BRITISH MOTORSPORT MARSHALS’ CLUB SAFER MOTORSPORT MARSHALS’POST THE NEWSLETTER OF THE SOUTH WEST REGION OF THE BRITISH MOTORSPORT MARSHALS’ CLUB The contents included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editor or the BMMC Ltd www.marshals.co.uk MOTORSPORTS ASSOCIATION RECOGNISED FOUNDED 1957 2 – Chairman’s Thoughts 4 – DD Update 6 – Formula Kart Stars 10 – BMMC Training Activity at Gurston 2015 11 – Castle Combe Training Day 2015 12 – Presentation to Garry Tanner 13 – SW Region Committee 2015 1 The Chairman’s Thoughts…. Wendi Batteson, South West Chairman…….. SW Regional Committee Chairman’s Chat – April 2015 Dear SW Members The season has started and hopefully the orange still fits from its winter layup, I can safely say mine has shrunk a tadge or something like that has occurred… As you will know a new series for karters is underway with Formula Kart Stars and they’re looking for BMMC trained marshals to assist at their events over this year as Driving Standards Observers. If you interested in any of these do please let me know. You can see more of what it is about by visiting www.formulakartstars.com I’d like to thank members for the responses so far, and I know all forms of racing are now at times finding it difficult to get enough of the orange army to cover all the events particularly at club level. As you know we’ve had some teething troubles with the volunteering web pages but hopefully these have now been sorted out should you wish to volunteer for events through that route. If you do it differently don’t forget to let Paul Wiltshire know so he can make a note of it for BMMC insurance purposes. Next year is the club’s 60th Anniversary, and Council are considering what it is we would like to mark the occasion. If you have any ideas then do please let me know. We’re currently considering a “goody” bag for all our members. If there is something you would particularly like to see in this, subject a the costs being reasonable, then Council will consider this, so please let me know. Don’t forget to assist your committee in bringing to our attention people you think are deserving of any of our awards. We have three. New Marshal of the Year for those who are new to our sport in the last two years or so, Cadet Marshal of the Year for those below 18 years of age and the Bellini Trophy for outstanding commitment/dedication/services to marshalling. So start thinking of people you may know who would warrant to be so awarded and let any of 2 us on the committee know their names. Our next meeting is on 21st May 2015 at Pheasant Inn, Chippenham if you wish to join us from 7pm onwards. Finally, after a great success with our training day at Gurston Down, Martin Greenslade our Training Officer has resigned from the Committee due to work commitments. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank him on behalf of the SW Region for all his help over the last few years and particularly for the sterling work he put into making our Gurston Training Day a huge success. So we’re now looking for a new training officer. If this is something you would be interested in then do please get in touch with me. Until next time. All the best and stay safe. Wendi Batteson South West Chairman British Motorsport Marshals’ Club 3 DD Update Dear Member Our apologies for the gap since the last e-mail on this subject but we have now concluded our investigations and determined that the problem arose through a combination of human error and a quirk of fate. Many of you have already taken appropriate action by claiming under the Direct Debit guarantee, which applies to all financial institutions, and states that : “If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society”. Quite simply, your bank is obliged to make an immediate refund to your account. We are now in a situation where members are in one of 5 positions: 1. Those who have obtained a refund from their banks/building societies, including any bank charges incurred. You need take no further action – the correct amount will be taken from your account next January for 2016. 2. Those members who have asked us to keep the extra payment as their subscription for 2016. You need take no further action – we will not process your Direct Debit in January 2016, but will re-instate it for 2017. 3. Those members who have asked us to treat the extra payment as a donation to the club. We offer our grateful thanks and rest assured this will be applied to the benefit of members. 4. Those members who have been refused a refund by their bank you should make further contact to advise them of your rights and insist upon an immediate refund. For a copy of the Direct Debit Guarantee click on the link here 5. Members who are still unable to obtain a refund and want the club to reimburse them please send an email headed DD REFUND to [email protected] quoting – 4 (a) Your full name. (b) BMMC number. (c) Any bank charges incurred. We will collate all such requests and make a BACS payment to your account as soon as possible during the month of May. We hope to draw this matter to a conclusion by the end of May when we will contact anyone who has not had their correct refund. We can only apologise once again for the problem – you can be assured we will do everything in our powers to prevent a repeat! Direct Debit is the most efficient form of maintaining your subscriptions. Please do not cancel your Direct Debit Instruction, it helps us keep costs down and reduces the burden on our unpaid volunteers. Regards Chris Hobson National Chairman British Motorsport Marshals’ Club Colin Barnes National Treasurer British Motorsport Marshals’ Club Chris Whitlock National Secretary British Motorsport Marshals’ Club 5 Formula Kart Stars Formula Kart Stars is a British based Karting Championship supported by Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One Management, current double Formula 1 World Champion and FKS 'Old Boy' Lewis Hamilton, and Lewis’ father Anthony Hamilton. The Championship was established back in 1995 when McLaren boss Ron Dennis, Mercedes boss Norbert Haug and karting legend Martin Hines got together to create a junior karting championship called the McLaren Mercedes Champions of the Future. The aim was to bring karting to a wider audience and most importantly provide a path for young drivers who wished to pursue a career in motorsport and in particular, Formula 1. Today FKS is committed to the road to Formula 1 through racing and education. FKS endeavours not only to provide a Championship that encourages competition with sportsmanship, but one that also encourages and educates youngsters in dealing with the press and media, which is an increasingly important part of motorsport today. Whilst not forgetting that the on track activity is of course of primary importance, a great deal of weight is placed on sportsmanship and family. The championship has four classes for competitors aged 8 to 17. Each competitor signed up to Formula Kart Stars will receive all equipment, tyres, fuel, fees, storage, awning space and transport of their kart for the season. The Championship season will consist of 1 pre-season test day followed by 12 rounds taking place over 6 weekends. Each race weekend will be preceded by and Official test. Each competitor will receive a minimum of 80 minutes of track time per race day and Official test day. Each round will have practice, three heats and a final. There is an extensive prize list, with the super FKS champion winning a funded year in single seater racing. Great emphasis is being placed on the development of the drivers so the organisers are looking for experienced marshals to man the circuits for each round, they have asked BMMC to become involved. We will be co- 6 ordinating the volunteering for marshals, aiming, wherever possible to have a group who will marshal at as many of the rounds as possible. Each marshal will receive a contribution of £50.00 towards their expenses for each round of the competition, with a special arrangement being made to help those who can attend the “off shore” round at Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland. Arrangements are also being made to provide food and shelter for all marshals at every round. Wendi Batteson, our South West Chaiman, will be acting as the co- ordinator. Those who have already expressed an interest are asked to complete the pro-forma attached and e-mail a copy to her, as is anyone else who is interested. I hope you will volunteer for at least one round of this championship – it is a great opportunity to be involved in what could be the early development of a future Formula One World Champion. Chris Hobson National Chairman British Motorsport Marshals’ Club 7 Name Grade Membership No. Address Post Code E-mail address Telephone Number Date Event Venue Location Availability April 9/10 Pre-season Test Whilton Mill Daventry May-01 Official Test Whilton Mill Daventry May 2/3 Rounds 1&2 Whilton Mill Daventry Jun-05 Official Test Silverstone Stowe Circuit Northampton June 6/7 Rounds 3&4 Silverstone Stowe Circuit Northampton Jul-24 Official Test Nutts Corner Northern Ireland July 25/26 Rounds 5&6 Nutts Corner Northern Ireland Aug-14 Official Test Three Sisters Wigan Aug 15/16 Rounds 7&8 Three Sisters Wigan Aug-21 Official Test Rowrah Cumbria August 22/23 Rounds 9&10 Rowrah Cumbria Sep-04 Official Test Glan-Y-Gors Corwen September 5/6 Rounds 11/12 Glan-Y-Gors Corwen 8 Please return to: Wendi Batteson 90 Huntsmoor Road Tadley Hants RG26 4BX Tel: 0118 327 6345 Mobile: 07818 411367 Email: [email protected] 9 BMMC Training Activity at Gurston 2015 The BMMC S.W.