The Final Round of the 2009 United States Technician Grand Prix competition was held at the Yamaha Southeastern Headquarters in Kennesaw Georgia June 25th through the 27th. Mike Durrah from Central Coast Yamaha in Santa Maria California; Ken Matlock from Watts Yamaha in Lubbock Texas and Mark Sagers from South Valley Motorsports in Draper Utah competed against each other to decide their ranking as the Top Yamaha Technicians in the United States.

The competition consisted of several hands-on lab stations where the finalists had to accurately diagnose typical customer failure complaints and running-performance problems. The contest also incorporated precision measuring, fuel injection and electrical troubleshooting, customer interview skills and service information gathering and resource usage including the Yamaha Dealer System.

Each work station had a dedicated judge who monitored every aspect of the contestants methods of solving the individual problem â€" their work habits, tool usage, general approach, service literature and resource utilization and of course final diagnosis of the customer complaint. Working under the scrutiny of the judge's microscope would be enough pressure to make many technicians too nervous to function, but the USTGP contestants had the added stress of photographers and other observers watching their every move.

After a grueling two days competition on Thursday and Friday, the scores were tallied and the results were finalized, BUT, the contestants had to wait until the Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening to find out the results.

After the competition the finalists were escorted to the Barber Motorsports Park and Museum in Birmingham Alabama for a private tour of the facilities, which included a 'behind the scenes' look at the restoration areas of the world famous Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. The Awards Ceremony was held at Barber Motorsports Park and included a recap of the competition, overview of the many prizes and awards each contestant will receive and final words from various groups â€" the Yamaha Sales and Service Divisions, and the Yamaha

At the end of an exciting and nerve wracking contest, the final results were announced:
1st Place - Mark Sagers - South Valley Motorsports, Draper Utah
2nd Place - Ken Matlock - Watts Yamaha, Lubbock Texas
3rd Place - Mike Durrah - Central Coast Yamaha, Santa Maria California

Each contestant had some final words of their own and unanimously felt honored to compete and that the USTGP was a tremendous opportunity to recognize the efforts of Yamaha technicians all over the country.

Everyone at Yamaha Motor Corporation U.S.A., and the entire Yamaha Motor Company family worldwide, wish to extend our sincere congratulations to all three of these outstanding technicians.

The 2009 Yamaha USTGP received tremendous support from its many sponsors;