Getting involved in motorsport
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Looking for a little bit of help/info, I’m trying to find out the best way of getting involved in motorsport as a volunteer just helping out with bits and bobs or whatever I can get really!
Reason for this is I’d love to be involved in motorsport but realistically I can’t afford to be a driver, or not for the foreseeable future anyway so I’d like to try and work in the field once I’ve finished my degree, probably like a million other students so really I need some experience.
I'm not a total novice though which may be an advantage; I worked as a 'normal' mechanic for a few years at a car dealer and am confident to tackle any mechanical job on a car. I’ve just finished my second year at uni studying mechanical engineering and am currently doing a year at the Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port as a Process Planning Engineer, further to this I’ve helped prep a few cars for track days and what not and would love to get more into the competitive side of things, good as track days are, they aren’t racing!
So anyway does anyone know of a place to look for this kind of thing or does anyone own/know of a race team that may need a hand in the North West, either circuit or rally really and I’ve got my own transport etc, don't mind doing it for free as it’s more the experience that I want.
Cheers.
Looking for a little bit of help/info, I’m trying to find out the best way of getting involved in motorsport as a volunteer just helping out with bits and bobs or whatever I can get really!
Reason for this is I’d love to be involved in motorsport but realistically I can’t afford to be a driver, or not for the foreseeable future anyway so I’d like to try and work in the field once I’ve finished my degree, probably like a million other students so really I need some experience.
I'm not a total novice though which may be an advantage; I worked as a 'normal' mechanic for a few years at a car dealer and am confident to tackle any mechanical job on a car. I’ve just finished my second year at uni studying mechanical engineering and am currently doing a year at the Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port as a Process Planning Engineer, further to this I’ve helped prep a few cars for track days and what not and would love to get more into the competitive side of things, good as track days are, they aren’t racing!
So anyway does anyone know of a place to look for this kind of thing or does anyone own/know of a race team that may need a hand in the North West, either circuit or rally really and I’ve got my own transport etc, don't mind doing it for free as it’s more the experience that I want.
Cheers.
May not be quite what you are after, but you should consider volunteering as a marshal for a few events. You would always be welcome and you do get to know people who have lots of contacts. try the marshals forum on 10 tenths for where to go, but there is Oulton Park and a few other venues in the North West.
les3002 said:
I have been looking into that tbh mate, as you say gets you into the venue's etc.
Just waiting to hear back from motorsports volunteers.
My father-in-law has been heading up 'Team Wilson' at the BTCC meetings over the last few years with the view to recruiting more marshals. Give him a call & he'll be happy to talk, offer advice & put you in contact with people.Just waiting to hear back from motorsports volunteers.
Call Peter Wilson on 01482 571024 & tell him Mark sent you!
dougc said:
Bring pie.
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!pies are banned on my post! i like a quiet day on post.
Pies=big shunts!
seriously - if you want to marshal in the north west, have a look here: http://www.brsccnw.com/marshalling2.htm
and contact Nadine Lewis, and she can sort you out tickets to the next meeting on the 11th October. on certain race meetings she runs an introductary walk about of Oulton Park.
The thing with Marshaling is that you'll get to know the teams and drivers over time. and dont forget not only are there marshals out on the bank, around track - be they the incident marshals who deal with the crashes, the flag marshals or the observers (now post chiefs) theres also the marshals who look after the start line, pits, paddock and assembly areas - working these areas you'd get to know the teams, and it might open an oppotunity to get in helping a team one or 2 weekends. Dont forget alot of 'teams' in motorsport is just a bloke with a car, maybe a couple of mates and motorsport is a hobby.
theres a few marshals who are also drivers and mechanics, my dad's next door neighbour has been an observer for 20 years, also used to drive, and now he and his mates run serveral historic cars, both on circuits and rallies.
your other options are sprints and hillclimbs - your closest venues being Loton Park nr shrewsbury and Aintree in Liverpool.
if your still interested in marshaling then there will be a trainning day held one weekend early next years - usually around Febuary time, where there will be a novice class, as well as practical fire training
Les,
I'd really recommend joining a local motor club, membership is really cheap (ours is £15 per year) and this opens up loads of events you can be invovled in. Don't worry that you don't compete, I would say less than 20% of our members do, probably another 20% are involved either as officials or marshals. The rest just enjoy the social side of the club.
The club will also have experienced marshals that you could go to events with, soon these guys will become good mates, I've met some brilliant people and enjoy all aspects of the club.
For instance, tomorrow night is quiz night at our monthly meet which is always a good laugh.
Cheers
Dave
I'd really recommend joining a local motor club, membership is really cheap (ours is £15 per year) and this opens up loads of events you can be invovled in. Don't worry that you don't compete, I would say less than 20% of our members do, probably another 20% are involved either as officials or marshals. The rest just enjoy the social side of the club.
The club will also have experienced marshals that you could go to events with, soon these guys will become good mates, I've met some brilliant people and enjoy all aspects of the club.
For instance, tomorrow night is quiz night at our monthly meet which is always a good laugh.
Cheers
Dave
Why not volunteer to help out the organisers, such as the 750 Motor Club?
http://www.750mc.co.uk/
There are a lot of clubs organising a lot of events if you're interested in that kind of thing.
http://www.750mc.co.uk/
There are a lot of clubs organising a lot of events if you're interested in that kind of thing.
les3002 said:
Certainly sounds like the way to go, i take it the training program is the only qualifications you need to marshall?
cheers for the advice.
firstly - all you need is enthusiasm.cheers for the advice.
training is on the job - there are annual training days, for marshals at all levels. Heck, there was an Oulton Marshal, who recently 'retired' from active marshaling, who was an observer in the late 60s, he still came to the training days!
But initally its a let the relevant club know you want to marshal so they can send you your tickets and final instructions - the best way is to either email Nadine, or downloand the volunteering form from the BRSCC website i posted (the volunteering form covers ALL car meetings held at Oulton Park and Anglesey, by all organising clubs, be that BRSCC, BARC, 750mc, AMOC, HSCC etc.) then when you go to sign on in the morning, just remind her thats its your first day, and she'll allocate you somewhere were you can buddy up with an experianced marshal.
if you enjoy it, then you can register with the MSA, and you'll recieve a grading card - every day you marshal you can gain an attendance signurature, after so many days on the bank, and a training day signurature you can upgrade from your inital grade of Trainee to 'track' marshal ... and then you repeat the process, so as you gain experiance on the bank, this is recognised as you gain your upgrades - track marshal to experianced marshals to (possibly) incident officer (the person in charge of the team that deals with incidents) you may also wish to learn how to flag a race,
the Observer is usually the most experianced marshal on post - who has experiance as an IO, and as a flaggy (i say usually as some marshals have no wish to become an observer, prefering to flag a race, or stay as an incident marshal)
again the emphasis through out all of this is that you have fun - motorsport and marshaling is a hobby for everyone (some lucky folk can also turn it into their job)
and the grading scheme is really there to recognise experiance, but there is no rush.
For instance, i have been marshaling 3 years now, i have done on average 10 race meetings a year - so 30 meetings, (plus around 40 hillclimb meetings each year) and for this year i have started flagging (which i enjoy more than i did as an incident marshal) and its only now i feel comfortable upgrading from Trainee, to Track Marshal. where as i was talking to a chap who started the same meeting as me - British F3/Gt meeting at Oulton Park in 2006, who is now going for incident officer grade - ie, he has gone through trainee, track, and experianced grades.
Re Motorsport clubs & not having anything to race - you'd be stunned how many people will find that a bloke with an interest in motorsport & no time consuming racing programme of his own is just what he/she needs.
I was co-driving inside 10 days - admitedly nobody else in the club would get in a car with the fella at that time & they/he were desperate but clubs need non-racers.
I was co-driving inside 10 days - admitedly nobody else in the club would get in a car with the fella at that time & they/he were desperate but clubs need non-racers.
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