Your First Ever Days Marshalling

[Mark Mitchell]

I can remember my first day of marshalling as if it were yesterday.
It was April 1994 at Donington.
The day was billed as one of the "Best Of British" race days and included some great racing, with the likes of Porsches, Ferrari's (I know they're not British)FF's and more!
I didn't know where I was going, as I had NEVER been to a race track before. I didn't know where Sign-on was, who to approach, or what was to be expected of me.
I signed-on and was told to report to Post 25 at a certain time.
After getting somemone to tell me where this post was, I made my way over to the Esses.
There was very little in the way of a welcome, and I was told to watch & learn.
That soon changed after a few incidents when the I.O. said he needed all the help he could muster.

Can you remember your first day and where?


Mark

[Aysedasi]

I'm not a marshall, although I have been on posts a few times with a mate who used to marshall back in the early 80's.

One thing in your post which rather surprised me was attending your first meeting as a marshal having never been to a race track before? Thats got to be pretty unusual, hasn't it?

[Mark Mitchell]

I suppose so!
I had always been into F1 (Not so much now) and knew very little of other "Types" of racing.
It was a visit to the Autosport Show in January 1994 that I was given a copy of the Silverstone handbook, which had an item on Marshalling. It sounded like fun, so I rang John Felix (Chairman BMRMC in those days - strange though that the BRDC printed the BMRMC's details as well) and he sent me an application form.
I joined the Midlands Region without any doubts......spent a small fortune on kit and waited for the season to begin.
At that time I didn't really know how to volunteer for anywhere other than Donny.....so that's where I marshalled for the year. Then I discovered Oulton Park!! Marshalling then wasn't just good - it was great!!

[alec]

My first day was at the test day at Gurston this year.

Turned up, asked an orange person where sign on is (whilst standing right next to it).

Got a guided tour of the hill from the chief marshal, and was put on a whole load of different posts through the day. I can't imagine a better introduction to marshalling.

[JimW]

strange though that the BRDC printed the BMRMC's details as well)

The BRDC were always good friends of the Marshal's Club for many years. Our club hut was at Silverstone and that was our formal legal address. Even now many promoting clubs give the occasional plug for what is now called the BMMC.

Regards

Jim

[Stephen Green]

My first meeting was at Brands Hatch many years ago, sadly I can't remember the exact date. I had been going for some years as a spectator and one day saw an advert in the BRN for marshals and thought 'why not'. In those first few years I also did the big truck meetings at Brands, always great fun if a little scary at times. Then, going home covered in smudges of diesel at the end of the day...Ho hum, those were the days.......

[neilwaynesmith]

Donington 1993. The very week AFTER the European Grand Prix. Similar weather, circuit still coming to grips with snatching cars, something like 11 red flags.

I was on Post 2, Redgate and soon learned about the scouring effects of gravel courtesy of Des Winks and his beautiful 911.

For some reason I came back the next week having sat down, looked at my 'just a couple of meetings to start with' and then filled in every available Saturday and Sunday for the rest of the year....

[JimW]

Used to go to watch racing with my parents and when I was at University. Saw an article in a motor magazine (Autocar, Motor?) and volunteered through the BMRMC. First meeting was a BRSCC one at Brands sometime in May 1967, Graham Hill bend. (Now post 7, then post 6 Bottom Bend). Observer Dave Gilbert. Had such fun that my weekends since then have had a motorsport emphasis.

Yes, I know I ought to get out more! but thanks to marshalling I have been to lots of bits of the UK and Eire which I would not otherwise have seen plus Israel, Turkey, Germany, Austria and Korea.

Jim

[ascarracinguk]

yeh mine wasnt long ago as you know....although my memory is very short....mcleans at donington last year....750 mc....the day was goin well until the first session....when a fiesta ended up on its roof at my feet....great day and really enjoyed it....pretty good weather for donny too which is unusual!

[Dave Brand]

Croft, June 2000, Bemsee/MRO.

The then chief marshal, who I knew through some forum or other, was desperate as, being a southern club, Bemsee was having difficulty getting enough marshals so, knowing that Derbyshire & North Yorkshire are both 'ap nawf' he asked me, as a 'local' if I'd like to marshal. I said yes, & KayBee decided she'd have some of that as well, so off we set on a sunny Friday afternoon.......

Saturday dawned wet & got even wetter; by the end of the day, practice only, I'd picked up a lot of bikes, KayBee had done a lot of flagging & we were soaked - at least I'd taken waterproofs.....

Sunday was even worse......flooded roads meant that it took us well over an hour to get from Darlington to the circuit, we spent an hour or more trying to clear water from the circuit, getting soaked again in the process, before racing was finally abandoned.

So, a 200-mile round trip, soaked to the skin twice & didn't even see one race. Anybody with any sense at all would realise what a silly pastime marshalling is......fortunately, neither of us falls into that category!

Pixie, it's all your fault!

[mark ch]

Some old marshal I used to acquire tickets off. Told me after a year of having freebies if I wanted tickets i'd have to earn them... and start marshalling.. cheers Dad

My first meeting was a wet BARC meeting at Mallory on Gerrards out, it was quiet all day till the last race. One off, struck on the very wet grass, driver got out and just got onto the bank. He asked if car would be safe left there and BANG... obviously not. Had three off in the last laps of the last race.
Now it's a job to find a weekend when I'm not marshalling.

[Crazy Marshal]

My first marshalling experience was at the JCC at Oulton Park last year, it was chucking it down with rain and rather chilly - enough to put anyone off.....
apart from me! I'm still marshalling now and i love it!

[SJC-214]

First started marshalling back in 1988 at Oulton when I use to work in the Pits. I use to go and watch whenever I could and one day I saw a notice on the back of the Pit garages saying something like "would you like to marshal" so I asked one of the Pit Marshals about it and the rest is History.

I now marshal all over the country and I have made lots of new friends as a result, and I love it.

Best thing I ever did was to get involved in marshalling.

[Nadine J Lewis]

June 1997 - I remember it well. Tour of the circuit by Cliff Hammond / some crazy bloke waved at me from the other side of the circuit at Druids / Walter suggested I'd enjoy it on the bank rather than in the pits and I went out to Avenue for the afternoon (seem to remember there was about 6 of us on post, plus the flaggers!!). Second race of the afternoon and a TVR Tuscan landed at my feet (when Avenue used to be raised behind the banking!!). Driver jumped out / felt woozy and I had my second casualty of the day (first one was me as I did my superman impression getting out the way!!). I'd ruined my jeans so I just had to get some overalls for the next time!!!!

[Shinners]

Yes.. I remember my first day well. Got absolutely soaked and all ! It was in February '99 and it was rally x. Myself and my sister decided to give marshalling a try and we were posted out with the resuce unit at post 27 (my Mondello colleagues will know this one ) and we got absolutely nothing but soaked. Weather was so bad they had to abandon the meeting and to be honest at the time I couldn't wait to get home as it was such a dreadful day. My sister decided with wasn't for her and I decided it was DEFINATELY for me and I have been doing it ever since

[Malc's]

Originally posted by Aysedasi
One thing in your post which rather surprised me was attending your first meeting as a marshal having never been to a race track before? Thats got to be pretty unusual, hasn't it?

Until I started marshalling the closest I had been was the Sunday market at donington. My first day was post 2 Redgate in 1992 (when they still had red gate's) for F3, I remember going out and pushing a mini but not much else, never looked back since.

[stevebrown]

My first meeting marshalling was also my first visit to a race track. A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go to Snet to see a race. I quickly said yes, then he told me I had to marshal. Then he told me it was a 24hour race. Yes my first marshalling day was at the Wilhire in 1987. Talk about going in at the deep end. My first session was on Saturday evening at Russell. Just before we were to be relieved A Cossie slammed into the tyre wall. I helped rebuild the wall and remember thinking what the heck am I doing here, as I was getting soaked from the water in the tyres. But I got the chance to work at different posts and did a bit of flagging as well. By Sunday afternoon I was asking when the next meeting was.

Steve B

[Beardy359]

My first meeting was in 1974 at Thruxton, and as seems fairly common I had never attended a race before.

I had spectated and marshalled at a hillclimb, and one of the guys offered to take me to Thruxton.It was a Rothmans Formula 5000 meeting, with a full grid of 5000's, 2 Formula Ford races ( Championship and consolation for the 30+ cars that didn't qualify for the championship round!), and Touring Cars (Cammarros etc.).

I was put on Post K, anyone else who can correctly identify where that is is just too old, with a very grumpy observer ( so no change there then).

The observer sent me to stand on the edge of the armco for the Formula 5000 start,and told me to report to him after the pack had passed us.30 assorted Lola's etc went passed, wheels interlocked and shaking the ground like a small earthquake. I returned to the observer:

"What did you think of that then?"

"Fantastic!"

"S*d it, we've got another one!"

[Flying Muppet 2]

My father used to be Medical Officer at Brands Hatch and Crystal Palace, so I used to get dragged along to each meeting and was left in the small stand above Paddock Hill bend. Must have witnessed some fantastic racing (BOAC 500, Race of Champions, etc) and very soon was mad about it.

When my father became the Chief Medical Officer at Mallory Park, I used to do lap charts as a 14 -15 yr old for the other scoreboard marshals (remember those) in the tall triangular scoreboard at Mallory Park (remember that) until finally it gave up the ghost (hit by racing cars and bikes too many times!). Then became a start line marshal at the tender age of 16 (it was allowed then) in the good old days when the cars arrived at the grid in any old order.

First time on the bank was again at Mallory for an F1 meeting when I had just passed my driving test and could take myself along (still 17).

Since then, I've marshalled at Silverstone (when the short circuit was just a triangle), Mallory, Donington, Aintree, Knockhill, Oulton, Ty Croes, Croft, Brands Hatch and abroad in USA and Canada, and loved every minute of it. Like SJC-214 have made lots of friends through it, although I dread to think what I could have done with all the time I have committed to the sport!

[Alan Green]

As soon as I got my driving licence, I was able to go chasing the RAC rally around the country (when it still did that, rather than just being the Cardiff car park rally). An uncle in South Wales phoned me one year to say that they were appealing for marshals for some of the stages, so I gave it a go (better than paying to get in I suppose), and I really enjoyed it. Next year (the first year of being solely based in Wales) I marshalled as many stages as I could and still chase the action, before getting to Cheltenham (I think) for the podium.

I then thought about doing some circuit marshalling, because I enjoyed following the BTCC but, again, didn't like paying to get in all the time. I got some details from BARC, and after a training day at Thruxton I started in the pit lane at Donington with a BARC classic meeting. I then chased the BTCC a bit to Donington, Oulton, Snetterton, Silverstone night and then to Croft, which I now class as my 'home' circuit. Pit lane became course, incident, and flag, and probably observer in the years to come. Three grand prixs, and one Le Mans later, I still love it.

VISITED: Anglesey, Blyton, Croft, Cadwell, Donington, Mallory, Oulton, Thruxton, Silverstone, Rockingham, Snetterton, Harewood, Le Mans.
WANT TO DO: Brands Hatch, Castle Combe, Goodwood, Australia GP (wishlist!)

[M Greenslade]

First meeting was Easter 1976 at Snetts for a Group 8, which was a mix of F5000, F1/F2, Altantic etc, big old single seater bangers. After signing on I was told by my Observer (Martin Shalders, still a personal friend) to take a fire bottle and go and stand by the bridge at the end of the straight. On asking him what to do, was told 'you will know what do when something comes off!!!'
Wonderful day with David Purley power sliding his Lec 5000 under the bridge, leaving tyre marks everywhere. It was a day that stirred the loins and made my mind up to carry on, in those days motor racing was dangerous and sex was safe, what has happened to the world!! - Balders

[Chigley]

Some old marshal

Oi, we'll have less of that or I'll tell your Mum, no more freebie washing or dinners for you!

[Woolley]

Curborough, 1987 with a great guy named Eric (much missed since his untimely loss). He gave me lots of good advice, including this gem.

"Watch out for the ones with an orange disk who are running on methanol. It's a nasty fuel and you can't see it burning. You'll know if it's on fire because yur wellies melt."

RIP Eric

[beefy]

Combe 1995. Avon rise. I very quickly discovered just how quick and how far a TVR Tuscan can travel on damp grass first thing in the morning. Later on that day, there was a Porsche which did a spectacular series of spins, ending up inches away from my feet. On one of the TV programmes later, there was a lovely in-car shot of me stood with a look of absolute terror, holding a fire extinguisher upside down!

[Peter Harding]

Snetterton 1971. Had a mini do a backward somersault under the bridge at Esses. Was then hooked. Wife used to attend as well so had to get her pregnant to get out on my own. After 6 kids she forgot she used to go so I'm safe now.