Unlimited free entry to UK motorsport events!

[mmm-five]

I thought that'd get you interested, however there is a teeny, tiny, weeny catch.

That catch is that you have to stand at the side of the circuit and lend a hand if any incidents occur on track - oh, and you'll be dressed in orange.

This will be my 3rd year of marshalling, mainly at the north-west circuits & hill-climb venues (but that's only down to me not wanting to spend 4 hours driving to a circuit), but I have been to Donington & Silverstone for some of the bigger events. My local is Oulton Park, and I'll be getting in free for the F3/GT meet over the Easter weekend, and there's the BTCC on later in the year too.

My next event out will be the two-day meet at Anglesey circuit this weekend (4/5 April). If you're old enough to drive then you're old enough to marshal. There's no set level of commitment, you can do 1 day a year (plus a day or two of training annually), or you can do 40 like I did in my first year (some people do 80 as they do track, hillclimb, rally & kart).

If you want to get close to the action, then this is about as close as you'll get without actually spending up-to £1m/year to race!

Sometimes it'll be you making the difference between a driver escaping a burning car or not...
[youtube]eV99_BIqY4g[/youtube]

Although sometimes it's just a matter of sweeping some gravel off the track...

Anyway, it'd be great to see some of the board members on the posts and if you want any more information then please see the links below

http://www.volunteersinmotorsport.co.uk/
http://www.marshals.co.uk/

 

[paddy wright]

great thread what was the car in the crash and how much comitment is involved in marshaling?

 

[klarky]

i looked into this end of last year, im only 30 mins from oulton, pretty well placed for the midlands where i live, might just look into this again - cheers for the post

 

[mmm-five]

great thread what was the car in the crash and how much comitment is involved in marshaling?

The car in the video is a Ginetta G50 driven by Hunter Abbott, racing alongside the Aston Martin, Ascari, Lambo, Porsche, & other super-GTs. Unfortunately he had a tap from the Aston Martin as he came to take the racing line and...well you can see the result. Hunter got away with minor burns (mainly around the unprotected parts of his face - eyebrows, lips).

As for level of commitment, all you need to do is attend one or two events a year. It doesn't have to be the big events like the F3/GT, BTCC, or Gold Cup as these tend to be well filled anyway, but they will not turn you down for an event as the more marsals the better. Some of the 'club' events are the ones where the marshal numbers can be low - we need at least 4 marshals per post (1 per fire extinguisher), 1 incident officer (senior marshal who tells the marshals where the priorities are), and 1 Post Chief/Observer (very senior marshal who records details of contact between cars, overtaking under yellow, not yielding for blues, etc.).

The first morning of marshalling is usually as a 'novice' where you get taken on a walk around the track so that you can see where everything is and watch the marshals in action. That same afternoon you will be assigned to a 'post' where you'll be expected to follow instruction and NOT go on the track in the event of an incident (as you won't be insured yet), but you will be able to walk the track once a race is over or red-flagged.

If you like it after the first day, then you simply have to apply for your marshal's licence & record card from the MSA, and then go about buying some safety gear - safety boots, welder's gloves & proban treated outer clothes are the priority items, along with hi-vis wateproofs that you can quickly slide into.

There's also a forum for marshals on 10Tenths

Depending which track you're marshalling, and who the organising club is, you may get a 'contribution' towards petrol (£5/£10), or a free lunch, or a free breakfast, or all of the previous, or nothing at all. You normally get told that once you've put your volunteering request in and gotten your tickets & instructions the week before the event.

 

[Lucy]

Will you be marshalling at Donington park on the 11th & 12th?

 

[mmm-five]

Will you be marshalling at Donington park on the 11th & 12th?

No, I'll be at Oulton Park F3/GT on the 11th, Loton Park Hillclimb on the 12th, and Oulton Park F3/GT on 13th.

Although looking in my calendar, I can't see any racing on there that weekend :?

 

[Lucy]

Will you be marshalling at Donington park on the 11th & 12th?

No, I'll be at Oulton Park F3/GT on the 11th, Loton Park Hillclimb on the 12th, and Oulton Park F3/GT on 13th.

Although looking in my calendar, I can't see any racing on there that weekend :?

It's the International Styling and Tuning Show (ists) i'm gonna be there all weekend (camping :thumbsdown: ) and i may be going on the track (weather dependant) Thought you may have been pulling me out of the gravel if i end up going too fast around 1 of the bends :lol:

 

[mmm-five]

It's the International Styling and Tuning Show (ists) i'm gonna be there all weekend (camping :thumbsdown: ) and i may be going on the track (weather dependant) Thought you may have been pulling me out of the gravel if i end up going too fast around 1 of the bends :lol:

The MSA don't cover 'meets' as such, as they're not classed as motorsport, thus the MSA marshals don't cover them.

Any marshals/steward you see at these events will have been paid for the day (£50/£60 usually).

There won't be as many marshals there as there would be on a race day, as it's not as important to get track-dayers out of the gravel - although I'm sure if you wear something revealing they'll all be over in a flash if something does go wrong. And don't worry, we're not allowed to give mouth-to-mouth

 

[mmm-five]

Well, I'm off to do the F3/GT meet at Oulton Park this weekend (Sat & Mon). Anyone from here attending, in an official or otherwise capacity?

 

[klarky]

maybe on monday, i assume you can pay on the gate. depends on what state im in from sunday night i suspect

 

[mmm-five]

maybe on monday, i assume you can pay on the gate. depends on what state im in from sunday night i suspect

Yes you can pay on the gate, although I normally have a spare complimentary ticket to give away.

This is what you missed today...

Although he made it back out for the race about 2 hours later - albeit a bit slower than in this qualifying session.

 

[klarky]

from the fast show "lets off-road!!! :lol:

 

[mmm-five]

You also missed the new M-Tech kit...although they were supposed to have a car on show too