Hastings man Michael Paaymans has good reason to plan a weekend in front of the telly watching Kiwi driver Greg Murphy compete in the Bathurst leg of the V8 Supercar series.
The automotive apprentice will be studying the race and drivers carefully because next month he'll be working alongside the Greg Murphy Racing team in Melbourne.
Mr Paaymans, 21, is the winner of the 2011 MTA Apprentice of the Year Award, claiming a trip to work with Murphy and his racing pit crew at the Sandown Motor Circuit.
The competition also provided a $2000 cash prize and a potential study grant from the New Zealand Motor Industry Training Organisation.
Mr Paaymans has worked at the Lodge Auto Centre in Hastings for three years and won the award for best apprentice ahead of three other finalists, after the competition was held in Wellington last Saturday.
News of the achievement arrived via a surprise phone call.
"I answered the phone and heard, gidday, it's Greg Murphy here. My reaction was 'Who?'. I wasn't expecting to hear from Greg himself!"
Mr Murphy spent time talking to the apprentice about what to expect when he visits Sandown.
"It's going to be a great opportunity, to see how the team works," Mr Paaymans said. "It's something they do 24 hours a day, all week. It's their business.
"I hope this experience is something that can open up into other opportunities, and something that I can use to help other people, and also an experience I can reflect on in the future with other people."
Mr Paaymans has attended all of the V8 Supercar races in Hamilton and was a successful mini-stock driver.
He moved up to the Suzuki Sport class a few years ago about the same time he began his apprenticeship at the Lodge Auto Centre. He initially found it a challenge, fitting in bookwork around his day-to-day work but he managed to complete his apprenticeship in two years.
His efforts earned praise from his employers Richard and Craig Field, who put forward his nomination for the award.
"Michael is incredibly focused on his work, when he is given a task, we know that it will be done to the best of his ability," Craig said.
"He works through things in a conscientious way to make sure that everyone is happy, the bosses and the customers."
All finalists had to sit four practical tests and a panel interview in five hours.
"The competition was tough and pretty challenging at times," Mr Paaymans said. "There was a cool bunch of people on the interview panel, and I had that first so it was good to get it out of the way." The toughest part of the day for Michael was the electronic fuel injection task, and it was the first practical he faced.
"I'd have preferred to start with something else, but it all worked out in the end," he said.
The long running MTA Apprentice of the Year Award is organised by MTA with assistance from MITO and aims to reward the skills of talented apprentices and employers who are investing in the future and the skills of the automotive industry.