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Serpentine Road at the end of each
race.
The fact that I had no experience
whatsoever didn’t seem to be a
problem for Ross. “Do you really
need a person to do that?” I asked.
“Surely the drivers know where to go
after the chequered flag?”
His reply, “Graeme, you’d be
surprised.” I was about to find out.
I joined the other volunteer officials
on Sunday morning. Signing the
mandatory CAMS form which gave
me the protection of the
confederation’s insurance, a high vis
vest, two bottles of mineral water and
a lunch bag just like we had at school.
The most important item of
equipment was the two way radio
which proved simple to use and made
me look professional, almost like I
knew what I was doing
I was sent up to Serpentine Road and
I met Doug, the flag official, who gave
me a quick rundown on what
happened on the corner. “We don’t
have many incidents on this corner,” he
assured me. Most drivers have slowed
down to get around the corner at the
top of the main straight so there’s not
much action here.” Doug has been
there and done that, and he was a great
help to the newcomer.
As the event got underway I was
struck by the enormous amount of
information flying through my ears.
There was Rob Ozanne entertaining
the crowd on the loudspeakers, and Lynne
Oxwell directing operations to the myriad of
officials around the track through my two way.
The stewards had a different frequency so I only
heard half of what was going on. Added to this
was the roar of the cars and questions from the
spectators.
For the first time I could appreciate what a
complex event our club puts on every year.
Compared with my first event 18 years ago when
it appeared to be a bit of a shambles, it really does
Terry Massara's Torana Hatchback
closely followed by Peter Hall's 260Z
Ivan Michelsen (MGC GT) and Bert van
Zuylen (Alfa Romeo GTV 2000)
Terry Masara chased by David Stean's GT40 Replica
Doug Vanzetti enjoys his Triumph TR4a