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The 2021 annual Formula Junior Historic Racing Association (FJHRA) charity auction has raised £2000 to be shared between the British Motorsports Marshals’ Club (BMMC) and Air Ambulance UK this year.

It is the second such kind donation BMMC has received in as many weeks in the run up to the festive period and has helped bring a positive end to another challenging year dealing with the additional measures put in place to address the pandemic.

BMMC National Chair Nadine Lewis thanked FJHRA for their generosity and said: “It is always very humbling to hear what high esteem the clubs and their members have for our marshals and the great job they do.

“It is wonderful to hear their contribution and dedication praised and rewarded both in kind words and deeds such as this, we are very grateful to FJHRA for their valuable donation.”

FJHRA Chairman, Duncan Rabagliati said: “ Formula Junior is a family : our Marshal’s are a fundamental part of it and without the generosity of Marshals giving up their time to keep us safe trackside and in their various fundamental roles in a race weekend, none of us would be able to enjoy our passion of racing,  and this is just a small gesture of our gratitude!”

British Sim racing group BSR has donated £570 to the British Motorsports Marshals’ Club (BMMC) after hosting a 3-hour SIM race at a virtual (?) Brands Hatch on Iracing on Monday 6^th December.

With over 40 cars on the grid on the night, the generous donation from BSR will be ring-fenced for marshal recruitment activity and training.

BMMC National Chair Nadine Lewis welcomed the very kind and generous donation and said: “We were delighted that BSR wanted to raise funds for the club and extremely grateful to them for this very generous donation which will help with our recruitment and training plans in the coming year.”

BSR Administrator Michael Seale added: “We wanted to do something to recognise the terrific work done by marshals all over the UK and to say thank you for what they do to support motorsport. I’m sure this donation will be put to good use recruiting and training even more marshals for the future.”

The British Motorsports Marshals’ Club (BMMC) is delighted to announce it has secured a new sponsorship deal with Clapham North MOT that will further boost the BMMC members’ subsidy for PROBAN overalls.

The new deal comes into effect for the 2022 season and will ensure BMMC members ordering ready-made overalls will continue to receive a 100% subsidy, while those ordering made to measure will receive an equivalent grant of £102 thanks to the support of Clapham North MOT alongside existing sponsors.

Commenting on the new deal BMMC Chair Nadine Lewis said: “We’re delighted to welcome Clapham North MOT as our latest sponsor and look forward to their support next year together with all of our partners. 

“It has always been the aim of the Club to be able to provide members with a 100% subsidy and the continued support of existing sponsors and the addition of this new agreement with Clapham North MOT allows us to retain this level of funding.”

Driver and Clapham North MOT owner George Grant added: “We’re delighted that Clapham North MOT and our partners at Downforce Radio are able to provide this additional support to BMMC marshals and we look forward to a positive and mutually beneficial partnership with the BMMC and its members.

“This new agreement is a great opportunity for Clapham North MOT to cement our commitment to supporting the men and women who work tirelessly week in, week out and in all weathers to help us all enjoy our racing safely.”

For 2021 the TVR Car Club Committee unanimously decided that the Trophy should be awarded to the British Motorsport Marshals Club (BMMC) This is not only in recognition of their contribution to motorsport this year but to recognise the past and ongoing contribution they make to not only TVR motorsport but all formats of motorsport.  Marshals represent a cornerstone of motorsport and without them in the same way as without the drivers, teams and officials there would be no motorsport. We are all one big family who rely on each other to do what we do. 

This Trophy was commissioned for and presented to the Club in 1965 by Avril Scott Moncrieff in honour of her husband Bunty who was a key figure in the early days of TVR. He owned a Rolls Royce dealership in Staffordshire and in 1955 started selling TVRs. In 1958 he was invited to join the board of directors in Blackpool and rapidly became intimately involved in the development of the Grantura, especially in motorsport where both he and Avril were amongst the first regular competitors in TVR motorsport in their brown Grantura Mk1, nicknamed the ‘coffee bean’. In 1962, when TVR first appeared at Le Mans, the Scott Moncrieffs drove one of the support cars to the famous La Sarthe circuit. Bunty was also important in the history the Car Club being appointed its first president when the Club was formed in London in the same year.

The trophy was traditionally awarded to the driver who won the most points in a single season of motorsport in a TVR and has some very famous names engraved around its base including Gerry Marshall, Tommy Entwistle, Rob Farmer and Paul Weldon. About 10 years ago with the rise of interest in all forms of motorsport within the Club, especially the various sprint series in which a very successful driver in one series could regularly win but accumulate far fewer points than a less successful competitor in a rival series that awarded points differently, it was decided by the Committee to change the criteria for the award. It is now awarded to the individual who has made the single greatest contribution to TVR motorsport during the year.

As a driver we all hope never to meet the track side marshals whilst out on the circuit as it means something has gone wrong, and most of our contact is with pit lane and holding area marshals, but we do appreciate the job they all do. Sometimes a driver may not express this very well when climbing from a smoking car but it is always handled well by the Orange Army. 

Speaking after the presentation of the award, BMMC Midlands Chair and National Recruitment Officer Jayne Poston said: “It was a great honour to collect this prestigious award on behalf of the BMMC in recognition of the work and dedication of not just our own members but all club marshals in the UK.”

At a recent meeting at Oulton Park, the Karting Legends recognised the contribution of marshals to their sport with a generous donation to the British Motorsport Marshals Club.

Invited by the Historic Sports Car Club, Karting Legends attended the Oulton Park Gold Cup meeting held over the August bank holiday and displayed 19 historic karts with their age ranging from 1975 to 1990. 

During the weekend Tim Baker Chairman of Karting Legends presented a cheque for £700 to Nadine Lewis, National Chair of BMMC, and Margaret Simpson, Chief Marshal at Oulton Park. 

Speaking after the presentation Tim said: “Whenever possible we like to support the voluntary marshals as they do a great job supporting British Motorsport.” 

Accepting the donation on behalf of BMMC Nadine Lewis thanks Tim and the Karting Legends club members and said: “This is a very thoughtful and generous donation that I’m sure our 2,400+ members will appreciate.”

Following the recent application process for role of National Secretary we are pleased to announce that John Edwards of NW region has been successfully appointed.

John currently sits on NW Committee as Membership Secretary and is currently graded Incident Officer.  He will bring to the role experience gained within the club and from his day job as a project manager.

As Secretary elect he will join Council and shadow Paul until his ratification of the position at National AGM in December.

May we take this opportunity to thank Paul for his time in the role and look forward to welcoming John to our next Council meeting in September.

This annual award, in memory of John Nichol, is given in recognition of a marshal who has completed less than two years at the time of nomination, but has demonstrated a positive attitude and a range of skills to show their outstanding commitment to the sport

Tyler has certainly continued to prove his worth of the award and the bespoke patches, a club fleece and Cadwell winner cap presented by Paul Woodford (circuit manager) and as you can see, he was really surprised and happy at the surprise!

It is too easy to remember Bernard as the man who fought Leukaemia for seven years and finally lost just 23 days short of his 68^th birthday. But his legacy is about so much more. His achievements were many and he has been called a legend, a great man and an inspiration. Although he was all of those he was also very humble. He spent his life trying to improve the sport, to help the people he worked with to develop and would go out of his way to help anyone. 

He started his working life in the City and then the Money Markets moving onto event management for Haymarket Exhibitions. He was the brains behind the International Autosport Show, amongst other shows. Although he was event director, he was never too proud to get his hands dirty and muck in with setting up the stands of the show, laying the carpet or even going on the roof of the NEC to put up the radio aerial for the show.  Bernard was given BMMC Honorary membership of the SE region in 2014 for his continued support of the club in particular securing an annual free stand at the Autosport show since its inception.

He had been elected as National Chairman of the BRSCC in 2002 and when he finally “retired” from Haymarket he directed all his energy and drive into being full time Chairman. It was through his leadership that the club became one of the premier clubs in the country.

Bernard started in motorsport as a marshal at the beginning of the 1970s, mainly at Brands Hatch but also all over the country. He moved onto driving a fire truck at Brands Hatch, cutting a dashing figure in his white overalls, yellow marshals’ helmet and shiny silver boots. With his drive to improve and his organisational skills it wasn’t long before he became Chief Paddock Marshal, reaching the pinnacle, Chief Paddock Marshal at the British Grand Prix in 1986.

He was approached by John Nicol, the Chairman of the BRSCC at the time, to become a Clerk of the Course and quickly rose “through the ranks” to become an International A Clerk. Throughout his clerking career he was mindful of the need to bring younger people on. He mentored, guided, encouraged and assessed many of our current clerks of the course.

He became senior clerk/race director for series such as Super League Formula, FIA GTs, Lamborghini Trophy, Formula Palmer Audi, British GTs, Blancpain and, his proudest achievement as a clerk, the two British Grand Prix of 2020. These championships took him all over the world and the quality of the man meant that his great reputation went before him. His courtesy and engaging personality meant that he treated drivers called to race control to see him after a transgression with respect. They rarely resented his decisions and often become lifelong friends!

As he became older, he decided to take on yet another role and trained to become a Motorsport UK Steward, a role he should have fulfilled for the Silverstone Classic this year but was prevented from doing so by his last illness. He was also approached to become Race Director of the 750 Motor Club, which he carried out for over two years. He loved this role, boasted about the Club and was delighted to work with all involved.

With his knowledge and understanding of the sport it was only natural for Bernard to serve on Motorsport UK’s Council, Race Committee, Rules Committee and was Chair of the Volunteer Officials Committee. It was through his involvement with Motorsport UK that he continued to work to maintain high standards of race management and contributed to writing the Blue Book. 

When he was invited to become one of the few non-racing members of the British Racing Drivers’ Club he was delighted and so proud. He considered this to be one of his crowning achievements.

There have been many wonderful words used to express how so many feel about his passing. The void left by him is enormous. Motorsport has lost an energy and drive that can never be replaced. He truly was a giant of the sport, a decent human being and yes, a legend, a great man and an inspiration.