Frequently Asked Questions

Marshalling

Someone who is interested in Motorsport and who wants to be involved in the sport without necessarily competing.

Almost anything linked with the organisation and running of motor sport events – from club meetings to Grand Prix, from grass tracks to circuit racing.

Almost anyone. As long as you are of average health all you need is enthusiasm – BMMC can provide the rest.

No. Marshalling is a hobby. All Marshals are volunteers who enjoy being part of motor sport.

Training is just one of the benefits of belonging to the BMMC.

As many or as few as you wish. You decide where and when you want to marshal. BMMC does the rest.

All forms of motor sport involve some danger, but our safety record is very good and we provide our own insurance to cover our members whilst on duty at motor sport events.

The BMMC

The British Motorsport Marshals Club is the largest marshalling organisation in the world. Founded in 1957 the club still follows its original objectives of training and providing marshals for all forms of motor sport. The BMMC provides officials for all the organising clubs in the country. Events covered include Circuit racing, sprints, hill climbs, autotests, rallies, rallycross, autocross, trials, kart racing and many more.

The club has over 2,400 members, men and women from all walks of life. All are amateurs in as much as no financial reward is either sought or given, but at the same time they are professionals in their attitude to their marshalling.

The club is organised into seven regions, each covering a defined area of the British Isles. Members are offered the opportunity of marshalling at almost any event they wish, anywhere in the country, the club will co-ordinate the volunteering and liaise with the organising clubs. BMMC brings you and the organising clubs together.

Each year our marshals are invited to an ever increasing number and range of events. Clubs throughout the country rely on BMMC members to staff their meetings. Members for the meetings they wish to attend. Members can marshal from two to over a hundred events a year. It is up to the individual to decide the type and number of events they wish to attend, the jobs for which they volunteer, the clubs they want to work with, and the venues at which they want to marshal.

If you are interested in joining either the BMMC or the BRMC, or want more details, then download a membership application form, fill it in and return it to the club.

According to experience, the jobs include: Post Chief, incident officer, experienced marshal (flag & incident), track marshal, spectator marshal, race administration, paddock marshal, pit marshal, startline marshal, telephonist, rescue unit crew, rally stage marshal, rally timekeeper, passage control marshal, sector marshal etc. etc. The list is almost endless. BMMC members include doctors, scrutineers, timekeepers, ambulance drivers, firemen and commentators. In fact BMMC members can and do perform every official job function at all levels of the sport.

The club was responsible for establishing the Emergency Services teams at Silverstone, Donington and Cadwell Park and provides the vast majority of their personnel.

However enthusiastic you may be, every marshalling job requires a great deal of training and practice. BMMC recognised this in 1957 and the improvement in standards has been a constant aim of the club ever since. BMMC was one of the first clubs to set up a regular training programme for its members.

All regions have their own training officer whose job is to construct and run a training programme for the members, co-ordinated by the National Training Officer. In conjunction with Motorsport UK and other clubs BMMC provides training throughout the year. Sessions include theory and practical sessions, including fire fighting and rescue unit work. Experienced marshals will guide and offer advice to you at race meetings, observe your progress and help you gain greater enjoyment from your duties.

Training covers all aspects and disciplines of the sport. Our aim is to make motor sport safer by training the volunteer officials to the highest possible standards.

It is essential that the experience and capabilities of marshals can be easily recognised and that the marshals are offered a clear path through the many duties and levels of marshalling. BMMC has run its own grading scheme for over twenty years, identifying all marshals by the use of colour coded badges. Our scheme has now been adopted by Motorsport UK as the basis for a national, all clubs grading scheme and has been adopted by other marshalling associations and clubs throughout the world.

Every region has an active social side, with meetings and events throughout the year. Details of these are to be found in the regular regional newsletters, but include organised visits and dinner dances.

The club has its own exclusive range of badges, clothing and accessories. These are advertised in the newsletters and may be obtained either on events or by mail order.

Events

Each region publishes its own newsletter or magazine, keeping members informed of news at both regional and national levels. Articles include comment and information on changes to rules, reports of events, news of club activities, details of events requiring marshals, factual and fictional articles, and even buy and sell advertisements. All members are encouraged to contribute articles.

As well as the newsletters members will receive availability forms from the organising clubs themselves and will see events advertised in the motor sport press.

All a member does then is complete a volunteering form and send it to their Regional Competitions Secretary. They will then liaise with the organising club who will send the member their passes and instructions for the event.

One of the benefits of membership of BMMC is that it also brings with it membership of the British Rally Marshals Club. The BRMC was formed by the BMMC to parallel the activities of the club in rallying.

The BRMC has its own training and grading scheme, offering a progressive means of obtaining the skills needed for rally marshalling.

The BMMC provides marshals for all rallies throughout the country. It does not matter whether it is a multi-venue or single venue rally, or who the organising club may be, or whether it is a club rally or an international. As long as the event is recognised by Motorsport UK the BRMC will provide officials.

Motorsport Who's Who

Motorsport UK – Motorsport UK is the national membership organisation and governing body for four-wheel motorsport in the UK, representing competitors, volunteers, clubs and fans.  Go here to register and online training (Volunteers – Motorsport UK – The beating heart of UK motorsport)

Disciplines – Rally / Race / Karting / Hillclimbs and Sprints / Autocross / Autotest / Trials / Drifting (Types of Motor Sport – Motorsport UK – The beating heart of UK motorsport)

Some disciplines use “fixed venues” – a permanent venue purpose built for a specific discipline of motorsport e.g. Silverstone / Harewood Hillclimb.  Many disciplines could use non-fixed venues – Rally – forest stages / Autotest – carparks / Trials – farmers fields.  Depending on the venue make sure you have specific directions / postcode / grid references to locate.

Some of these are discipline specific but some may cover different events.  The organizers are responsible for booking the venue / deciding the content / signing up drivers / requesting volunteers.  Most have websites detailing the events / contact details etc.

Bolunteering database has details of all fixed venue events throughout the country / by venue.  This list details the Chief Marshal contact information – the first port of call for any queries for a specific event plus the local volunteering coordinator who can assist with any issues in their area.  A separate list of rallies is maintained by the BRMC (British Rally Marshals Club – Home (brmc.org.uk)) and their Facebook page is particularly useful for updates.  The BRMC is a Specific Interest Group within BMMC.