How an F1 marshal is trained

Day 3

The final day of training involved on-track experience. My zone chief, upon examining my skill level, allotted a grade to me which was as an Intervention officer at post no. 6.1 located at entrance of DRS zone-2 along back straight.

My role was to report to the race control via radio transmission for any incidents within the boundaries of my post. Followed by which I had to send intervention marshals to recover the vehicle or clear debris depending on the sort of incident. The Marshals which included fire, flag, recovery marshals and boundary riders having been deployed at their respective posts all over the circuit were instructed that the session would go on for a span of 5 hours with break in between for lunch.

Over the course, our communication skills and presence of mind were tested. We had commercial vehicles being driven on track by zone chiefs & other Marshal administrators, where several on-track incidents were deliberately staged such as dropping debris and stalling the car’s engine. I suffice my duty based on whatever that happened at my post.

It was a fun filled day & great experience during the course of training. Had to bid farewell to Buddh international Circuit, after being told by my zone chief that final short list will be notified soon.

The main purpose of calling us in Track Marshals for NRC was to get hands on experience with Racing at the circuit and practice for the next biggest event: F1NRC event was conducted for four days: practice sessions on Thursdays, Qualifying on Friday with Saturday and Sunday being race days..

Every Marshal had to carry the time table provided by IMMC/FMSCI which had minute by minute schedule of events for all four days. After arriving at the circuit on Thursday, Marshals had to sign up and report to their zone chief. With couple of hours left to spare for the start of practice session, I walked across the paddock to see all the racing cars and bikes parked in the pits. I also got to talk with technicians & engineers, majority of them including the drivers hailing from Southern part of the country such as Bangalore and Chennai.

It was time to report at my post, as the practice session was about to start. As always the safety car came out to inspect every sector of the circuit, followed by which the pit lane opened to begin the session. The Race control constantly kept me updated in a race like scenario with incidents occurring in parts of the track, condition of pit-lane(closed or opened) etc. At the end of every category of NRC event, we were informed to inspect the track i.e., section of the track which belongs to our post and clear any debris that would have intervened the racing. There were no major incidents on the first abd my work was concluded by 5 P.M in the evening.

On the next day when Qualifying session was scheduled to happen, it appeared more intense. During ITC + IJTC, mid-way, one of the car’s left rear door got clipped. The driver nursed his damaged car all the way from turn 1 before stopping his car with ignition ON right in front of my post. After reporting to the race control, I had to send the Intervention Marshals to check the status of the car. The damaged door was removed by them and the driver hand signalled to push the car to resume driving. Having recovered a part of the car, the recovery marshals came across our post, carried the part to the pits and was handed it over to the Team. The day was concluded with a short debrief by Chief Marshal, which included extra precautions & instructions, as we approached the remaining two days, where Main Race was going to commence.

Large crowd had gathered at BIC, on Saturday & Sunday, overwhelmed to watch the Race. Y2F R15 did not start well as one would expect. While watching the Race from my post, three Bikes collided against one another at turn 3 and that particular section where the incident occurred was yellow flagged. As the incident happened at my neighbours post, they were solely responsible for it and they quickly ran across the gravel trap and moved on the track to help the two riders get out of the misery. The bikes were moved behind the barriers, track was swept clean to clear any oil spill. The Marshals did a great job in such a short span of time. Soon the section across turn-3 was green flagged & normal racing resumed. The remaining category of Races proceeded without any major trouble and delay. At the end of both the days, we got an opportunity to stand at parc ferme to watch podium celebrations.

I finally kissed good bye to the BIC after getting a word of appreciation from my zone chief. I’ve always wanted to represent myself for an International Motorsport event. Finally it did happen. Looking forward to the Indian Grand Prix.