The Marshals’ Post
The Marshals’ Post Sun Mar 29 Kildare Race Meeting
Mondello (Right Hand-in) Chief Marshal: Eoin Morris Sign On: 09.30
Championship Rounds: Formula Vee, Touring Cars, Fiat Uno, Fiat Ritmo, Historics, Strykers.
Non-Championship: BOSS, Italian Saloon Car Cup.
Mon Apr 13 IMRC Race Meeting
Mondello (Right Hand-in) Chief Marshal: Noel Kelleher Sign On: 08.00
Championship Rounds: Formula Opel, Formula Ford Zetec, Formula Ford
1600, Touring Cars, ISCC, Fiat Uno, Fiat Ritmo, Historics, Strykers.
Non-Championship: Formula Vee, BOSS.
Sun Apr 26 Kildare BRDA Rallycross
Mondello (Rallycross) Chief Marshal: Ger Fox Sign On: 08.30
Hello Folks!
e-mail: ecully@trintech.com
Another month, another Post. Except, as Derek warned you last month,
I have taken over the editorship of the Post. I have decided against making
major changes to the format of the Post for the moment. Just getting it
out on time was my goal for the first issue! A big ‘Thank You’ to Derek
for his advice and assistance in getting the issue together.
Naturally enough, it helps to have a few articles to publish and my thanks to Colman for supplying an item on the Rescue Unit. There is also the Fantasy Formula One details, a sketch of the soon to be completed Mondello Park International Circuit and a couple of snippets pulled from the Internet.
So what has been happening recently?
Well, Carlow finally seem to have got their collective fingers out (fair play to them) - their meeting two weeks ago almost finished ahead of schedule (Gasp!). There is a huge number of Vee drivers registered this year (over 100), so I think we are going to be in for a busy year. There has also been an increase in entry in Formula Opel, due mainly to the test drive that Jordan are offering the winner of the series. These factors are bound to lead to an increase not only in the numbers of incidents, but also in the rate at which incidents occur. A few more marshals certainly will not go amiss this year.
I hope that Mondello Park, while adding new track, will also maintain and upgrade the original track. I was shocked at the state of the bank (ramp?) between Deltas 5 and 12 at the Carlow meeting. The bank seemed no higher than three feet at 5, and sloped down gently the other side in a perfect ramp. If races are run left-hand-in, and a car goes off at 12, at best, he’ll clear the bank and land on the track at 5. At worst, …
I admit the Post looks underweight at the moment. If you want it beefed up, send me your articles and I’ll publish them.
72 Moreen Road, Phone: 294-3061 home,
Sandyford, 295-6766 work
Dublin 16. Fax: 295-4735.
e-mail: ecully@trintech.com
Finally, I won’t be around this Sunday to listen to you praising/bashing
my first Post. I’m off on holidays for a week!
Until the next issue!
Enda Cully (Editor).
e-mail: ecully@trintech.com
WE NEED
MORE MARSHALS!!!
Super Prix. New circuit. Mondello Park. May 17th, 1998. Eoin Morris
is in a bad way (well, more so than usual!). He needs as many marshals
as possible for the mid-May meeting. The longer track means more posts.
More posts require more marshals. As it is, we seem stretched at times
to cover all the posts on the current track. A dedicated group will also
be required to prepare the track on Saturday the 16th. If you are available
in at any time during the weekend of the 16th/17th, give Eoin a ring as
soon as possible.
I don’t think I can put it any blunter than that. With the extension
adding almost a mile to the circuit, and with the increase in competitor
numbers, we are going to need more marshals on the banks from now on (not
just the weekend of May 17th). If anybody knows anyone that would be interested
in marshalling, give me a shout and I’ll either give you more details on
joining, or put you in contact with someone who will.
Maguire McClafferty
SOLICITORS
I would like to get this year’s Fantasy F1 competition off the ground. Send your entries to me as soon as you possibly can. If you would like to take part, I need to have your entry by Friday 25th April (just before Imola).
Here are the rules…
With a total budget of £40m, you must buy 3 drivers (at least one of whom must be a reserve driver from the £1m list), a chassis, an engine and a make of tyre. You also need to come up with a name for your team.
Scoring
All scores will be lifted from the Autosport competition - their decisions are final and there will be no point in arguing with me if there are any controversial results.
Drivers
Tyres score 5 points for pole position and 10 points for a race win.
Each entry should have:
· Team owner (i.e. your name)
· Team name
· 3 Drivers (at least one costing £1M)
· Chassis
· Engine
· Tyre make
Try to make sure you don’t exceed your budget of £40M (if you don't I will). Only one entry per person is allowed.
Prizes are yet to be decided.
… and here is the shopping list
Component Cost (£m)
DRIVERS
M Schumacher 24
J Villeneuve 24
M Hakkinen 21
D Coulthard 19
D Hill 19
E Irvine 19
O Panis 16
G Fisichella 16
J Alesi 10
J Trulli 10
M Salo 10
R Schumacher 10
J Herbert 6
A Wurz 6
R Barrichello 6
J Magnussen 6
J Verstappen 6
P Diniz 6
T Marques 2
S Nakano 2
T Takagi 2
E Tuero 1
Component Cost (£m)
J P Montoya 1
P de la Rosa 1
J Muller 1
L Badoer 1
D Franchitti 1
N Minassian 1
S Ayari 1
N Heidfeld 1
J Davies 1
A Zanardi 1
M Blundell 1
M Wilson 1
R Zonta 1
E Collard 1
N Larini 1
T Kristensen 1
G de Ferran 1
TYRES
Goodyear 5
Bridgestone 3
Component Cost (£m)
CHASSIS
Williams 21
Ferarri 19
McLaren 19
Benetton 15
Jordan 12
Prost 12
Sauber 9
Stewart 9
Arrows 9
Tyrrell 5
Minardi 3
ENGINES
Mecachrome 22
Ferrari 19
Mercedes 16
Peugeot 16
Mugen Honda 11
Ford V10 Works 9
Sauber Petronas 6
Yamaha/Hart V10 6
Ford V10 (customer) 3
You can mail, e-mail or fax me your entry.
Once more, what I need from you is
Your Name ____________________________
Team’s Name ____________________________
Driver #1 ____________________________
Driver #2 ____________________________
Driver #3 ____________________________
Engine ____________________________
Chassis ____________________________
Tyres ____________________________
And, remember, one of your drivers must be from the £1million list.
Mondello Park International Circuit
Sources close to the editor suggest that the circuit is nearing completion. The earthworks are finished, the extension has been allowed to drain and the first layer of dry filling is to be put down as a base for the racetrack.
The following diagram is fairly close, but not identical, to the final circuit. It will bring Mondello up to International standard and, allegedly, will be used as often as possible as of May 17th, when Sarah Kavanagh and co. get the opportunity to explore the circuit.
The first rescue unit appeared at Brands Hatch in the late 1960’s in the form of a green Transit van donated by a competitor. Concern had been expressed about the speed of response to incidents so the van was provided to transport the chief fire marshal, the doctor and a couple of helpers to the scene of any accident that may occur. Initial equipment consisted of fire extinguishers, ropes, hacksaws and hammers. Thus the system of rescue units and safety vehicles was born.
The modern rescue vehicle is a far cry from the asthmatic Transit of the 60’s. There are standards laid down for the vehicle, it’s equipment and it’s crew though, unfortunately, in Ireland the RIAC has no standards for race rescue vehicles. In the early 1980’s the MRMCI started to build its own rescue vehicle based on a borrowed Mercedes ambulance. This vehicle had to be kitted out before each event and then returned to its owners on the Monday morning. In 1986 the club bought a second-hand Range Rover which was converted into Ireland’s first dedicated race rescue vehicle with the aid of Austin Rover (Irl). This gave good service until 1989 when the current Ford Transit was purchased with the assistance of Ford Ireland. Since then, the Transit has been altered a number of times due to the purchase of new equipment or the implementation of new ideas for storage.
The original rescue crew members recognised the need for equipment standards and training standards and, as none existed in Ireland, they approached the RAC in the UK. The RAC has specific equipment lists for Race and Rally rescue vehicles and requires that all crew undergo extensive training and regular assessment of both vehicles and crews. This ensures that rescue crews are properly equipped and trained for the task at hand. To work on a rescue unit you must have at least two years marshalling experience on the circuit, you may then apply to a unit crew chief to train as a rescue unit trainee. If you are accepted, you apply to the RAC for a trainee rescue licence. The licence has a list of areas in which you must be trained, and you must obtain signatures from the crew chief for successfully completing each section. You must also work on the unit for a minimum of eight events and must attend two full daylong training sessions. In reality, MRMCI crew members will attend between five and eight full day sessions as well as twelve nights during the year and several other specific sessions such as CPR and extrication training.
Once a trainee has completed all the requirements on their licence they are eligible for assessment. Assessment for race rescue crews takes place every 2 years with assessment for rally crews every alternate year. During assessment the vehicle and its equipment are checked for compliance with the RAC standards and a mock incident is set for the crew to deal with. Both trainees and fully licensed crew must take the assessment, on successful completion the trainees will be given full licences but everyone must return in two years to be re-assessed. This ensures that the standards are maintained.
The current rescue vehicle is funded in many different ways. The day to day running costs are provided by the club from the money raised by doing events. This is supplemented by money from the UK events that the unit does. The crew on these events pays for their own accommodation, meals and, in some cases, flights so that all the money earned can go back into the unit. The crew also does events outside Mondello such as rallies, hill-climbs, motor cycle road races etc., the money from these events is used to buy new equipment or run training sessions. Crew members themselves provide equipment and assist with purchasing expensive items. The crew members have recently invested considerable amounts of their own money to help to buy Holmatro equipment, pulse oximeters and oxygen regulators. Sponsors provide items such as overalls and tyres (Semperit), transport to the UK (Stena Line), lights, sirens and training facilities (Eurologic and Stratus). Recently the RIAC has donated money to allow us to buy rescue equipment.
The unit that you see in Mondello on a Sunday afternoon is a far cry from the first unit that appeared in Brands Hatch. The equipment and levels of training on modern units are as good as many professional fire services and ambulance services. We are currently working to replace the Transit so if anyone knows someone with £20,000 to spare, please let me know.