Newest Supercars team opens up lead mechanic role
Opportunity to be a part of the foundations of Blanchard Racing Team in expanded role.
Blanchard Racing Team is looking to expand with an opportunity for a lead mechanic to step into a crucial role at the Supercars squad.
As the newest team in the Supercars pit lane BRT naturally has a small crew, but with the 2021 season into its stride they are wanting to make room for a fresh-faced number one mechanic.
BRT has advertised the role on JobStop.com, proving once again that Speedcafe.com’s sister employment platform is the first port of call for Supercars teams.
The successful candidate will lead BRT on Tim Slade’s #3 CoolDrive Auto Parts Mustang, picking up a number of responsibilities.
“We’ve got a team manager, two engineers and two apprentices so it’s a very close-knit team, but we’re looking for someone with a high-level of motorsport experience, mostly in Supercars, to join our team,” said team boss, Tim Blanchard.
“They will basically be leading the workshop preparation of the car and leading the mechanical side of maintenance over a race weekend.
“It’s a role that we’re really looking for someone to take ownership of and take care of the preparation of the car pre-event and post-event.”
The opportunity is part of laying the foundations for the years ahead, and a chance to work with a largely family orientated outfit.
BRT is the motorsport arm of the Blanchard family business, CoolDrive Auto Parts, a nation-wide trade supplier for automotive cooling, electrical and workshop parts.
The race team, which debuted this year, is based out of CoolDrive’s head office in Box Hill, Victoria, with human resources, marketing, admin, and finance all covered by the greater CoolDrive group.
Three generations of the Blanchard family and driver Tim Slade
It all brings a warm family-feel to the operation.
“CoolDrive is still a 100 percent owned and operated family business; we’re very proud of that fact,” added Blanchard.
“My grandfather started CoolDrive in his garage in 1977 and my father John is the CEO and I’m the COO of CoolDrive and one of my brothers, Harry, also works in the business, so it’s very much a family business.
“At our head office we’ve got 150 staff and 600 staff around Australia and New Zealand; while the race team is very small they interact with the wider business on a daily basis.
“That brings up a lot of opportunities for them and exposure to things outside of racing, which I think is something all of them are enjoying in learning a lot more about business and industries outside of racing.”
Only five people work full-time in the racing division of the business, headed-up by team manager Brendan Hogan and engineer Mirko De Rosa.
By bringing in a lead mechanic it will reduce the load on the skeleton staff and allow De Rosa to focus on the engineering aspect.
“It will just help take a lot of the workload off everyone in the team at the moment, but it’s still a small-knit team in terms of the car prep so it’s all hands on deck,” explained Blanchard.
“At the moment the engineers are still actively involved in helping prepare the car, I don’t see that changing going forward, but it enables them to do more of the engineering side of their role if we can find a lead mechanic.”
While the role calls for Supercars experience, Blanchard said he will consider all résumés that land on his desk.
“Supercars is quite unique and it’s a top-level professional category; Supercars experience would be ideal but we’re looking for someone with a high-level of experience in a high-pressure environment and world class racing category,” he added.
“Supercars experience isn’t essential, but it is desirable.”
Jobstop.com, a free service, has the features to put employment opportunities in front of the right audience with the skillset, experience and passion required to become valued and dedicated employees.
CLICK HERE to apply for the Race Mechanic position.
CLICK HERE to visit JobStop for your new start.
Mirko De Rosa (centre)
