Emotions were high and talent in abundance as eight young contestants from Port Rex Technical High School in East London and a team of four from Daniel Pienaar Technical High School in Kariega battled it out on Saturday June 15, to see who the winners in this year’s Motor Mech competition would be held at host school, Port Rex.
The show is run in collaboration with the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA), a proud association of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI).
Competition was fierce but at the end it was Johnathan du Toit from Daniel Pienaar Technical High who scooped top honours, followed by three Port Rexians, Tjaart van der Walt (second), Ashley K Tom (third) and Liqhawe Skepu (fourth).
MIWA Eastern Cape regional vice-chair Teresa Spenser Higgs, who arranged the show with fellow MIWA training representative Cliffie Jacobs and Peter van Mosseveld, said: “We are incredibly proud of all the competitors. This competition highlights their technical skills and their potential to lead the future of the automotive industry.”
Each year, Jacobs designs the tests and was determined to change things up a bit. “Having incorporated Bosch diagnostics and ATE brakes in the show was something different this year.”
Guest facilitator and qualified mechanic Zikhona Seti she was particularly impressed with the female competitors, as well as Du Toit, who worked with a hearing disability.
Leopard Idemitsu proudly sponsored first prize for this year’s competition, providing one tool cabinet with 207-piece tools valued at R12,950 as well as a 63-piece tool set in a pink aluminium case for the highest scoring female participant, Simangile Mahanjana.
The organisers thanked all the sponsors that donated prizes and congratulated all the participants in the show and competition.
