Apprentice Challenge Winners Enjoy Super Cars Action

Apprentices Brayden Conaghan and Lachlan Tate top off win with an all-expenses-paid weekend at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 – including a tour of pit lane and the starting grid

The winners of the 2023 HVIA National Apprentice Challenge not only got to experience all the race action at last weekend’s Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, but also got a rare behind-the-scenes insight into the high-octane life of a race-car mechanic.

As part of their prize package for coming out top at this year’s Apprentice Challenge, the winning team of Brayden Conaghan from Penske Australia and Lachlan Tate from Brown and Hurley were rewarded with an all-expenses paid trip to the weekend race meet courtesy of sponsor NTI.

Hosted by NTI’s National Development and Technical Manager Paul Burke, the two young apprentices received two nights’ accommodation at the Hilton Surfers Paradise and passes to the NTI corporate suite on both Saturday and Sunday where they enjoyed a bird’s eye view of the action from the pit lane location.

Better still, they got a rare tour of pit lane as well as the starting grid – an experience Lachlan says was “definitely” the highlight.

Lachlan – who worked on the Team 18 pit crew at last year’s event as a reward for coming third in the Kenworth Technician of the Year Awards – adds that this years’ experience also opened his eyes to the career heights an apprentice can scale.

“I met people who started out as a diesel fitter just like me,” he adds.

The 2023 National Apprentice Challenge was made possible through the support of key sponsors including NTI, Penske Australia, and Wurth.

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READ MORE: Young talent shines at 2023 HVIA Apprentice Challenge

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