Top Techs Honored At Barber Motorsports Park for Yamaha USTGP

USTGP finalists with Josh Hayes and Josh Herrin Out of 10 technicians who participated in the preliminary rounds of the Yamaha United States Technician Grand Prix (USTGP), three top technicians emerged to compete in the final round of the competition that was held in June at Yamaha’s Southeastern headquarters in Kennesaw, Georgia.

The USTGP is an intense, two-day, hands-on technical skills challenge that pits dealership technicians from around the country against each other in a battle that tests all aspects of their mechanical aptitude.

In the competition, technicians face challenges that incorporate such areas as precision measuring, fuel injection and electrical troubleshooting, customer interview skills and service information gathering.

The finalists were graded by Yamaha Technical Training staff on the following real-world metrics:

1. Approach to the problem
2. Overall attitude and work habits
3. Final diagnosis of the problem

After the competition, the three finalists were escorted to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, for a private tour of the facilities during the AMA Pro Racing National that was held at Barber on the same weekend. An awards dinner was held where the final results were announced.

Top three technician finalists:

1st place – Eric Romanowicz of Mondus Motorsports – Hudson, WI
2nd place – Bryan Harner of Yamaha of Camp Hill – Camp Hill, PA
3rd place – Tom Blackwell of Le Bard & Underwood – La Habra, CA

The contestants also attended Round 5 of the AMA Pro Road Racing series at the Barber Motorsports Park and were given VIP treatment by the Monster Energy Graves Motorsports Yamaha and Yamaha Extended Service/ Pat Clark Racing/ Graves Yamaha race teams with full access to the team paddock and hot pits.

For more information about Yamaha, visit www.yamaha-motor.com.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame recently named Marilyn Stemp and Steve Piehl to its board of directors.

Stemp is a pioneering figure in the motorcycle industry, founding IronWorks Magazine with her late husband, Dennis, and becoming the first female editor of a nationally circulated, mainstream motorcycle magazine. She also revived their trade magazine, Iron Trader News; edits the monthly Kiwi Indian News; contributes to several powersports media outlets; and is the founding editor of Sturgis Rider Daily. Stemp is a noted editor and writer of several motorcycle-focused books. Her consistent support for charitable efforts in the industry include the annual Biker Belles Celebration, Las Vegas BikeFest and as campaign chair for the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum’s development plan in 2014. She co-founded the Flying Piston charity events taking place in Daytona and Sturgis each year and is a National Ambassador for All Kids Bike. Stemp was inducted into both the Las Vegas Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the Sturgis Museum's Hall of Fame in 2018, and in 2022 she was recognized as one of the Top 100 Women in Powersports by DealerNews.