Watching car racing on TV with his parents put Stefan on the road to becoming team manager of a legendary Australian motorsport team.
Stefan Millard was around cars and motorsports his whole life. His father worked in the automotive industry and the family preferred watching car racing on the TV over other sports.
From the age of 12, Stefan knew he wanted to have a career in motorsports. “From all the time I spent watching on TV and going to races, I thought it would be really exciting to design and build race cars and work in the motorsport field,” he says.
Stefan – who grew up in Mount Gambier, South Australia – was good at maths and science so after graduating high school he moved to Melbourne and enrolled in the Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) at RMIT.
On top of his studies, Stefan participated in Formula SAE-A, a competition where university students design, build, and compete in their own Formula-style open-wheeled racing car.
I was challenged over and above my coursework and built valuable industry relationships that I still have to this day.
Stefan hard at work during a race. Image credit: Daniel Kalisz
The Gary Rogers Motorsport team in 2023 with S5000, TransAM and TCR cars. Image credit: Daniel Kalisz
As a direct result of his participation in Formula SAE-A, Stefan was offered a summer internship offered by Garry Rogers Motorsport (GRM) at the end of his second year.
GRM is a well-known Australian motorsport team that's been making waves in various racing categories for years. They have a rich history in the Supercars Championship and have a reputation for nurturing talented young drivers.
Stefan was also accepted into the RMIT International Industry Experience and Research Program (RIIERP), which enables students to undertake international industry placements and research. Straight after his GRM internship he went to Germany and worked in technical research and development at car manufacturer Audi for seven months.
On his return from Germany, Stefan was awarded the John Storey Junior Scholarship for Mechanical Engineering students in their second year or above who can demonstrate outstanding academic achievement.
I was very fortunate to receive the scholarship, but it wasn’t until I entered the workforce and started planning for the future that the real impact became apparent.
“It covered a quarter of my HECS debt and I was able to pay off the remaining debt and apply for a mortgage. It gave me the opportunity to buy a home and start a family.”
Stefan graduated from RMIT in 2013 and continued to work in GRM’s engineering department doing data analysis on the cars as well as race strategy for the V8 supercars.
“For the 2017 season Garry offered me the opportunity to take over the role of Team Manager and I’ve been doing that ever since,” he says.
Today, Stefan manages a team of over 20 people including several graduates from RMIT. He credits his success to working hard, networking and embracing the relationships he made at university.
“You need to put yourself in a position where those opportunities open themselves up and ultimately you can enter the workforce and have a career.
“I believe scholarships give people the opportunity to realise their goals. Money isn’t everything but it can allow you to focus more on your studies and ultimately you can have an enjoyable career doing something you are passionate about.”
The Gary Rogers Motorsport team at the end of the Volvo Supercar era in 2017. Image credit: Ross Gibb
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