Greymouth contractor Mark Morley has successfully beaten 23 of the country’s best heavy machinery operators, to be crowned the New Zealand champion of the Caterpillar Global Operator Challenge.
A record-breaking 65,000 spectators attended this year’s Wheels at Wānaka. Despite having to perform in front of a huge audience, 34-year-old Morley negotiated a Caterpillar excavator, wheel loader and a compact track loader around a series of obstacle courses and time-based challenges.
“I think the most nerve-wracking part was having three times the population of Greymouth watching me work,” the MBD Contracting supervisor laughs.
“The nerves were at an all-time high, but I just tried to focus on doing the best I could, staying smooth and finishing each of the challenges within the tight time limits.”
Despite having limited experience driving wheel-loaders and compact track loaders, Morley impressed the judges with his deft skills and accuracy, and after two days of competition was announced the champion.
“When they called my name out, I was absolutely gobsmacked. I didn’t know what to think or how to react as I wasn’t expecting to win,” Morley recalls.
“I thought I’d done OK at Saturday’s finals, but it was hard to know how you compared to the other operators as they were competing on different machinery at the same time.”
Second and third places were awarded to Manawatu’s Allister Dransfield (Dransfield Contracting) and Cambridge’s Jamie Ashby (C & R Developments).
Terra Cat Chief Executive Officer Chris Heaton says Morley’s success at the final Wheels at Wānaka event was a testament to the high skill level of operators in New Zealand.
“The level of competition at this first-ever Global Operator Challenge was incredibly high, and all contestants represented their companies and themselves exceptionally well, while showcasing the versatility of Caterpillar machines,” says Mr Heaton.
“Caterpillar staff helped with the management of the GOC and commented that the hydraulic excavator skills of the Kiwi competitors were the best they’d seen. The GOC was a resounding success and we wish Mark the very best as he progresses to the next stage of the competition.”
As the champion of Caterpillar’s first-ever New Zealand Global Operator Challenge, Morley will now head to Japan in October to take on the best operators in the Asia-Pacific. If he wins there, he’ll progress to the world finals in Las Vegas in March 2026.
“I’m super-excited but also a bit anxious about heading to Japan,” Morley admits. “I really want to do my best for myself, for MBD, and for Terra Cat.
“I also feel like I need to perform at my best for all the competitors I went up against at Wānaka. This is a great chance to represent New Zealand on the other side of the world.”
Image credits: Tom Buchanan and Inshot Studio.
