The adrenaline-fuelled chaos of roaring engines and the blur of passing vehicles never distracts the precise choreography of the pit crew. 

In the world of motorsport, where milliseconds separate triumph from defeat, 24-year-old Ōmokoroa apprentice Ricky Gladding stood in the Penrite pit crew for the V8 Supercars weekend on April 19-21.

REPCO and Penrite Racing organised the opportunity of a lifetime.

Apprentices from around New Zealand were nominated to be a part of the Penrite pit crew for the V8 Supercars weekend. 

Brian at Ōmokoroa Automotive nominated Ricky.

“There was a chance for a couple of apprentices from this area to help out with the V8 Supercars, we put Ricky’s name forward,” he says. 

Brian says they nominated Ricky for plenty of reasons.

“We’re all into motorsport here, and he’d always wanted to be in a V8 Supercars pit crew from when he was very young.

Brian believes he would have stood out amongst the other nominees.

He says they were excited when the workshop discovered Ricky had been chosen, and “Ricky was absolutely buzzing”.

Ricky says Penrite called him to tell him that he had been entered and selected for the opportunity. 

“I rang my partner and said to clear the calendar. I’m away that weekend.

“They knew it’d been a dream of mine to do something like that, so they were stoked. 

Ricky says his partner wanted tickets to come, but the tickets were completely sold out.

“She stayed back at home and watched it on TV. 

REPCO and Penrite organised the opportunity, “they got us there and organised the accommodation and everything”.

“I’ve got to say a huge thank you to them for organising it for us.

“It was an awesome experience getting to be in the garage as part of the team and helping out to run the cars.

Ricky says this is an experience he will never forget. Photo: Penrite Racing.

“The highlight of the weekend for me was being behind Matt Payne’s car on the pole position on the grid. That was a highlight standing on the grid behind the pole position-winning car.

“Being part of that and watching it live in the garage was a wicked experience.”

Ricky completed several duties as part of the pit crew including being an apprentice mechanic in the garage, where he helped out on the cars between sessions. 

He wiped down the cars after sessions, helped the mechanics, prepped the tyres, collected the data, prepared all the sets for each session, topped all the wheel nuts up and helped with general stuff around the garage that needed to be fixed or repaired. 

Ricky says it was a high-pressure environment. 

“Everybody has their job and knows what they’re doing. 

“So trying to fit in was hard but the more the weekend got on, the more you got into the swing of things and you knew what the routine was and we were able to gel with the team and work towards the result.”

“You get a lot of insight into the stuff you don’t see on TV. All the work that goes into it there’s a lot of work between sessions.

Apprentices from around New Zealand were nominated to be a part of the Penrite pit crew for the V8 Supercars weekend. Photo: Penrite Racing.

Ricky says he would love to work in a pit crew someday.

“It’s always been a dream of mine, especially with the Penrite guys.”

When asked what racing crew he would want to be a part of, he says, “it would definitely be Penrite. We use their oil quite often, and I love the Penrite products.

“The team was awesome; everybody was very friendly and helpful, and they were happy to answer all our questions. 

Ricky has been into motorsports and racing since age 11; he started in Mini Stocks and then jumped up to Super Saloons.

“I went all around the country, specifically Baypark because it is my home track.

“We’ve had a season off this year, but we’re prepping to get back into it for next season.

When asked if Ricky would want to get into a career in racing, he says, “I love driving; I’ve always had a passion for it.

“It’s very limited and hard to break into, especially coming from a Speedway side; it’s more limited compared to the go-kart guys; they are more open to opportunities. 

“As far as the mechanical side goes, I love my job and working on cars; I’ve got a real passion for it, and I’d love to try and get in as a mechanic at one of the teams.”