May 2014: In the lead up to the Perth 400 in mid-May, V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup ran a mentoring session with 25 Perth-based Komatsu apprentices at the company’s Perth facility in Welshpool.
As the 2014 V8 Supercars headed into its fifth championship round – and with an uncharacteristically tough start to the season for Red Bull Racing Australia’s reigning champion – Whincup took time out to meet and mentor Komatsu apprentices and pass on his experiences, including the importance of working as a team.
He also challenged the apprentices to set their own professional and personal goals for the year, and focus on the cross-over skills of problem solving, communication and working under pressure.
“What’s special about the team’s relationship with Komatsu is an opportunity to talk to the apprentices and take them through lessons I’ve learnt along the way,” Whincup said.
“V8 Supercar racing is not a single-person sport; without the rest of my team at Red Bull Racing Australia, I wouldn’t be able to succeed – so it’s great to be able to demonstrate the benefits of teamwork to the apprentices.”
It’s been an up and down start to the V8 Supercars season for Whincup, who following the Perth 400, sits fourth in the championship and 112 points off the top of the ladder.
Komatsu Australia has been involved in team sponsorship of Whincup and teammate Craig Lowndes since 2008 when it became a premier partner of the highly successful Triple Eight Engineering V8 Supercars team (now Red Bull Racing Australia).