Marshalling the TT

Experiencing the Isle of Man TT from the inside.
By Bill Carden
Photos by Stephen Davison

The new (September/October) issue of Road Racer X, contains a great feature on the Isle of Man. If Gary Kahlil’s story has inspired you to check out the historic event for yourself, what better way to truly experience it than by working as a course marshal? If that sounds like your cup of English tea, read on…

Marshalling a race is a challenging proposition in the best of conditions. Even on a short-circuit motorcycle event, the marshals have an enormously important task. Now, imagine a motorcycle race that’s held on little more than rural roads and through small villages. A racecourse that is 37.73 miles long and winds across open moor, then drops down through tree-covered glens, subsequently climbing a mountain to well over 1,000 feet. A seriously diverse racecourse, with several hundred bends—a few of them hairpins—bumpy road surfaces, and hump-back bridges. A course adorned with all manner of street furniture, lampposts, mailboxes, and telephone boxes, and lined on either side with trees, stone walls and houses. A racecourse on which the top riders complete one lap in less than 18 minutes, at an average speed of close to 130mph—and upon which a race is either four or six laps!

That is just a brief description of the TT or the Manx Grand Prix, held here in the Isle of Man, the Road Racing Capital of the World. Take a minute to consider all the individuals that officiate at this type of racing event. Imagine what a task it is to marshal all the points around this fantastic 37.73-mile racecourse. Well, that’s exactly what we do, and by “we” I mean the Isle of Man TT Marshals Association Ltd. We recruit and train individuals to be race marshals, with an emphasis on the requirements of the TT Mountain Course. The training involved is an Incident Management Course; it covers race procedure and basic first-aid relevant to the TT course itself.

The first-aid training is undertaken by St. John Ambulance, and the course takes one day to complete. You will learn what all the flags mean and when and how to use them, how to deal with fire, recovery of a damaged machine from the road, and the cleaning up of any spilled oil or fuel. A major learning point is how to look after oneself during an incident; a hasty marshal could become a casualty. You will also learn basic first-aid, how and when to remove a rider’s helmet, and how to correctly move a casualty to a safe position and “log roll” him onto a “scoop stretcher”. Instruction is also given in resuscitation techniques and how to fit a neck brace. Part of the course will instruct you in becoming part of the team that deals with the air-ambulance helicopters (known as AIRMED), how to approach one when it’s landing, and how to load the casualty.

Another area of the training program is the use of the communications system. Unlike with a short-circuit racecourse, where most of the track can be seen at once, we do not have that luxury. We have a group of travelling marshals, highly skilled ex-racers who move around the course at race speed between sectors should there be an incident that needs their expertise.

The marshals themselves are organized into groups at specific marshalling locations around the course, which is split into 12 sectors. We have a radio system that is used by all the island’s emergency services. This is known as TETRA and is extremely efficient and secure. With this system, all the marshals in any sector, including the TMs, can converse with each other or race control, (which could be 15 miles or more away from some locations) and can link us with any of the 12 sectors at any time it is needed. The radio unit is equipped with an emergency button, and when activated, it immediately summons the AIRMED helicopter. The radio is computer-linked, and your location is logged, so once the emergency button has been activated, assistance will be on the way without you having to say a word. If you do want to talk, you can speak directly to the Chief Medical Officer or other officials in Race Control. From the minute the emergency call is sent, you could have a helicopter at your location in an average time of six minutes and a casualty could be receiving treatment in hospital in less than 20 minutes.

On completion of these IMC training sessions, you’ll receive a St. John Ambulance-accredited Emergency Aid for Motorcyclists certificate and an IMC badge, both of which are recognized for three years. The IM course is free, but it would cost about £65 ($120) to any other individual.

So if any of you guys and gals are planning to possibly visit the Isle of Man sometime in the future we would be pleased to make you welcome and part of the team. Once signed on as a marshal, you effectively become a Police Constable for the road closure period, as part of marshalling duties is to maintain the orders of the road-closure notice and keep the general public out of harm’s way. You do not, as is a widely held but incorrect belief, have to live here on the Isle of Man to marshal, and there is no charge to do so. You will, however, need to be fit and have good common sense, and be 16 to 70 years of age (under 18 will need parental or guardian consent). We would also strongly recommend you to attend an Incident Management Course while here at the races; it would give you confidence and the knowledge to do the job well.