he said.

"It wasn't probably for another few days when I watched the announcement back that it sunk in a bit.

"This took me four years. In 2018, I was involved with Isuzu's national competition and finished equal second, but didn't compete for the global competition.

"In 2020, it got cancelled because of the pandemic and 2022 was a bit of a surprise that they were going to run it."

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Mr Carter said his attention to detail had held him in good stead in the profession.

"I think the vehicle inspection is where I excelled, which is what got me over the line," he said.

Isuzu UTE regional after sales manager Darren Berrell said it was a huge achievement for Mr Carter.

"For us to have him as number one is an awesome thing," he said.

"It elevates what everyone's about here in Australia and shows we have some pretty talented mechanics."

Mr Carter also combined with Brisbane-based technician Jake Woods to finish fourth in the teams event.

"The two of them worked together to come up with the outcome. We had to give a bit of stick to Jake because he worked with the number one in the world and didn't win," Mr Berrell laughed.

Mr Carter was officially presented with his trophy yesterday and was also given an Isuzu MU-X LST to drive for a year.

"I have a Suzuki Swift, so I'm quite excited to get a new car for 12 months. That's really exciting," he added.

The I-1 Grand Prix Open is open to mechanics with at least three years' experience working at an Isuzu UTE dealership or service centre, with entry to the team's event restricted to one per country in each division.

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