Comment: TR Group NZ Truck Driving Championship

By: David Boyce, CEO, NZ Trucking Association, Photography by: Supplied

Date: 20.12.2022

The truck driving championship is aimed to find the best truck drivers in NZ and to promote the skills and professionalism in the trucking industry

From left: North Island Heats winners Corey Pettifer (Graeme Wright Transport) Chi Xu (Atlas Concrete), Braydon McMillan-Phillips (Graeme Wright Transport), Richard Ossevoort (Pacific Fuel Haul), John Baillie (Baillie Transport), and Jarod Hepi (Coda Group)

TR Group, New Zealand Trucking Association, and National Road Carriers have jointly launched a brand-new truck driving competition — TR Group NZ Truck Driving Championship.

North Island Heats competitors 2022

The North Island Heats were held at TR Group Penrose on 15 October and the South Island Heats and finals were held at the 2022 TMC Trailers Trucking Industry Show on 25 and 26 November at the Canterbury A&P Showgrounds, Christchurch.

We’re on a mission to find the best truck drivers in New Zealand and to promote the amazing skills and professionalism in the trucking industry.

The new championship is based on successful overseas truck-driving competitions. With a new format and courses, the competition is a spectacle for the public and supporters that tests the truck driver’s skills.

Many entered this year’s competition, including some who had never entered a competition before. The competition is structured to be fun and to cater for all skill levels. Truck drivers are skilled professional drivers, who have trained hard and taken many years to develop their skills.

This competition is a showcase of their skills to the industry and the wider community. We’re proud of their professionalism, helping us to inspire the next generation with their skills on display.

Competition contestants were able to choose which category they wished to enter: EROAD Class 2 Driver of the Year, Hydraulink Class 5 Truck, Trailer Driver of the Year, and Spartan Finance Class 5 Tractor Semi Driver of the Year.

Drivers were only able to compete in one competition category. Special award categories were made for the TR Group Young Driver of the Year and the EROAD Woman Driver of the Year.

The driver finalist with the highest number of points won the competition and was awarded the overall TR Group Truck Driver Champion of the Year Award. Each category winner won a trophy, $2500 cash, a return trip to the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show (airfares and accommodation for three nights), plus a prize pack.

The competition is structured to be short and sharp, with four tests. There’s an online theory section with 35 common knowledge questions and multiple-choice answers that test the driver’s knowledge of the road, including class of vehicle-specific questions.

Drivers complete a pre-vehicle check that consists of a physical inspection of the vehicle to test the driver’s knowledge and habits to ensure the vehicle is road worthy and safe. This is followed by a 10-minute course manoeuvring challenge, where drivers manoeuvre through six exercises in confined spaces.

Competition finalists also compete in an on-road course evaluation with a TR Group Driver Trainer to assess the driver’s attitude and ability to drive safely and correctly according to recognised defensive driving methods, complying with the road rules, and demonstrating fuel-efficient driving skills. Each test is awarded points, with points deducted for errors.

The category winners of the North Island Heats were:

EROAD Class 2

1st Neil Matheson Auckland
2nd Anshu Prakash Truck Licence South Auckland Ltd
3rd Shiv Sis Ram VT Transport

Hydraulink Class 5 Truck & Trailer

1st Corey Pettifer Graeme Wright, Transport Auckland
2nd Braydon McMillan-Phillips Graeme Wright, Transport Auckland
3rd Chi Xu Atlas, Concrete Auckland

Spartan Finance Class 5 Tractor Semi

1st Jarod Hepi, CODA Group Auckland
2nd Richard Ossevoort, Pacific Fuel Haul Auckland
3rd John Bailie, Baillie Transport Pokeno

Previous Truck Driver of the Year winner Darrin Wilson from Andrew Haulage in Balclutha had an automatic entry into the competition final, along with Karl Thompson winner of the HWR Group Truck Driver of the Year competition winner.

The overall category winners and the overall winner of the TR Group New Zealand Truck Driver Champion 2022 were announced and presented with a trophy and prize pack at the Teletrac Navman Industry Dinner and Awards event, which was held at the TMC Trucking Industry Show. Unfortunately, at the time of printing the magazine, the details of the South Island Heats and overall winners were unavailable.

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