Profile: Vicky Creed

Sport:        Motorcycling, Car Racing | Activity:    Paddock Marshal, Flag Marshal, Marshal Support, Track Marshal

Vicky is a huge advocate for becoming a marshal over actually racing on the track, and when you have the opportunity to tell Bernie Ecclestone that he can’t go on track because he has the wrong pass, you can see why she gets so much enjoyment out of her job.

Vicky got started as a marshal in 2005 when she couldn’t afford the pay for the tickets to attend all the races at Philip Island and Albert Park. So now she either packs up the car with her camping gear for a few days of marshalling at Phillip Island or heads off on public transport to Albert Park to get up close and personal with local and international riders. Just one of her many favourite moments was being right there trackside when Adam Smibert won the Australia support race at Phillip Island MotoGP#000.

“The riders generally know how important it is to have good quality, experienced Marshals – we can be the difference between them finishing a race or going back to the pits.”

Even though CAMS and other marshalling organisations have put together great training programs to encourage fresh faces into the variety of marshalling roles available, Vicky says they are still an aging breed. While you need to be fit, and often a quick mover, there can be quite a bit of boring downtime between races which can be a struggle to retain the interest of some of the younger enthusiasts. But at the same time, you have the best “seat” in the house, you get to meet the racers, have heaps of fun, and make loads of new friends, and get to go to the event for free.

Vicky volunteers in a few different roles, depending on where she is needed at the time, with some events requiring her to be there for 3-4 days, in all kinds of weather – hence the camping equipment.

• Paddock Marshal – keep the teams safe getting on/off track, ensure the public are not in areas they shouldn’t be, make sure teams are where they should be
• Flag Marshal – keeping riders/drivers as aware as possible of what is happening around them, and using technology to its best advantage to do so
• Marshal Support – making sure the Marshals are looked after, equipped, watered, fed, and generally have the facilities required to do their job professionally and with enjoyment
• Track Marshal – get riders/drivers back on track wherever possible. If not possible, get them and their vehicles off track as quickly as possible, always working safely

How awesome would it be to follow by Vicky’s example and help support the racers who travel extremely long distances to race, by being their marshal, either trackside or in the pits? Who knows, you might be marshalling the next Stoner or Ricciardo at your local track, or the real Rossi or Lorenzo at an international event.