The British Automobile Race Club rolled into Anglesey at the weekend, along with the changeable weather conditions. Heavy downpours throughout Saturday meant the drivers needed to get used to the wet conditions!
Some drivers found it easier than others, the Caterham’s in particular were getting restless that they couldn’t go and play in the rain! The Super Karts however weren’t as eager; the standing water would have caused them more problems and it would have been unsafe for them to race.
![IMG_4577[1].JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bca71e_a393fee6f6954a638469f6fdd5dbe624~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_735,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/bca71e_a393fee6f6954a638469f6fdd5dbe624~mv2.jpg)
The rain may have cleared but the track was still wet come the end of the day.
The whole weekend was a busy one with marshalling; there always seemed to be something else thing to be done! Busy is best though at marshalling and with less numbers than normal, we all had to help out were we could. I was called upon again to be an Unexpected Post Chief, so with a radio and folder in hand I was off to Post 15, the Pit Entry. On this post you need eyes in the front, back and side of your head to make sure the cars on track are being watched, along with those in the pit lane whilst watching for people doing things on the pit wall that they aren’t meant to be doing, like smoking and using cameras!
Post 15 had some action on track. A car in the CNC Heads qualifying spun and stopped in the middle of the track and was unable to get going, the session was red flagged, but another CNC car was in a pack and saw the car late and got away with clipping the stranded vehicle. After this I didn’t have much to do apart from radio in those that went pirouetting down the pit straight!
Startline is a fast pace discipline which requires a lot of concentration! I left it to the more experienced on the Sunday – (Photo Credit: Paul Williams)
As I was clearly lacking in stuff to do, Chief Assembly happily volunteered me to help with Startline! I will thank Suzie though as the experience was a real eye-opener, having not done that discipline before. I would suggest anyone who is given a chance to do something, to try it out as all experiences in marshalling are good experiences. Having now done startline I am now aware of how quick and difficult the job is and when there is a small problem, you have to be on your toes and fast at thinking to deal with it. I think I’ve found another topic for a future blog post!
The Sunday saw two changes for me, the first of which was that it had stopped raining, the day was pleasant and the racing was going to be fast and close. The other change was the post that I was located on. I found myself up at Rocket In, on of the fastest sections of Anglesey Circuit, but that wasn’t what was in my mind. It was the fact that during the rain the day before, a Renault Clip had crashed up there in a big way. The thought of a car going in backwards and finishing up on its roof was at the front of my mind!
How many marshals does it take……The Super Karts aren’t the easiest to push – (Photo Credit: Paul Williams)
This thought wasn’t in my mind long however. The first Super Kart race was all action up at Rocket; we had them spin, engines seizing and crashing. The final count we got was seven in the first of their races. The second race of the Super Karts saw much of the same, whilst the third race was a little more tame; maybe they were scared to misbehave because Ray Sumner, one of the clerks of the course, had joined us on post and was watching the race with us!
The amount of collisions and contact up at Rocket meant I had to do my best report writing with pictures overleaf to aid the decision that could be made later on, if there was one to be made. The report writing was that frequent up at Rocket, it meant by the fourth session I had run out of report forms! With the report writing not being something I’ve been trained in, I was happy with all the help that the clerks gave me, even if one of them didn’t recognise my signature on the back. Luckily we were able to laugh it off; I told you Nigel that it would make it into my blog!
Myself and Mike Kelly looking like we are doing something. He wins with the power stance though – (Photo Credit – Paul Williams).
And another thing if you ever get asked to do a discipline in marshalling that you’ve never done; be sure to take the opportunity because any experience is good experience. You never know, you might find something you like that you never thought you would.
Written By – Robert Lee (@RobLee559 – Twitter/Instagram)
And another thing, if you’d like to know more about marshalling and want to give a taster day a go or just get involved then click here.
Special Thanks to Paul Williams who lets me use so many of his pictures for my blog.
Comments