Marshals for the 2005 RACV Energy Breakthrough came together last week for a briefing session at the Central Highlands Society in Maryborough.
The marshals are a major part of the 600-strong volunteer army that come together every year to make the event happen. They hail from local community groups from Maryborough & Carisbrook and provide over 50 hours of marshalling on the two circuits throughout the weekend. As always, we hope that participants will respect and obey the marshalls at all times.
The two hour session was a refresher course for many of the experienced marshals involved in the event, and covered many issues including flags, traffic lights, operation of radios, incident procedures and the use of the RETURN TO PITS stickers.
The RETURN TO PITS stickers – or ‘Canaries’ – were used for the first time in 2004; with 60 issued at the corner of Burns St coming off the back straight.
They are designed to achieve two purposes:
1/ Ensure that all vehicles are roadworthy throughout the trial Ð particularly after crashes; and
2/ Encourage riders to drive safely so as not to lose time through vehicle repairs and ÔclearanceÕ checks.
The RETURN TO PITS stickers will once again be issued to vehicles involved in an accident of ‘significant impact’ or when a vehicle rolls onto itÕs side or roof. When issued, the rider must return to the pits immediately, repair the damage and receive a safety clearance from the Clerk of Course or other designated Track Officials before rejoining the trial. The team is not allowed to remove the sticker without clearance and will be penalised for doing so in accordance with Trial Regulations, Item 11.7 ‘Penalties’:
Teams failing to comply with the requirements of the ‘RETURN TO PITS’ clearance procedures or unauthorised removal of the tag will receive an automatic 50 lap penalty.
This ÔClearanceÕ process could take anywhere up to 15 minutes, with each circuit now boasting two separate pit lanes and 90 HPV Secondary teams, 65 HPV A teams, 36 Hybrids and 27 Try-athlon HPV teams competing.
Some marshalling points are still unaccounted for at this stage, with the current line-up of Marshalls on the RACV circuit covered by:
– Austin 7s Club
– Maryborough Hockey Association
– Colts Phelan Cricket Club
– Maryborough Red Cross & Masonic Lodge
– Carisbrook Lions Club
– Maryborough Supa IGA
– ANZ
– Maryborough Rotary Club
Any community group interested in Marshalling for the RACV Track during the 2005 event or would be interested in 2006 should contact Martin Mark for more information.
