In regional and club events, where the career of a professional racer begins, racing is made possible only with the efforts of a mostly unseen team that show up, not for the money, but to be part of a weekend activity unlike any other. Most are volunteers, and a few part-time professionals (EMTs for example), who deserve recognition for their dedication and competence at the track that keep the racing organized, competitive and safe.
Track Stars
The Can-Do Crew is probably unique in motorsports. Much of the corner-working staff at Grattan Raceway in Michigan work at every event: motorcycle and car races, trackdays and corporate test sessions. Some Crew members have done so for more than 20 years.
Posting of race results for this WERA race weekend is the culmination of hundreds of hours of volunteer race support, scorekeeping...
...and managing multi-wave grids to accommodate multiple classes per race.
Volunteer marshals at Circuit of the Americas in Austin get treated with a visit by three-time AMA (MotoAmerica) Superbike Champion Josh Hayes and his team mate, Cameron Beaubier (not pictured) a two-time champion in the same class. Hayes and Beaubier took questions and answers from more than 50 volunteers at a pizza party for volunteers at the close of the MotoAmercia event.
Gini Caufield, Events Manager at Circuit of the Americas, organizes the orientation and training of more than 50 volunteers to serve as marshals and support staff at MotoAmerica's preseason test event.
It doesn’t normally take five track workers to remove a crashed bike from the track, but volunteers, professional safety crew, and EMT personnel take the opportunity to rehearse logistics and communication in the interval between practice sessions at Circuit of the Americas (with a bike that really crashed).
Marshalling includes serious flag-waving...
...and describing the finer points of finish line etiquette.
The person no one wants to see, but everyone is glad is here.