Scania Top Team: NZ triumphs

A crack team of technicians from Christchurch, New Zealand, has defeated all comers at the Scania Top Team world finals, which were held near the Swedish manufacturer's headquarters in Sodertalje recently.

The Christchurch Shakers squared off against 12 teams in Sodertalje, but ultimately proved they had the skills to successfully navigate their way to and through the final.

The format saw 12 teams whittled down to four, who then tackled a four-part shootout. Round one saw teams answer six theoretical questions, while round two saw them find the right parts to complete a specific assignment. The third round had contestants complete a V8 service, while the final round saw the last two teams solve a problem theoretically before proving the solution worked in practice.

The Kiwi team, comprising Ross Wallace, Darren O'Connor, Steven Watts, Andrew Goodfellow, David van Schie, James McCutchen and Michael Long, narrowly defeated the UK team in the final.

It was disappointing result for Scania Australia's Prestons team, which was knocked out in the second round to leave Brazil, the UK and New Zealand to battle on.

The Aussie team of Jason Grech, Stephen Watson, Phil Sage, Logan Hoser, Benn Jeffery, Frank Muscat and Chris Nobbs had been hopeful of a 'three-peat', Australia having won the last two consecutive Scania Top Team titles, but ultimately had to setting for fourth place – still a fine effort given the 8000 technicians from 63 nations who took part in the wider competition.

To witness the mega-production final that it was, see the clip below...