Workshop to pitstop: New Holland technician experience revs up at Bathurst 1000

• New Holland and Triple Eight Race Engineering continue to provide trackside experiences for exceptional apprentices and technicians as part of the Red Bull Ampol Racing pit crew

Dealership apprentice, Brett Bartkowski, became the 27th New Holland technician to be part of the Red Bull Ampol Racing pit crew when he joined the team trackside at the Bathurst 1000 last weekend.

Trading tractors for supercars is all part of the experience for selected New Holland apprentices, technicians and service managers under New Holland’s partnership with Triple Eight and Red Bull Ampol Racing for the 2024 Supercars Championship season.

This year, Bartkowski won the chance to join the team on the tools and bring back a once in a lifetime experience to the workshop at McIntosh & Son in Dalby, Queensland.

“When I was told that I was heading to Bathurst 1000 to be a part of the pit crew I had to pinch myself. While it was an amazing opportunity to see what it would be like to work in such a fast-paced environment, it is very different to the paddocks and workshops that I’m used to,” he said.

“From the word go, I was put to work on a range of tasks supporting the other pit crew. It was an eye-opening and exciting experience to see what goes into keeping a high-performance Red Bull Ampol supercar in the race.

Earlier this month, New Holland and Triple Eight extended the partnership agreement for the 2025 season. The extension is recognition of the calibre of talent in New Holland’s workshops across the country.

Since the partnership was inked in 2021, almost 30 apprentices and technicians have been recognised for excellence with the opportunity to meet the drivers and be a part the pit crew at one of seven annual Supercars races.

Commercial Director of Red Bull Ampol Racing, Tom Wilson, congratulated New Holland on the extension of the agreement and shared his excitement for the continued arrangement.

“There are strong synergies between servicing agricultural equipment and our supercars. Although our environment is fast-paced and in front of an audience, we share the same stakes in making sure the machine is performing to the best of its abilities,” he said.

“Through every season of our partnership with New Holland we have been consistently blown away by the calibre, knowledge, and capability of the talent the business produces.”

While the trackside experience is open to all New Holland workshops in Australia, the places have been reserved for the most promising and talented apprentices and technicians.

The selection process involved the completion of appropriate training by the candidate, as well as demonstrated commitment to outstanding service.

New Holland Australia’s National Parts and Service Manager, Gary Pertot, congratulated both Brett Bartkowski for his commitment to service quality, and McIntosh & Son for their nomination recognising their budding team member.

“With the high calibre of upcoming professionals and existing experts, it is important to recognise and reward the team members who are keeping our customers’ operations running every day,” he said.

“The pit crew experiences equip our team members with learning new problem-solving skills within a fast-paced and high-pressure environment which they can bring back to the dealership workshops and apply to their own work.”