BMMC MAGAZINE - British Motor Racing Marshals Club

BMMC MAGAZINE
South Midlands Region March 2013

Contents
Picture by AE-Photography.co.uk
3 - The Chairman’s Chatter
Notes from the Chairman
5 - Howard Strawford
6 - Editor’s Comments
Going into Rallying – The Process
10 - Membership Matters
Dave Reed
11 - Grading Officer
Announcements
Ben Harris
12 - BMMC Sth Mids
Training Days
Clive Wayland
14 - Karting Article
Pete Cox tells us what is going on
in the Karting world
16 - London Rally
18 - 750 Sporting Trials
Day 2013 Season
19 - Regalia Sales Order
Form
BMMC - S Mids Regalia Sales
Order Form
20 - Chairman’s
Challenge
Can you crack the pictures
21 - Chase Templeton
Insurance
Special Rates on Personal
Insurance for BMMC
Members
22 - Regional Officers
23 - National Officers
2

The Chairman’s Chatter….
Paul Harris, South Midlands Chairman……..
Welcome to the newsletter for the South
Midlands Region….
I have to start this Chatter on a rather sad note. No doubt you will all by now have
heard of the death of yet another irreplaceable and much loved character in
Motorsport. I speak of Howard Strawford the charismatic owner of Castle Combe
Circuit in Wiltshire, who died on 23 rd February. He will be sorely missed not only at
Combe, but in the wider aspects of our sport as well. It was he who resurrected the
circuit from certain closure back in the ‘60’s and built it is to the very popular and well
attended circuit that it is to day.
Popular with everyone who marshalled at the circuit, in the days when he enjoyed better
health, he would, at every meeting, walk round the circuit, stop at every post and ask if
everything was all right, was your family ok and have a laugh and joke with all of us.
This tradition carried on even when he became less able to walk so far, but it didn’t stop
him coming round for a chat, because he used his golf cart to drive himself and his
guests round the circuit and continued the tradition. A short obituary appears by kind
permission of the Strawford family inside this edition.
On a lighter note now, the season is getting under way; and I hope you have all
managed to complete your volunteering forms and sent them off to the appropriate
clubs. If you have not yet asked David Reed for insurance cover, please do, just in
case (god forbid) anything happens to you; don’t forget that the insurance covers you
from your home to the circuit, while you are marshalling and back to your home. It
also helps the club to know how many days our members marshal when negotiating
insurance cover for future years. New for this year is the repatriation insurance for
those of you who marshal abroad, at only £10 for the year not per event a bargain.
Don’t forget if you go abroad, your normal holiday insurance may not cover you for your
marshalling duties.
If you were not able to get to any of our 3 training days last month, then you missed out
on a lot of fun, especially at the fire ground. I know that Clive Wayland apologised for
the lack on heating on the Sunday but that was out of his and our control, hopefully it
will not happen again. Plans are being put into place, for at least 1 evening training
session later in the year, what that will be for, will, to a certain extent be up to you, let
Clive Wayland know the type of training you require and we will do our best to
accommodate you. It’s your club, it’s your training, make the most of it.
The region organised and manned the club stand at this years Race Retro at
Stoneleigh in February, not many potential members signed up but those who did
seemed keen to join, if they do, I am sure they will be warmly welcomed. I would like to
thank all the guys who helped on the stand over the 3 days, without their help we
would not have been able to have a stand at all, especially as this year the show
clashed with 2 of our training days.
3

As you read through this edition you will notice that the South Midland Region now has a
page on face book. It will be strictly administered by the committee, any comments
posted that are detrimental to either the club or any member of the club will be deleted
and the postee will be blocked. It is a forum for marshals to share their marshalling
experiences not for “slagging” off other people. Please use it sensibly.
Paul Harris
Chairman South Mids Regional
British Motorsports Marshals Club
4

HOWARD THOMAS STRAWFORD, R.I.P.
Howard Strawford, the man who rescued the Castle Combe circuit from oblivion and built it
into the most successful venue of its kind, sadly passed away in the early hours of
Saturday 23 February, aged 77, following a stroke.
Howard took the brave decision to purchase the circuit in 1976, and with his stalwart wife
Pat providing constant support and encouragement, saved it from closure, going on to
secure its future for the pleasure and satisfaction of innumerable drivers, riders, employees
and spectators.
The rich legacy of motorsport created by Howard will continue for the benefit of motorsport
enthusiasts both locally, nationally and internationally.
Howard and his wife Pat, on the occasion of Howard receiving a lifetime achievement
award from the MSA for his work at Castle Combe.
Article reproduced by kind permission of the Strawford family.
5

Editor’s Comments
So, what’s been going on since the last newsletter, well quite a lot actually.
There was the hole in the floor that needed welding, Paul managed to get this done.
The trunking underneath the car needed packing out and put back on to help protect all the
cables from being ripped out.
The new exhaust was put on the car whilst it was up on the ramp.
6

We had a mechanic that we had been put in touch with from Wantage that came and had a
look at the car for us and apart from a couple things that still need to be done, i.e., a bar
needs to be put in the back for the harnesses to be attached to, he was very happy indeed
with the condition of the car and stated that he would more than happy to MOT the car for
us and couldn’t see any other problems with it as it was still in very good condition for its’
age. This was good news indeed and while this was going on I was standing back and
watching them. Like little kids pottering about with their toys and Paul must have had the
biggest grin on his fact going that day. To say he was happy with that outcome would have
been an understatement, just wish I had taken a picture as he was grinning like the
cheshire cat that had got the cream and then some.
Paul also managed to get some harnesses for the car so it (Charlie) is looking more and
more like a rally car now.
We also went over to Castle Combe Race Circuit to Merlin Motorsports to have a look at
some helmets and race suits and try on a few to see what would be the best ones to have.
We’ve decided to go for the Bell open face helmet with comms built in.
7

What else did we do then, oh yes, we went and marshalled the start of the Endurance
Road Rally Champs, the XPart Rally round in Bury St Edmunds. I practised my
navigational skills by getting us there, after a couple of detours, but in one piece we arrived
at the start line.
Whilst we were waiting for the rally to start I then plotted our route to the hotel for the
evening part of the rally.
8

Whilst we were all having dinner Paul and I managed to chat to a couple of drivers and codrivers
which was good and I even managed to get my hands on a set of pace notes that
they were given which has given me an insight into what to expect. Paul even managed to
speak with Owen Turner who owns Turners Garage where Charlie has “visited” before to
have work done on her. Paul and Owen had a rare ole chat about the car and Owen said
he looks forward to seeing her competing again. So after all this and especially after
marshalling this event it has made us even more determined to get Charlie up and running.
We have now set ourselves a deadline of 27/28 Apr as we are looking at entering the Ross
& Wye Rally. Fingers crossed we can pull this all off and we can let you all know in the
May edition how it all went and how we faired against everyone.
So, until next time, keep safe.
Kaz Connolly
South Mids Newsletter Editor
British Motorsports Marshals Club
9

Membership Matters
Membership Renewal
Looking at our records it would appear a number of you have not yet renewed your
membership this year. If you didn’t receive a reminder the forms can be found on the
national webpage or contact me and I’ll offer my assistance where I can.
New Members
The following new members have joined the South Midlands Region since the last
issue of the Newsletter, next time you’re out there if you come across our new
members hold out a hand of welcome and wish them happy days marshalling. In the
meantime may I welcome them to the South Midlands Region and I hope they have an
enjoyable year.
Introduction to Marshalling (Taster Days)
Lesley Harris
Simon Naylor
Martin Harper
Michael Hughes
Danny Key
Simon Williams
I have now organised the Taster Days for Silverstone this year. They have been
organised to run on a number of Saturdays, they finish around lunchtime, which
would leave you free to marshal in the afternoon. Your role would be to assist the
Leader, help keep the group together, be willing to answer questions, provide advice
and generally promote marshalling. This would suit experienced marshals and
trainees, as a trainee you will have recent experiences of joining the club and your
first few meetings marshalling. Contact me if you are
interested sm.compsec@marshals.co.uk
Dave Reed
Membership/Competition Secretary
10

Grading Officer Announcements
Training days have been completed, signatures got and cards completed, now is the
time for you to submit your cards to your regional grading officer for processing and for
me to forward to the MSA, only upgrades sent from your regional grading officer will be
accepted by the MSA.
Remember you must have completed all of the training modules required for your
upgrade, along with all of the relevant number of days marshalled.
Marshals should be reminded that the grading scheme is the sole responsibility of the
MSA and only they can deny (on good grounds) any upgrade.
Once you have completed the upgrade criteria, then please forward your PRC's and a
marshals’ registration form to me at the following address;
Ben Harris
BMMC Grading Officer South Midlands
9 Partridge Road
Leighton Buzzard
Bedfordshire
LU7 4BJ
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU MUST TAKE PHOTOCOPIES OF EVERYTHING
THAT YOU SEND ME, POST CAN GET LOST!
FACEBOOK PAGE
The South Mids region has set up a Facebook page, this can be found by searching for
BMMC MARSHALS SOUTH MIDLANDS.
If you are Facebook literate then please do log on and like our page, BUT it must be
noted that "any views or opinions on the page are those of the individual posting and not
those of the club"
The south Mids committee will use this page to quickly send out useful info to marshals
that have liked the page, however it will not replace any other forms of communication
used by the committee, for example the newsletter and email distribution system.
We would encourage members to use the page to tell marshalling stories (nothing
derogatory or inflammatory) and general discussion, the page will be closely monitored
and any offending posts will be removed, if the page is not used as intended then the
committee will close the page down.
11

BMMC Sth Mids Training Days 17, 23 and 24 Feb 2013
Well, two and a half days of training sounded like a good idea last year when I took over the
mantle again as Sth Mids Training Officer. Looking back after the event(s) it was a big ask,
and I dread to think how many hours went into the planning and preparation so first and
foremost a big thank you to my wife Helen for bearing with me through some of the
frustrations.
Thanks also go to the team of trainers who volunteered their time and efforts to deliver
some sterling sessions which met the needs of the vast majority who came along, some on
all three days.
Our trainers were, David Reed, Dale Whiteman, Richard Sneader, Chris Hall, Mark Mills,
John Newman, Chris Hobson, Chris Whitlock, Bryan Degerlund, Dave Brice and Elaine
Brice. Sign on was gratefully supervised by Lesley Harris. Thanks too to Silverstone
Circuits for allowing us the use of their facilities.
Thanks too to Mike Harris, MGCC 2012 championship winner, for bringing his MGB along
for the incident handling exercises – good luck this year. In the nicest way possible, we
don’t want to see you!!
To summarise the days, on the 17 th , we had 34 trainee, track and IOs, on the 23 (the
morning of the VSCC Pomeroy Trophy, we had 36 for fire training, and on 24 th we had 25
for flag, observer and off-circuit marshals. 95 in total, so a quick question, where did the
remainder of the marshals in Sth Mids receive their training this year
12

The vast majority of evaluation forms collected at the end of the days showed
good/excellent. There were one or two lower grades and I just wish the anonymous people
who weren’t happy, for whatever reason, could have spoken to me on the day and maybe I
could have facilitated their request If you knew how much the teas and coffees cost us,
you wouldn’t be surprised why it wasn’t on all day! Similarly some modules could have
been delivered as combined observers/off-circuit such as communication and leadership.
If we didn’t cover a module you specifically need for your upgrading, please let me know
and if numbers justify, then maybe I can arrange an evening to put that on for you, eg self
assessment for observers. Providing modular training for new people and experienced
people is always difficult and that is one idea we will look at.
We will maybe try a different approach next year, so if you have any constructive comments
or suggestions please let me know.
Thanks again to all who came along, and I look forward to seeing you around this coming
season
Clive Wayland
BMMC South Midlands Training Officer MSA Lead Trainer
13

KARTING ARTICLE
KART MARSHAL TRAINING DAY
HELD AT SHENINGTON KART RACING CLUB
ON 3 FEBRUARY 2013
Yet again a very successful training day with 62 total attendances with marshals attending
from Shenington, Whilton Mill, Rissington, Kimbolton and Forest Edge Kart Club including a
dozen trainees and a couple of kart drivers. The results from the evaluation forms were
very positive and comments included:
“learning in a friendly club atmosphere”
“objectives achieved”
“very good hospitality”
“first class, I always learn something new”
“good course, interesting and friendly”
“well structured”
“very good hospitality”
“the fire training was brilliant”
A highlight of the day was the unexpected arrival of Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams – President of
the British Motorsport Marshals Club. He gave a short speech, provided some useful
insights from the viewpoint of a kart driver and stressed the importance of the role of
marshals.
As Lead Trainer I delivered some of the presentations, assisted by George Pearson with
his fire presentation. Wendi Batteson from Forest Edge is a Trainee Trainer and to assist
her assessment she delivered my flag presentation and wrote and delivered the use of
radios presentation I am very grateful to these two for the invaluable help on what was a
very busy day and to all the other helpers and supporters who made the day such a
success, especially my son David for the excellent Powerpoint slides and my wife Gill for
once again providing an endless supply of hot drinks throughout the day and all the food.
MEETINGS DATES FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS
Shenington APRIL 20/21
MAY 11/12 (Easykarts)
MAY 18/19
JUNE 14/15/16 (Superprix)
JULY 19/20/21
Whilton Mill It looks like Whilton Mill are up and running again for race meetings -
best to contact Chris Cook, Whilton Chief Marshal, on the number below for confirmation
of dates
Rissington APRIL 5/6/7
MAY 4/5
JUNE 1/2
JULY 6/7
14

For marshalling please contact the following:
Shenington: Pete Cox Tel: 01295 257674 / 07770 866006
Whilton Mill: Chris Cook Tel: 07939 664852
Rissington: Mike Wynell-Mayow See Rissington web page for details
Pete Cox
petecoxkart@hotmail.com
Tel: 07770 866006 or 01295 257674
15

Issued 01/03/2013.
Ref LR2013/2.
The London Rally for Heroes is starting to take shape, in the form of some super entries
confirmed to date, with the promise of more to come. Chris Ingram has entered the
event in his Renault Twingo, and the 2012 RSF MSA Driver of the Year is really looking
forward to the event. The 18-year-old from Cheshire said: "Last year was a good year in
rallying for me, both in the British Championship and in Europe, where we competed on
a regular basis. I heard about the London Rally for Heroes at the BRC awards dinner
and decided then, that whatever 2013 held for me, it was one event that we were
definitely coming to. It's for such a super cause, and with it being run by the same team
as Rallye Sunseeker, I know it will be a brilliant event; can't wait, really."
On top of that, the good news for the London Rally is that Chris has put up for auction
the chance to co-drive for him on eBay, with all the money raised going to the Help for
Heroes Fund.
Gary Le Coadou and Paul Hollingham are also coming to the event in their Toyota
Corolla WRC, and will add spectacle to what will be a good event. Gary and Paul are no
strangers to rallying here in the South East and are regularly seen out and about on the
events which take place in the South of England. Gary said: "To be honest, as soon as
we heard about the event, it was certain we would be there. We are really looking
forward to the Brooklands start."
Another excellent addition to the event will be a pair of Francis Tuthill Porsche 911s,
driven by regulars John Lloyd and Andrew Barnes. The Jardine Lloyd Thompson pair
will be sure to delight spectators on the stages. John has been rallying for many years,
and this year is due to contest the likes of Rally North Wales, Severn Valley and the
Neath Valley Stages, to name a few.
Rally Director Rick Smith was naturally delighted with the news on the latest entries to
the event and said: "It's a real coup for the event to attract the likes of John and Andrew
in the Porsches. When you look at the schedule that the JLT team has for this year, for
our event to be added, is such great news."
Smith went on to add: "John has rallied all over the world, and as soon as the chance
came up, that it was possible he could do the London Rally, he immediately said Yes."
London Rally for Heroes caught up with John recently and asked him about the event;
he told us: "What a super idea the event is, so close to London, using Brooklands
Museum as Rally HQ, stages on the military roads and to top that all off, it's raising
money for a great cause, and one we all must support."
16

Entries are still coming in to the event, and plans are well advanced for some excellent
entertainment at Mercedes Benz World in Surrey, designed to bring fun and enjoyment
to the whole family for the duration of the rally. Equally attractive will be the central
service area at Rushmoor Arena on the Saturday designed to cater for all spectators
and crews alike. On top of that, money is being raised on a regular basis for the charity,
with recent confirmation that over £500 has been raised via Bmy Charity.
For further event information, please contact:
Stuart McCrudden Associates Ltd
Tel: 01621 892814
Mob: 07802 278161
Email: stuart@smapr.net
Web:www.londonrally.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LondonRallyForHeroes
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RallyFor_Heroes media@londonrally.net
17

750 Sporting Trials Diary
2013 Season
Sunday, 7 th April :- The Alan Gisby Trial.
VENUE :- Hawkhurst, East Sussex.
Sunday, 12 th May :- The Bluebell Trial.
VENUE :- Soal Farm, Steep or Tullecombe Woods, Rogate.
Saturday, 15 th June :- The Trials Picnic.
VENUE :- Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill, West Sussex.
SUMMER RECESS :- Time to do all those mods. You have been planning
Ready for the September restart. Time also to clean and prepare the car
Sunday, 22 nd September ;- The Autumn Cup Trial.
VENUE :- Stoneacre Farm, Otham, Kent
Sunday, 6 th October :- The Alec King Trial.
VENUE :- Kingsdell, Froxfield, Nr. Petersfield, Hants.
Saturday, 26 th October :- The Bisley Trial.
VENUE :- Bidfield Farm, Camp, Nr. Stroud, Glos.
Sunday, 17 th November :- The Tulleys Farm Trial
VENUE :- Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill, West Sussex.
Sunday, 8 th December :- The Winter Trial.
Venue :- Chads Farm, Meopham, Kent.
Saturday, 28 th December :- The 14 th Plum Pudding Shakedown Trial.
VENUE :- TBA.
18

BMMC - South Mids Regalia Sales Order Form
For British Rally Marshals Club regalia - please contact Mike Grantham Mobile: 07968
160664 Email: midland@brmc.org.uk
For all other Club regalia - please see our latest on-line Catalogue - www.marshals.co.uk
Or, send an A5 size SAE to – Eric Ridler, 41 Norwood Drive, Timperley WA15 7LD
Item Price P&P Grade Qty Total
Cost
Grading Badge (Please provide proof of grade) 1.50 0.45
Grading Badge (Please provide proof of grade) 1.50 0.45
Union Badge 1.50 0.45
Sew-on Cloth Badge 2.00 0.45
Iron-on Cloth Badge 2.00 0.45
Lapel Badge 2.00 0.70
Interior Sticker 2.00 0.45
Exterior Sticker 2.00 0.45
Long Interior Sticker 2.00 0.70
Heroes Cloth Badge 2.00 0.45
Heroes Lapel Badge 2.00 0.45
Heroes Sticker 2.00 0.45
Heroes Key ring 2.00 0.70
50 Years of Motorsport Marshalling 10.00 2.50 Member
50 Years of Motorsport Marshalling 12.50 2.50 Non-
Name:
Address: Postcode:
Telephone No:
Email:
Membership Nos:
Mobile:
Cheques/Postal Orders should be made payable to - BMRMC Limited
Total
Please debit my *Visa/MasterCard/Maestro/Delta/Solo with the total amount shown above
* Please note we are unable to accept payment by Visa Electron
CardNumber:
Issue No. Sec No From M M Y Y To M M Y Y
Cardholder’s Name (as shown on card)
Cardholder’s Signature
Please send this order form with payment to: - Adrian Cashmore, 9 Church
Street, Weedon, Northants, NN7 4PL Email: sm.regalia@marshals.co.uk
19

Chairman’s Challenge
Below you will find 3 pictures of cars taken from an unusual angle; all you have to do
is identify the car and year of manufacture. There are no prizes to be won but if you
don’t know the answer’s you will find them on page 24. To give you a clue all the
pictures were taken at Race Retro.
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
20

Regional Officers
Chairman: Paul Harris
E-Mail: sm.chairman@marshals.co.uk 01525 382341
Secretary: Lesley Harris
E-Mail: sm.secretary@marshals.co.uk
Treasuer & Regalia - Adrian Cashmore 01327340677
E-Mail: sm.regalia@marshals.co.uk
Membership & Competition Secretary - David Reed 01327857346
E-Mail: sm.regalia@marshals.co.uk
Address: The Berries”, 26 Little London, Silverstone, NN12 8UP
Grading - Ben Harris 01525373936
E-Mail: sm.grading@marshals.co.uk
Address: 9 Partridge Road, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 4BJ
Training Officer: Clive Wayland
E-Mail: sm.training@marshals.co.uk
Newsletter Editor: Karen “Kaz” Connolly 01380 724698
E-Mail: sm.news@marshals.co.uk
Address: 180 Brickley Lane, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 3DA
Regional Recruitment Officer: Peter Lapthorne 01707 328622
E-mail: sm.recruiting@marshals.co.uk
Rally Representative: Jasmina Bareham
E-mail: southmidlands@brmc.org.uk
Regional Web Administrator: Christopher Hatch
E-mail: sm.webadmin@marshals.co.uk
Karting Liaison: Peter Cox
E-Mail: petecoxkart@hotmail.com
01295 257674 (Non-
Committee)

National Officers
Chairman: Chris Hobson
Ballaugh, 27 Dollicott, Haddenham, Bucks, HP17 8JL
Tel: 01844 290631 Mob: 07789 206809
E-Mail: bmmc.chair@marshals.co.uk
Secretary: Chris Whitlock
3 Acorn Way, Silverstone, NN12 8DQ
Tel: 01327 857011
E-Mail: Nat.secretary@marshals.co.uk
Treasurer: George W Copeland
Rustico, Forest Road, Hanslope, Bucks, MK19 7DE
Tel: 01908 510137
E-Mail: nat.treasurer@marshals.co.u
BRMC Chairman: Jon Cordery
6a West Street, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 1DG
Tel: 0208 680 8861 Mob: 07710 128824
E-Mail: chair@brmc.org.uk
National Training Officer: Andy Holly
Tel: 07702381967.
E-Mail: nat.training@marshals.co.uk
National Grading Officer: Steve Malec
14 Osborn Close, Ipplepen, Newton Abbot TX12 5XB
Mob: 07526 902016
E-Mail: nat.grading@marshals.co.uk
National P.R.O.: Stephen Green
21 Ivory Close, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7RS
Tel: 01795 532223 Mob: 07958 570652
E-Mail:nat.pro@marshals.co.uk
National Membership Secretary: Paul Sutcliffe
7 Fourth Avenue, Limeside, Oldham, OL8 3RU
Tel: 0161 290 0371
E-Mail nat.members@marshals.co.uk
23

Editorial Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in the Newsletter are those of individual
contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Region or the
BMMC as a whole. We reserve the right to include or omit contributions and
to edit for length and clarity.
Answers to Chairman’s Challenge:
1. BRM F1 P57/3 Circa 1961
2. Porsche Speedster 356 Circa 1968
3. Top Fuel Dragster Circa Unknown