Marshalls at Paeroa

[GIXser]

Great day at Paeroa" great racers and i take my hat off to the sidecars" they are double as mad"

got a few issues with the organisers though, and wonder about other peoples opinions"

i was standing near the hairpin when the sidecars were racing" a sidecar clipped a bale on the inside of the pin, and stalled i guess" other cars coming towards the pin could not see it, there were 5 marshalls standing right on the pin all looking at one another, when the crowd started yelling "Wave the FUCKING FLAG" The rider of the sidecar jumped out and ran back toward the corner, (only about 5-8 meters) and started waving the other cars down.
only then did one of the marshalls stick out the flag " he didnt wave it " he just poked it out, nothing else, furthermore, the marshall back further(coming of the back straight" didnt do anything

another time on the front straight i was standing near the pub right on the bend,

this is when someone crashed right at the end of the straight, i was standing next to a marshall he saw the person crash, and just kept looking,until again some of the people in the crowd yelled out.(including myself)

( i reckon ya might as well have put a blowup doll at every corner" it would have been more effective" at least they have a purpose!!)

now to the marshalls that put the effort in when it was needed, i take my hat of to you, you did a great job..(in the blazing sun)

i believe they really need to ramp up the safety aspect of this,

there are offcourse other aspects ie , sand or dust on the track etc, and some of the hay bales looked very average as far as protection,,,


my 2 cents

[crashe]

Great day at Paeroa" great racers and i take my hat off to the sidecars" they are double as mad"

got a few issues with the organisers though, and wonder about other peoples opinions"

i was standing near the hairpin when the sidecars were racing" a sidecar clipped a bale on the inside of the pin, and stalled i guess" other cars coming towards the pin could not see it, there were 5 marshalls standing right on the pin all looking at one another, when the crowd started yelling "Wave the FUCKING FLAG" The rider of the sidecar jumped out and ran back toward the corner, (only about 5-8 meters) and started waving the other cars down.
only then did one of the marshalls stick out the flag " he didnt wave it " he just poked it out, nothing else, furthermore, the marshall back further(coming of the back straight" didnt do anything

Yep I saw that as well.
The guy with the flag was up on a wooden box.... he should have been waving the flag..... but he just stood there, until the crowd yelled at him.

The other sidecars were flying up and around the corner for another lap or so until they got the hint that the crashed sidecar wasnt going no where.
In fact a few sidecars got very close to the crashed sidecar.

No way should the crashed sidecar rider and swinger be the ones to slow down the other sidecars. That job is for the marshalls.

There was a senior marshall there with a radio to talk to control.... I didnt see him use it... (but he may have).

The other marshalls just stood there unsure what the hell to do....

Was there not a marshall briefing before the start of the races?

I know that RiderInBlack was a marshall there, but at another point, and he had to be there real early in the morning.. So maybe he could comment on that re: briefing.



I have been a marshall out at Pukekohe and you have to be real serious about being a marshall and be alert and be prepared for anything happening at any given time.

[Lou Girardin]

Then there were the two crossing marshalls bowled by Jason Hulmes bike on the main straight.
I guess they earned their days pay, if they got any.
But I do agree with GIXser anyway.

[SixPackBack]

I Marshalled last year on the hill. $20 pay for a very long hot day in the sun was simply not worth it.

To be honest the overwhelming impression is of a lack of money [or an unwillingness to spend]. Marshalls are plucked out of obscurity and expected to intuitively know what is expected of them after a short debrief.

Shit job.

[Bykmad]

Then there were the two crossing marshalls bowled by Jason Hulmes bike on the main straight.
I guess they earned their days pay, if they got any.
But I do agree with GIXser anyway.

Gentlepeople (Cant be sexist you know). If you can do better, stand up and put your name forward. If you are not prepared to put your name forward and do the job, which is a difficult job, dont be critical of those who have the "balls" to stand up and do it. In case you didnt know, that race meeting, and every other one in the country, is run by volunteers.

[FROSTY:Me]

I do agree with you that some of the marshalling left a bit to be desired.
BUT -- these people gave their time on a stinking hot day to
make the event happen.
Its a catch 22 situation --Street meetings require split second decisions from the marshalls there is no room for error.There also is no second chance if you get it wrong.Its bloody hard to get it right every time
On the other hand --when you need marshalls on EVERY corner -and you don't have enough marshalls --how do you sort it out?
Its a hard situation and sure as heck not one I'd want to be in--with 14000 people expecting to watch a race event depending on sufficient numbers of marshalls.
I genuinely believe there is a market place for a PROFESSIONAL marshal crew.
for major events-even track days---
I think 10 trained experienced people could marshal any track or race meeting in New zealand --supplimented by the vollies currently around.
I for one would NOT object to a $20 increase in entry fees if it meant I was kept safe

[crashe]

Yes I agree the pay is shite for what you have to do..
But, you also get a free lunch and drinks during the day as well.

The time I did it out at Pukekohe, I had the radio and there were no accidents at my point. There was two of us at that point on that day. Myself and RIB.

We got to see the racing up close..... which is great.......
but you have to damn alert the whole time.


I have also done marshalling at other events over the years...... all volunteer.

So over the years I have had my hand up.......
Would I do it again...... dunno/maybe. I got badly sunburnt the last time.

[svs]

a PROFESSIONAL marshal crew.

...would bet subject to health and safety regs and they would be legally responsible if something bad happened. Who's going to do that?

I know the marshalls sometimes could be better, but they were there doing a job for the love of the sport. good on them. Street racing will never be safe, that's half the fun.

[GIXser]

Gentlepeople (Cant be sexist you know). If you can do better, stand up and put your name forward. If you are not prepared to put your name forward and do the job, which is a difficult job, dont be critical of those who have the "balls" to stand up and do it. In case you didnt know, that race meeting, and every other one in the country, is run by volunteers.

i realize this,, so are you saying thats ok then.... to put lives at risk because of the ineptness of the marshalls,??

I might add, i would not want to do this job even if i got paid,
and the marshalls themselves are not the blame, its the organisers, (first of all the marshalls need to be paid !!)

[nadroj]

I noticed there seemed to be a senior marshall on each station who was calling the shots & they seemed to be the one with comms. There seemed to be a tad of indecision with car marshalls over-riding, which is understandable.
Been a head motorsport marshall for 17 years & It's not a job you get much thanks for but necessary someone does it.

[rocketman1]

When the Yamaha rider Seaton crashed by the post office, into the bales, the wardens stuck the flag out and did the correct thing, but what was good there where a dozen or so members of the public doing the same with what ever the had in their hands.(i was one) this is an advantage of standing almost on the track.Nothing worse than seeing one rider crash into another that has stopped or crashed. Yes marshalls stop gorking at the accident think about the safety first.
Well PAEROA,well done organisers and volunteers, and sponsors it was a great day great action, keep it up .. Pity I couldnt follow the programme??

[Mom]

Was there not a marshall briefing before the start of the races?
I have been a marshall out at Pukekohe and you have to be real serious about being a marshall and be alert and be prepared for anything happening at any given time.

Surely Crashe if you have been a marshall at a race event you will understand that you can only but do your best...even with a briefing....I know there would have been a marshalls briefing prior to the event....remember these folks gave up their own time to stand there all day.....

I Marshalled last year on the hill. $20 pay for a very long hot day in the sun was simply not worth it.

To be honest the overwhelming impression is of a lack of money [or an unwillingness to spend]. Marshalls are plucked out of obscurity and expected to intuitively know what is expected of them after a short debrief.

Shit job.

$20 is a joke for that job......congratulations to you for standing up there all day doing your best! But even being "paid" to stand there does not mean you are going to be expert eh? I very nearly volunteered last year to marshall, been around racing for a few years now and thought why not? Really glad I did not now, cos I would not like shite dished in my direction for volunteering to make a day happen.

I do agree with you that some of the marshalling left a bit to be desired.
BUT --once again these people gave their time on a stinking hot day to
make the event happen.
Its a catch 22 situation --Street meetings require split second decisions from the marshalls there is no room for error.
On the other hand --when you need marshalls on EVERY corner -and you don't have enough marshalls --how do you sort it out?
I genuinely believe there is a market place for a PROFESSIONAL marshal crew.
for major events-even track days---
I think 10 trained experienced people could marshal any track or race meeting in New zealand --supplimented by the vollies currently around.
I for one would NOT object to a $20 increase in entry fees if it meant I was kept safe

I totally agree with you, and to the knockers of entry fees........if it meant a couple of dollars more to get in I for one would be happy to pay it, if it meant that there were well trained flag marshalls on the track keeping it safe for the guys and gals doing the racing. Stealing your words again "these people gave their time on a stinking hot day to
make the event happen. "

Yes I agree the pay is shite for what you have to do..
But, you also get a free lunch and drinks during the day as well.

I got badly sunburnt the last time.

Factor 30 block will stop you getting burned by the sun, i was out all day yesterday and have no burnt skin!

I noticed there seemed to be a senior marshall on each station who was calling the shots & they seemed to be the one with comms. There seemed to be a tad of indecision with car marshalls over-riding, which is understandable.
Been a head motorsport marshall for 17 years & It's not a job you get much thanks for but necessary someone does it.

Well I for one thank you for what you have contributed!

[SixPackBack]

Professional Marshalling is the answer, paying them a reasonable rate would guarantee both returning service and quality of applicant. Paying a little extra at the gate would soon take care of the money issue [if in fact it exists and greed is not rearing its head!!].
Some constructive points made, but Frosty 10 marshalls for Paeroa, mate your dreaming!

[FROSTY:Me]

six---Im not saying 10 marshalls--Im saying 10 PROFESSIONAL marshalls
1 per corner and one in charge,
In essense then the vollies at an event like this are controlled by a head guy/gal that has training and experience.
Again folks keep in mind---lets just go back to say the sidecar incident.
If the track was blocked then the radio call should have gone to the corner BEFORE the incident to WAVE the yellow flag.
But you need to be able to react INSTANTLY to a situation
the situation can be prety darned horrible and You DONT KNOW how you will react untill you are in that situation.
Ive seen marshals freeze or do the most stupid things --run onto the track to add another obstical for the riders to avoid.
Add to that the fact that most crashes in that corner were exiting it -I can understand why the marshalls were looking the wrong way.

[SixPackBack]

[quote=FROSTY;943672]six---Im not saying 10 marshalls--Im saying 10 PROFESSIONAL marshalls
quote]

One on a radio [in charge as you say], one looking at the approaching traffic and the previous Marshall station and one looking at the disappearing traffic and the next Marshall station.
3 a station multiplied by the number of stations [governed by line of sight].
Point taken tho' having professional Marshalls would reduce the numbers significantly.