BENDIGO woman Lakarra Johns was selected to take part in a week of four-wheel drive automotive lessons in Melbourne with expert and media personality Allan Gray.
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The lessons will be filmed by four-wheel drive company Terrain Tamer and distributed through various four-wheel drive based media channels internationally, to an already large and eager fan base.
The 23-year-old was selected from a group of more than 50 men.
"I have learnt so much in the last week," she said.
"The team at Terrain Tamer is lovely."
New South Wales woman Molly Gray was also selected for the program.
Both women said they dealt with many discriminative and sexist people while completing their apprenticeships.
Lakarra said despite this, she had always been passionate about cars.
"My grandfather was a mechanic in Wedderburn," she said.
"So I've grown up around cars.
"I've always wanted to know how to fix them.
"I wanted to know everything about them."
Mr Gray has been in the industry for 65 years, is nearing 80 and worked on the first Toyota Land Cruiser to be brought into Australia in 1958.
Admittedly reserved at first when told his apprentices for the week would be women, Allan says his opinion had changed since meeting the pair and experiencing their shared passion.
The women hope they will lead the way for others to get past the "intimidation" of the male-dominated industry and help them follow their passion to take up an automotive trade.
