My first Major event

April 22nd.....
Rockingham, Northamptonshire.
The British Touring Car Championship second round. we arrived on post nice and early to find we had no flag Marshals and no Observer. So, Mark (a fellow trainee) and I volunteered to do the flagging, switching roles between races (one on yellow flag, the other on green and blue flags). We had an excellent post where we could see quite a lot of the action. There wasn't much for our post to do with regard to incidents, apart from one driver who pulled off the track when his car filled with smoke. Three Marshals ran to his aid but none of them carried a fire extinguisher for some strange reason. In training we are told "when attending an incident, always take an exstinguisher" and this particular car was a fine candidate for an extinguisher.
The racing was excellent with some very exciting moments for us. Overall, a great day.

My first two days on track.

Easter Monday April 9th

I was on post in plenty of time to familiarise myself with the section of track that our post was responsible for, under the supervision and guidance of a Marshal of over 40 years experience. We walked along the track and found out how slippery it was with the morning dew on it.

Morning was practice/qualifying time, and boy was it fun. The Formula Fords were putting a wheel on the grass and sliding all over the place, it kept the Marshals pretty busy. I had one pretty scary moment though, I was stood on the bank, (roughly level with the top of the tyre wall) on the outside of the apex of Tower corner, when a Lancer Evo 8 came down the straight and clipped the grass under braking from about 120 mph, he shot sideways, just hit the end of the tyre wall and bounced off, sliding sideways right at me at about 50 mph, I remembered my training and didn't move before I knew where the car was headed, luckily it stopped before it reached me but it certainly got the old heart pounding.
The only other incident on my post was when a formula Ford came rolling to a halt after his engine cut out.
The rest of the day was quite pleasant, there were incidents around the track, one or two were pretty spectacular from what we saw of the wreckage. All in all, a very enjoyable day. It was great to be so close to the action.

Wednesday April 11th.
What can I say? this was a very hard day indeed. This was to be a long and tiring day, we signed on and were allocated our posts, we even got a packed lunch (this should have prepared us for what was to come. We got to our post and everything was set up,as the Observer (post Chief) had arrived earlier. He gave us an outline of the day's proceedings and we were ready. The first test session started at 9:00, I was on the green and blue flags, hold the green flag up for the first lap so all the cars know it's clear. After that I was on the blue flag (warning drivers when they were being passed or about to be).
At the end of that 45 minute session we had a 5 minute break, then I was the yellow flag man, warning drivers of any obstacles ahead (I only waved it once during the whole day). This was another 45 minute session then another 5 minute break, as it was for the whole day, until 5:00 pm.
We saw some well known drivers though, Mark Blundell in a Porche Carerra, as was Michael Caine (not the actor) and Tim Harvey. All in all, a very tiring and long day but the flag experience made it very worth while.
My next foray into Marshaling is the big one. The British Touring car event at Rockingham on Sunday April 22nd. That will be real Marshaling at it's toughest I think, we shall see...................

Another training day

I was up at the crack of dawn this morning, the reason for this was that I had to be at Castle Combe by 8am to sign on for Marshal training. I thought it would be a good idea to do another training day to refresh my memory ready for the April 11th at Thruxton, and it would allow me to be a Marshal at Castle Combe during the coming season, knowing how the circuit operates and to know my way round.
The day was very well planned, and, as at Thruxton, a lot of information to take in. All the lectures were very well prepared and presented by a very knowledgeable and friendly team. There seemed to be more of a family type atmosphere than there was at Thruxton too, even the fellow trainees were friendly and I felt very much at home and at ease from the start.
Overall, a brilliant day, but I would have liked a little more practical stuff to do.
My first race meeting is now on April 9th (Easter Monday) at Castle Combe, my second, just two days later at Thruxton. Next week will be very busy indeed.
Watch this space..........

My Marshal training day

Well, what a day I had. My Marshal training day at Thruxton was great.
The weather wasn’t so great, it cleared up during the morning but the rain hit in the afternoon. There were lots of lectures and short movies, quite a lot to take in, and of course, all very interesting.

But, in essence, it was just basic safety rules, a bit of fire fighting, a very tiny amount of 1st aid (basically just asking the driver if he or she was OK, and holding his or her head if his or her neck was hurting) and generally keeping him or her calm and comfortable.

We were also told about the various types of Marshal, from the Clerk of the course down to the lowly trainee track Marshal (me). You can rise through the ranks by attending events, after 10 events I will no longer be a trainee, but a Track Marshal and so on.
You can even specialise i.e. Flag Marshal, Paddock Marshal and Start line Marshal etc. I like the idea of being a paddock Marshal, lining all the cars in order in the paddock ready to go out on track, checking the scrutineering tickets and signing the drivers on.
In actual fact, the day could have been better structured to fit more practical stuff into it, but I suppose the real training starts at the first event, with at least a basic understanding of the job.

My first event will be a testing day at Thruxton on April 10th.

Where do I begin?

Call me Marty.
I have been working for St. John Ambulance for almost six years. This year, however, I have actually taken the plunge and joined as a volunteer, so far I have done quite a lot of training and I'm soon to be unleashed on the general public.
My first love though, is Motor racing. I have taken so much pleasure from Motor racing over the years, so this year I have decided to put something back. So I have become a Marshal.
If you're unsure what a Marshal is, next time you see a motor race on TV, look for the guys and girls in bright orange overalls. They put out fires, drag drivers and cars to safety, and help with the general smooth running of all motor racing events. So, if you go to a race meeting, say hello to a Marshal, it could be me.
I did my training back in February, it was a whole day and covered all aspects of marshalling.
I am going to do another training day at Castle Combe (my closest citcuit) on April 1st.
I must just say, I am not alone in this venture, a good friend from work is into this too.
Our first event, with real Marshalling involved, will be at Thruxton on April 11th. It's not a full race meeting, just testing so, hopefully, it will be a gentle easing into the world of the marshal........................................