MITO Apprentices Take on the Rally World
With support from MITO Ambassadors and MotorSport New Zealand stars Hayden Paddon and Emma Gilmour, MITO offers a number of extraordinary opportunities for its apprentices to work alongside a professional rally team. Each year, multiple apprentices are selected to participate in New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) events. These apprentices spend time with the rally service crews, support Hayden and Emma with technical requirements, and get to experience behind-the-scenes of professional motorsport.
MITO apprentices Oscar Garcia and Shewon Fernando were chosen to take part at the 2024 International Rally of Whangārei in November. For both apprentices, this was the ultimate highpoint of a lifelong interest in motorsport.
We caught up with Oscar and Shewon to talk about their experience working as part of Hayden and Emma’s crew.
Oscar
What interested you to apply for this experience?
Oscar: I’ve always had a massive interest in the rally world. One of my first video games ever was Sébastien Loeb Rally on the PS2, so an opportunity for me to get my foot in the door of the motorsport world really took my interest. I just knew I needed to apply.
Shewon: My deep-rooted passion for competitive motor racing and car tuning inspired me to apply. I thought this was the ideal opportunity for me to gain more experience in the upper echelons of automotive engineering.
Did you find your apprenticeship training helped you keep up with the tasks involved in the rally?
O: Absolutely—all the basics from chucking on a car’s wheel and jacking it up, to understanding what the team was repairing on the underside of a car after a big collision.
S: Having prior experience on the tools allowed me to confidently accept any task that was given to me and complete it to a high standard. I quickly learnt that the rally cars were designed and made completely different to standard cars. This meant I needed to take all my previously learned knowledge and adapt it to the new style of engineering.
Shewon
Were there any specific skills or lessons you learned from the team at the rally that you can apply to your current role?
O: It wasn't so much learning new things that I can apply at work, but confirming that, at any level in the industry, whether it’s being an apprentice at a local workshop, or a manager of a rally team, communication and organisation can make or break your efficiency and technical repairs.
S: I gained valuable insights into the differences between maintaining a regular car and a race car, but what truly stood out to me was the incredible teamwork, communication, and morale between everyone. It was like working with a bunch of mates! When Matt called out, "Righto!" it was game time, and everyone immediately put away their distractions, ready to tackle whatever challenges the car presented.
Would you recommend this experience to others next year?
O: Absolutely, you'd be silly not to apply!
S: This experience was a massive eye opener to me. I got to meet and speak to so many people that I never thought I would get the chance to. I'd highly recommend this to any apprentice, especially someone keen to learn about high performance cars and engineering.
Keep an eye out for applications to join Hayden Paddon and Emma Gilmour’s crew in 2025!