Capricorn Rising Stars

BEN BROWN BEN BROWN - CWR MOTORSPORT CAPRICORN RISING STAR CONGRATULATIONS CONGRATULATIONS APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR

APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR

Stars Stars

The Capricorn Rising Stars trophy is heading to New Zealand. Hailing from Rangiora, North Canterbury, apprentice Ben Brown has demonstrated outstanding problem-solving capacity, commitment to excellence and a genuine love for automotive, to be named the 2021 Capricorn Rising Stars, Apprentice of the Year.

Capricorn Rising Stars is an initiative to help Capricorn Members recognise, reward and retain their high-performing apprentices. These are apprentices who show initiative in the workshop, eagerness to learn and commitment to the auto industry. By recognising the contribution of automotive apprentices and the bright careers they have ahead of them, Capricorn hopes to help its Members continue to attract the best talent and keep more qualified auto repairers working in the industry.

CWR Motorsport's Mel Ward described Ben as the perfect fit for their workshop. “I firmly believe it’s all about perspective and attitude. I have an appetite for knowledge and a passion to be the best at what I do. I also have a strong desire to help people and give back. I treat every job as an opportunity to develop my skillset and knowledge. By doing this I hope to become the best technician possible.”

As the 2021 Capricorn Rising Star, Ben will receive $5,000 from Castrol. The CWR Motorsport team will also benefit from a 12 month Repco Autopedia subscription and enrolment in the Workshop Whisperer’s Service Advisor Pro online program.

“We took on Ben our apprentice in August 2020. To say the least, it is the best thing we have done. Ben has a fantastic work ethic, he is polite, and great with the customers. He has an extensive knowledge base and can relate the issues with people’s cars to them in language suited to each individual. He is passionate about not only his mechanic side of the job, but also has a lot of ideas and vision to help us to grow our business. He has proved to be invaluable, and we wouldn't be where we are today without him.”

These sentiments were echoed by Ben who attributed much of his success to the support received by his employers at CWR Motorsport.

“Chris Ward is well known in the motorsport field, and equally regarded as an honest, professional, and remarkably skilful automotive engineer. This has afforded me learning opportunities I didn’t know existed, developing skills I had only dreamt of, working amidst the motorsport sector. The standard of nominees in 2021 was extremely high. More than 600 deserving apprentices were nominated this year from industry sectors including panel and paint, auto electrical, commercial/heavy diesel, tyre/wheel and general mechanical workshops located across Australia and New Zealand.

Capricorn congratulates Ben and all the Capricorn Rising Star nominees. With so many Member workshops preparing the next generation of industry leaders, there is no doubt that the future is in safe hands.

Thanks also goes to Capricorn Preferred Suppliers and program sponsors Castrol, Repco and The Workshop Whisperer for their continued support.

Look out for Capricorn Rising Stars to return in 2022 as we seek to recognise, reward and retain more outstanding apprentices.

LIGHTNING FAST AND FEATHER LIGHT:

MEET MASERATI’S MC20

Whatever your “if I ever win Lotto” plans are, put them on hold until you’ve read this – because you may need to reconsider.

Maserati has just released its first supercar in a generation, the MC20.

It’s a thing of beauty and it’s the first vehicle to come with a new threelitre twin-turbocharged V6 Nettuno engine.

Nettuno was conceived, developed, designed and built entirely by Maserati, and uses a pre-chamber combustion technology derived from Formula 1 powertrains.

It has a top speed of over 326 km/h and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.88 seconds – which would be quite a memorable trip to Countdown. Weighing less than 1500 kg, with rear-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic transmission, peak torque is 730 Nm at 3000 to 5500 rpm.

Maserati hasn’t just been working on the mechanics for this new generation of vehicle. The entire chassis of the MC20 is carbon fibre and composites (hence the light weight) which has also given them real freedom with shapes they’ve been able to create in the body (most notably, the butterfly doors).

So, it’s lightning fast, feather light and “built to stun”, as Maserati points out. But the MC20 isn’t just a toy for the track. This is an everyday supercar, designed for “excellent driveability, comfort and safety” on the road, with “an interior where efficiency combines with luxury”. It has an elegant but still sporty design. It’s also surprisingly minimalist inside. The interior is black and has dark upholstery, with just two 10-inch screens and no superfluous ornamentation.

“It only carries the driving mode selector, two buttons for the gears, the power window controls and the infotainment volume control, and a smartphone pad with wireless charger,” Maserati said. “All the other controls are on the steering wheel, with the ignition button on the left and the launch control on the right.”

Wait, driving mode selector? Yes, the MC20 has five driving modes to choose from: Default GT for ease of use and comfort for everyday driving; Wet, for maximum control on damp surfaces; Sport, for high-traction conditions, such as a racetrack; Corsa, the “fun” setting, with less active traction and stability controls; and off mode, which speaks for itself.

It’s worth noting Maserati is releasing a combustion engine vehicle at a time when most manufacturers are focused on electric. Well, an electric model is on the way next year. Maserati says it will have a range of about 386 km and a top speed of more than 305 km/h. It has been designed so an electric drive train can slot right into the existing chassis and body without any alteration. That’s thinking ahead.

This is the kind of car that dreams are made of. But at a time when combustion engines are on the way out and we’re on a steep trajectory towards electric, it is also a car that has been designed with the future in mind.

Speaking of future planning… we’re off to buy a lottery ticket.