Motorsport at grassroots level is a partnership between competitors, marshals and clubs. The Weald 12 Car Championship has embedded this into the ethos of the series by setting the rule “championship points do not count unless crew members contribute to the series by organising or marshalling”. Which may seem heavy handed, but in our opinion is a way of ensuring that competitors understand the effort that goes into facilitating their fun.

Friday 22nd March 2024 – Round 9 – Blackpalfrey Motor Club of Kent – Brian Millen

Broadly speaking there aren’t many roles that are needed to run a round of the 12 Car series – but they are incredibly important to make it happen.

Organisers	The team who take ownership of the round. They ensure that the necessary permit is in place (working with the Weald Motor Club team). They create the route – and keep the Weald Communications team updated with what maps are being used. They receive the entries for the round – ensuring that club memberships and MS UK licences are in place. They keep a record of the vehicles that the crews intend to use. The produce the paperwork for the crews – time card, damage declaration forms, navigation, and the map for beginners!
Course Opener	Driver and Navigator who go before all competitors on the night. Their job is to ensure that there are no last minute issues on the route, and to check that marshals are in place. The course opening car will be driving at rally pace – that is to say they aim to go across the top line of the time card!
Course Closer	Driver and Navigator who go after all of the competitors. They are inspecting the route for damage. They sometimes collect the validation sheets from the marshals, sometimes give assistance to competitors who need a hand to get back to the wind down location. Some organisers ask the closer to collect the boards up too!
Time Control (TC)	The TC’s are the points at which crews are logged as having visited the control. A crew can be on time, or late – if the crew arrives early then they will have to wait until their time arrives (if they have to wait, move them along a bit so that the control is kept clear). The time is taken from the “Clock” application – this can be downloaded from the Apple Store or the Android Play Store. It’s advisable to ensure that the device is fully charged
Passage Control (PC)	Rally organisers are devious, and to validate that the crews are following the right route they use route controls (which are boards at the side of the road with codes on). When there are enough marshals available, a route control can be converted to a PC where the marshal signs the time card instead of the navigator entering the route card details.

Would you be able to give up some time to marshal at one of the 12 Car rounds? Click on the links below to volunteer your time. Your details will ONLY go to the Marshal Wrangler for the round you volunteer for.