Here in the car loving UAE there are many opportunities to become a motorsport marshal, but for this article I shall concentrate on off-road events.
Emirates Desert Championship
It’s a Friday morning, late in October, at 6:30 a.m. The rising sun peers over the dunes to the sounds of motorbikes revving. We are at Lahbab, the location for the second round of the Emirates Desert Championship where an impressive field of almost 100 moto and 20 auto participants are preparing for a morning of racing.
The Baja comprises two circuits, a 14km track for cars and a 19km one for bikes, over some tricky and technical sand dunes; the winner in each class will typically complete five circuits.
My husband Neil and I have joined the event as marshals and we are allocated Moto C passage control – our job is to ensure that all bikes pass through the three sets of cones which mark our point and to provide a point of human contact on the course. The third season of the EDC sees all the bikes being fitted with tracker devices, meaning that Rally Control knows where each competitor is on the course, however occasionally technology fails so we note down the numbers of the bikes and quads as they pass through, just in case a biker gets “lost.”
The weather is rather warm for autumn and a stiff breeze lifts the sand to give us a free exfoliation treatment; we retreat to the car – the first time we have needed to do this in five years of off-road marshalling! Our post sees two or three bikes pause for a short while to let their machines cool down and the rather busy sweep team waves as they pass by to collect a few broken down bikes which dot the course. By 10:30 a.m. the action is over and the only thing left to do is to drive the course and pick up the “lollipops” which mark the route through the dunes.
Not all the marshals are “out in the field”, those who are not off-road drivers are put to good use in the pit lane which is a hive of activity for the duration of the event. Marshals are given a small allowance which should cover their petrol as well as the chance to camp overnight and chill out by the campfire with the other marshals.
Future Events: Friday 13th November 2015, Friday 12th February 2016, Friday 4th March 2016, Single Day Rally Friday January 29th 2016.
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
The ADDC is arguably the premier motorsport event in the UAE – well certainly if you are an off-road enthusiast! The week long challenge attracts many of the world’s top cross-country drivers as they compete in this amazing event which sees one Super Special Stage in Abu Dhabi followed by five Special Stages through the spectacular deserts of Liwa.
A major event in the FIA and FIM cross-country rally calendar, the desert terrain pitches man and machine against some of the largest sand dunes in the world, and sees competitors travel over 1500kms off-road.
Back in 2011, I signed up for marshalling for one day, found out they were short of marshals once I was at the event so offered to do the full five days and have been part of the ADDC volunteer team ever since. From 2013 to 2015 I have been lucky enough to head the team of drivers who ferry Eurosport cameramen around the course, a task which on the negative side, requires very early starts to be in the sand ahead of the start, but on the plus side means my team get to drive over the course, often with the back of the pack, and as a bonus I am always at a good point to snap some action shots.
There are many positions to be filled such as Passage Control teams who like their counterparts in the EDC are there principally to provide a form of human contact on the course. Typically there are three teams each day, many in remote spots which often involve overnight camping on the previous evening. If you do not drive a 4×4 you can perhaps get a lift with a friend or ask to be placed in a non-driving post.
Next year’s event takes place from 3rd-7th April and soon the management team will be on the look-out for volunteers who should be able to commit for at least a couple of days, preferably the whole week. They will receive event goodies such as t-shirts and hats, food at the rally HQ in the Liwa area, and petrol. It is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and indeed, some of my favourite driving buddies these days are people I first encountered on the ADDC.
Without volunteer marshals working hard these events would not happen; and it is the same all over the world – every marshal you see is a volunteer who is there purely because motorsport is their passion. Come and join the fun – register your interest by using the contact form on www.emiratesdesertchampionship.ae.
Words By: Marina Bruce
Photos By: Tim Ansell
