A MOUNT Gambier apprentice is set for the full race experience as part of the pit crew team for Garry Rogers Motorsport at the Adelaide 500 this weekend.
Josh Munn travelled to Adelaide this week to be part of the pit team for the S5000 Tasman series – a supporting event for the main race – after being selected for the opportunity by Group Training Employment (GTE).
Munn is a qualified vehicle technician and currently completing a dual trade through GTE at Mount Gambier’s Carlin and Gazzard dealership.
He said he was excited to be part of the experienced Garry Rogers Motorsport team.
“I’m looking forward to learning about the suspension and set-ups and the technical side of things – pretty much everything they do,” Munn said.
“I’ve grown up around cars, my dad had an old rally car and used to race go-karts and speedway.”
Growing up with a dad and grandfather both heavily into motorsport, Munn competed in go-karts and now races Formula 500’s and competes in hill climbs across the country through Josh Munn Motorsport.
Fresh from winning his class at the recent Legend of the Lakes Hillclimb, Munn left on Wednesday to meet the Garry Rogers team in Adelaide, with a busy weekend of qualifying and racing ahead.
GTE Field Operations Manager Andrew Cameron said Munn was a great candidate for the race team opportunity, due to his can-do attitude and extensive motorsport experience.
“I have no doubt Josh will be a great ambassador for both Group Training Employment and Carlin and Gazzard,” Cameron said.
“Josh’s active involvement in the sport means he will understand exactly what’s going on and how a race team functions.”
Cameron is a long-time speedway buff himself and said the idea behind the pit team gig was two-fold – to promote the trade but also to offer a local GTE apprentice an opportunity beyond Mount Gambier.
“The thought process behind the idea was to promote the trade and give GTE mechanical apprentices something to strive for that no other local employer can offer them,” he said.
“Earlier this year I contacted some high-profile motorsport teams to see if we could get one or two of our apprentices a spot on a pit crew at a large motor sport event.
“Stefan Millard, who is the Garry Rogers Motorsport Team Manager and used to live in Mount Gambier, responded saying (they) might have something for (us) in November.”
It was a golden opportunity for someone like Munn, as Garry Rogers has a reputation for promoting young talent.
“Garry started as a young apprentice in the motor sport industry himself,” Cameron said.
“GRM is a very good operation with a long tradition of promoting the sport and encouraging young people to become involved.”
Munn is sure to come home from the weekend’s racing with some fresh perspectives.
“Just to get up close with real open-wheel race cars is a major opportunity and I’m sure Josh will pick up some tricks and tips that he will be able to apply to his own race cars,” Cameron said.
“I think the professionalism of how this team operates and being included in the team will be a highlight of the weekend.”
