Yamaha Continues to Support and Grow the Next Generation of Powersports Technicians
Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA and Yamaha Motor University (YMU) are proud to recognize the winners of the United States Technician Grand Prix (USTGP) and SkillsUSA® National Championships held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, from June 23-27, 2025. This marks the fourth consecutive year that Yamaha and SkillsUSA® have partnered in developing the next generation of powersports technicians, as well as providing students the opportunity to work directly alongside top-performing Yamaha dealership professionals.
“Yamaha strongly believes in training, and supporting SkillsUSA is one of the big ways we are able to show it,” said John Grubb, YMU Training Manager. “I am proud of the discussion we host between SkillsUSA contestants and U.S. Tech Grand Prix finalists from our Yamaha dealers. The up-and-coming techs truly appreciate being able to get honest answers about the industry from seasoned Yamaha professionals, and it’s been a big hit on both sides.”
2025 SkillsUSA®: Motorcycle Service Technology Champions
For the fourth consecutive year, Yamaha sponsored the Motorcycle Service Technology contest inside SkillsUSA®. With labs covering a range of real-world service tasks and customer service needs, contestants had to rotate through eight timed and proctored stations on their path to earning top honors. Yamaha and YMU recognize the following students:
- High School Gold: Mason McConnell – Excelsior Springs Area Career Center, Excelsior Springs, Mo.
- High School Silver: Jeremy Lanza – Medina County Career Center, Medina, Ohio
- High School Bronze: Sam H Rowe – Heritage Hills High School, Lincoln City, Ind.
- College Gold: Ayden Stratz – Uintah Basin Technical College-Vernal, Vernal, Utah
- College Silver: Jacob I Taylor – Alexandria Technical & Community College, Alexandria, Minn.
- College Bronze: Peter Barrett – Tennessee College of Applied Tech-Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tenn.
2025 Yamaha United States Technician Grand Prix (USTGP) Champions
The Yamaha USTGP is a challenging, hands-on technical skills competition where Yamaha dealership technicians must accurately diagnose vehicle problems and professionally resolve customer service issues. Contestants work through each lab under close supervision from Yamaha staff, and the winning technician qualifies for the international championship round held at Yamaha’s headquarters in Iwata, Japan. This year, Aaron Lawson of MOMS Foxboro earned the right to represent the United States at the world level. Mr. Lawson will join last year’s U.S. Technician Grand Prix winner, Brian Ladner, as they compete in Japan from Nov. 18-21. YMU recognizes Mr. Lawson and all the skilled finalists:
- Gold: Aaron Lawson – MOMS Foxboro, Foxborough, Mass.
- Silver: Aaron Schultz – Fondy Powersports, Fond du Lac, Wis.
- Bronze: William Anderson – Orlando Yamaha Kawasaki, Orlando, Fla.
Finalists:
- Jeffery Gibson – Northern Idaho Powersports, Sandpoint, Idaho
- Jeff Policky – RideNow Powersports Tucson, Tucson, Ariz.
- Marshall Lobo – Temecula Motorsports, Murrieta, Calif.
For more information about SkillsUSA®, visit https://www.skillsusa.org/
For more information about the World Technician Grand Prix, visit https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/mc/customer-support/wtgp/
For more information related to all Yamaha products, visit https://www.yamahamotorsports.com.
About SkillsUSA®
Representing nearly 400,000 career and technical education students and teachers, SkillsUSA® chapters thrive in middle schools, high schools, and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide. Their mission is accomplished through the SkillsUSA® Framework of Personal Skills, Workplace Skills, and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics, which is integrated into classroom curriculum.
Through the Framework, SkillsUSA® students hone their hands-on skills against current industry standards in more than 130 occupational areas, from 3-D Animation to Welding and nearly everything in between. At the same time, they develop the transformative career-readiness skills — teamwork, communication, professionalism, leadership and more — that fuel career and life success.
A vital solution to the ongoing skills gap, where more highly skilled jobs are available than skilled professionals ready to fill them, SkillsUSA® has served more than 14.6 million diverse, difference-making members since 1965.
About Yamaha World Technician Grand Prix (WTGP)
The Yamaha World Technician Grand Prix is an international, skill-based contest where Yamaha technicians put their troubleshooting and diagnosis skills to the test against other technicians from around the globe. Each participating country holds a national Technician GP competition to determine a winner, and the champion is sent to the WTGP finals to represent the United States.
The intention of Yamaha is not only to use WTGP to promote high levels of motivation and improve skills in motorcycle technicians, but also to improve customer satisfaction by continuing to train proficient technicians capable of maintaining Yamaha motorcycles, and to ensure that as many people as possible understand the importance of aftercare services in order to contribute to the revitalization of the entire motorcycle industry and to raise the status of motorcycle technicians.
About Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA
Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA (YMUS), is a recognized leader in the outdoor recreation industry. The company’s ever-expanding product offerings include Motorcycles and Scooters, ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles, Snowmobiles, Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars [sold, serviced, and distributed by Yamaha Golf-Car Company], Power Assist Wheelchair Systems, Surface Mount Technology and Robotic Machines, Unmanned Helicopters, Accessories, Apparel, Yamalube products, and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of distributors and dealers in the United States.
YMUS has a corporate office in California, three corporate offices in Georgia, as well as facilities in Wisconsin, Alabama, and Florida. YMUS subsidiaries Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America (YMMC), based in Georgia, and Yamaha Jet Boat Manufacturing USA (YJBM) based in Tennessee, each assemble and manufacture selected Yamaha brand products. YMUS owns Skeeter Boats [Texas] with its division G3 Boats [Missouri]. Additional U.S.-based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company, Inc. (YMSC) with subsidiary Siren Marine [Rhode Island] and divisions Bennett Marine [Florida], Yamaha Marine Rotational Molders [Wisconsin] and Yamaha Precision Propeller Inc. [Indiana].
Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation, USA (Yamaha Financial Services), an affiliate of YMUS, offers financing solutions to support Yamaha Dealers and loyal Yamaha Customers nationwide. Yamaha Financial Services provides retail and commercial financing for the diverse line of Yamaha brand motor products based out of Cypress, CA and Marietta, GA.
About Yamaha Motor University
Established in 2003 as the Motorsports training division for YMUS, Yamaha Motor University (YMU) provides Parts, Sales, and Technical Service training for Yamaha dealership personnel. Since its founding, YMU has trained and certified thousands of dealership staff with real-world training and education to ensure Yamaha customers receive industry-leading service and support.