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........................................