MOTORSPORT VOLUNTEERS
Building Club Collaboration
Burnip was immersed in the sport from an early age, being taken around by her parents as they competed in Stage Rallies and Autotests. Her earliest memories involve standing in a forest watching a pink Renault 5 fly past and sitting in the open boot of a Saab 95 with her sister helping to run a time control, and she became increasingly involved as she grew up.
Her parents were members of Northumbria Motor Club, but when that was closed down due to the ageing of its members and the compulsory purchase of its meeting place, they joined another nearby Club in Durham. She followed, and when her dad became co-ordinator for the ANECCC Championship, she got her first taste of marshalling.
“ I joined Durham in 2001 and Alnwick and Hawick both came about after I qualified as a radio controller in 2005,” she explains.“ I was invited to attend the Tyneside Stages and Border Counties Rallies, as well as the Jim Clark Rally, and after a few years, I moved onto the organising team, so naturally I joined those two Clubs because they ran the events.
“ Finally, I joined the Scottish Hill Rally Club when I was introduced to the‘ dark art’ in November 2023 at the Scottish Borders event. I signed up purely because of the bonkersness of it all! In April 2023, I added the Vice Chair of the ANECCC to my list and I am now working with them to increase participation across all their member Clubs.”
Burnip’ s involvement in those Clubs is a huge part of her life and she explains:“ I’ ve been a member of Durham for over 20 years, Alnwick over 15 and Hawick 12, and you do make strong friendships. When the chips are down, I do not just consider them as motorsport family, but some of the friends I have met through motorsport have become my family.”
Across her different Clubs, Burnip serves in the roles of Director, Treasurer and Secretary – filling all three at Alnwick – and she is also‘ Budget Keeper’ of the Border Counties Rally, where she manages a £ 100,000 event budget. As a result, she says she has“ one or two” spreadsheets and juggles plenty of varying demands wearing her many different hats.
As Director of two clubs, she ensures they are meeting its filing obligations with Companies House; as Secretary, she keeps meeting minutes and plays an active role in communicating with members and searching for volunteers; and as Treasurer, she manages the money to make sure the Clubs can run successful events to a sensible budget.
Whatever the role, Burnip says, having a place on a committee offers a great opportunity to get more involved and she explains:“ It gives you a deeper connection to the Club, giving you input into ideas that could be developed and allowing you to help plan the calendar, work out who can help run the events, speak to venues and a whole lot more.”
Burnip’ s dad was the Treasurer at Durham before she took over – she still uses the same spreadsheet he set up – and she took over the role at Alnwick when close family friend Maurice Mabon – who she describes as her“ rally dad” – passed away. Having both taught her so much about the role, it was a natural progression.
“ It makes my Chairman at Durham laugh when I will not hand the accounts over because I cannot find a missing penny – because neither dad nor Maurice would have let the accounts go without finding that penny,” she smiles.“ I am a very mean treasurer, because the goal is to run events for members and new people, while not bankrupting the Club.
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Andrew Scott
Lindsay Burnip working to keep the events running smoothly
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Lindsay Burnip is Budget Keeper for the Border Counties Rally
Revolution- July 2025