Technicians from 14 countries fight for coveted title in Clermont. Grigoriy Chernenok is crowned the world champion young automotive refinisher 2007

The new R-M young automotive refinisher of the year is Grigoriy Chernenok . The exceptionally talented young painter from the Avtoritet -Autoservise bodyshop in Orenburg represented Russia in the Grand Final.

The R-M Refinish Competence Centre in Clermont, France, was the venue where Grigoriy Chernenok put his talent and technical abilities to the test together with the top painters from 13 other countries, all competing for this prestigious title. The jury chose him as hands-down winner of this tough competition. His closest challengers respectively in 2nd and 3rd place respectively, were Hugo Astiz-Calatayud (from Estella in Spain) and Michele Bertinazzi (from Bolzano Vicentino in Italy). Over the past months, all participants in the Grand Final had to qualify for the finals in national preliminary competitions.

This was the third time in the history of the competition that the Grand Final was held at the R-M Refinish Competence Centre in Clermont, France. The object of the trial was to find a successor to last year's champion, Steve Mauro from the Stillemant bodyshop in Belgium. He had won first place in the 2006 Grand Final in Caronno Pertusella, Italy, out of a pool of ten participants. They came from Belarus, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. This year, the global reputation of the competition moved up a notch. The competition welcomed painters from four new countries: Portugal, Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine.

With more than 100 guests and a host of members of the international press present, the sheer number of competitors and guests made this the largest event to take place at R-M’s Clermont headquarters in over 15 years.
Throughout the competition, the venue was buzzing with excitement as the finalists fought hard to demonstrate their technical know-how, color matching skills using the COLORMASTER System and refinishing skills using R-M's ONYX HD waterborne basecoat.

The world’s premier competition

As the R-M Young Painter of the Year Competition continues to grow and become recognized as the world’s premier competition for young automotive refinishers, the number of leading industry sponsors of the event has grown to an all-time high. Connex, Deltalyo, EMM Colad, Fillon Technologies, Horn & Bauer, ITW DeVilbiss, Kimberley Clark, Lacour, 3M, Mettler Toledo, Rupes, Saint Gobain Abrasives, Sata, SIA Abrasives, Teroson/Henkel Loctite and Tesa all demonstrated their support for the event, providing attractive prizes. Awards included the latest Nintendo Wii game console for two players together with the “Need for Speed Carbon” game supplied by R-M Automotive Refinish. Another prize was a dream vacation to the winner’s choice of 180 attractive destinations, also donated by R-M Automotive Finish.

World champion program of special events

Upon their arrival in Paris on the evening before the start of event, the participants and their National trainers were invited for a casual diner in Paris… and were then driven through the City in a convoy of 13 open topped Citroën 2CV’s.
Then, after all the hard work on the first day of competition, R-M entertained the participants and their VIP guests with dinner at the Eiffel Tower. The closing event of the competition was fitting for a world champion. The winner met together with the other participants and the VIP guests in front of the Hyatt Hotel. A 500 meter long motorcade of no fewer than 18 limousines (breaking the “16 limousines convoy” record held until then by the “Rolling Stones”) escorted by four Police Motorcyclists picked them up and drove them in style (and at some speed, despite the fact that it was rush hour) straight through the heart of Paris to the banks of the River Seine, where the ship "Juliette Greco” took them on a sight-sighting tour of the city. The river provided a spectacular vantage point for enjoying the “City of Lights” – an experience that reflected R-M’s passion for colors magnificently.

The motorcade then transported them down the Champs-Elysées to a superb gala dinner at "Fouquet’s", known all over the world for its excellent cuisine and famous guests and as the venue for French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s victory celebration just a few months earlier. The mayor of Paris’s 8th district welcomed all the guests. In his speech, he emphasized the international significance of the Young Painter of the Year Competition and praised the performance of all the participants. The program of special events met with an enthusiastic response as well. Magicians mesmerized the guests with their spectacular acts. It was truly an overwhelming experience for these top young painters.

A victim of its own success

The 2008 competition will be completely revamped with an exciting new format and to be held at a different international location – which has yet to be announced.