MARSHALLING TITLE HEROES TITLE
John Bennie will be entering his 50th year of marshalling in 2026 and he is possibly one of the UK’ s most prolific overseas volunteers. Last year, he attended six events in the US covering F1, IndyCar, Formula E, Nascar and Sportscars. This year, he has already participated in two famous 24-Hour events – Daytona and Le Mans, plus the Miami F1 race, and will be heading Stateside again soon for the F1 and WEC races in Austin, Texas.
These high-profile global spectacles are a world away from his first marshalling experience, which took place at Ingliston in Scotland in 1976.“ I was there as a spectator taking photographs alongside my father when a marshal asked if I would like to‘ get closer to the action’ and I ended up waving a flag,” Bennie recalls.“ It was a totally new experience, and it led me to become hooked on motorsport marshalling for the rest of my life.
“ I have marshalled for a whole spectrum of events including British GT’ s, British Touring Cars, the World Endurance Championship( WEC), Formula Fords, historic, vintage and classic racing, the Britcar 24-hours, Scottish and International Rally championships and the Manx Rally. This year will be my 27th year of volunteering at the British Grand Prix – one of my favourite events, alongside Forest Stage Rallying, and Endurance Racing.”
It was not until 2011 that Bennie decided to take his marshalling experience overseas, embarking on a volunteering trip with four fellow UK marshals to the Nürburgring 24 hours.“ By the time I went overseas, my experience of marshalling at UK events was extensive, but nothing compared to the scale of the Nordschleife,” he recalls.“ It was greater than anything most of us had previously experienced, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
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The British Grand Prix may be the pinnacle of UK marshalling, but you can take it much further
Revolution- August 2025
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