Motorsport Volunteers
Dawn joined the Rescue Crew after a few racing incidents of her own
“ Talk about being in among it and going in at the deep end,” she adds.“ And that was all just within my two or three years of training …!”
However, volunteering does not have to mean taking on that level of responsibility. Many stay on the bank, or work in the pits, or gradually take their training further as their confidence develops.
Ultimately, Butcher says, it offers competitors something their normal racing may not: variety. A driver might spend several years competing in the same championship, whereas a volunteer can experience different disciplines and venues.
“ You can volunteer for anything,” she explains“ You can do rallying, drag racing, circuit racing, hill climbs, cross country – you name it. You can even do F1 once you’ ve built up a few years of experience.”
WHEN THE RACING STOPS For some competitors, volunteering becomes important for a different reason. There comes a point when competing is no longer practical, affordable, or loses its appeal. But stopping racing does not necessarily mean stopping motorsport.
Sue Jeffery is a perfect example. Motorsport had been part of her life since childhood. Her father competed in rallycross and stock cars, and her earliest memories include going to events and helping with the machinery. Later, she and her sister bought an 850 Mini and, alongside their father, worked on it in the garage, rebuilding engines and getting it running.
She progressed through minicross and rallycross, eventually competing in a Porsche 911 as well as racing in the Fun Cup as part of an all-female crew. Eventually, however, the practicalities of racing became too much.
“ The cost became prohibitive for me to afford to run a car, I couldn’ t find somewhere to store it because I lived in a flat, I didn’ t have a car that could tow it,” she recalls.“ Everything was stacking up on me against it, so I thought: what else can I do?”
It took a couple of years to decide, and she initially helped on the dummy grid and start line at rallycross events but, being“ a driver’ s person”, she decided to take up scrutineering as that involved working closely with cars and people.
The route in was easy and she recalls:“ As soon as you get your trainee licence, you go out there as a volunteer and
“ YOU CAN DO RALLYING, DRAG RACING, CIRCUIT
RACING, HILL CLIMBS, CROSS
COUNTRY – YOU NAME IT.”
16 Revolution Magazine