U.S.A. Takes Two Podium Positions in Yamaha World Technician Grand Prix Mark Sagers of South Valley Motorsports and Eric Romanowicz with Mondus Motorsports finish second and third among 28 international competitors Kennesaw, Ga., November 16, 2012 Yamaha Motor Corporation U.S.A.’s Customer Support Group announced that two U.S. Yamaha technicians Mark Sagers from South Valley Motorsports in Draper, Utah, and Eric Romanowicz from Mondus Motorsports in Hudson, Wisconsin represented their dealerships and the United States in the World Tech­nician Grand Prix (WTGP) at Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. world headquarters in Iwata, Japan, on October 23 and 24, 2012. Sagers and Romanowicz returned home winners, placing second and third overall. Both are Yamaha Technical Academy (YTA) Gold Level Training graduates and each earned an invitation to the international competition by being a U.S. Technician Grand Prix winner. The WTGP is an international head-to-head competition where technicians must prove their skills and knowledge with multiple hands-on trials and a challenging written test. This year’s event is the fifth WTGP hosted by Yamaha over the past 12 years. Twenty eight top technicians representing Yamaha distributors in 20 different countries competed, and this highly skilled group rep­resents the very best among Yamaha technicians worldwide. Germany’s Thorsten Brand placed first, while France’s Damien Vincent tied for third. On the Road to Excellence The WTGP is more than a competition as technical skills and service training are vital spokes in the wheel of Yamaha’s success. Communicating to the competitors, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. President Hiroyuki Yanagi reinforced to each competitor that they are a crucial customer point of contact. “As a Yamaha technician, your position fulfills an important role with the customer,” he said. “Your work always provides a val­ue-added service to differentiate us from competitors.” Yanagi also added that the YTA training programs are the foundation for excellent service. A guiding principle for all Yamaha distributors’ Service Divisions is One to One Service, which aim­s to build an outstanding relationship with each customer at the dealer level. The company’s YTA training programs are designed reinforce this principle by continuously honing Yamaha technicians’ skills to help ensure service excellence nationwide.