Track-Side Safety

The 2001 Australian Grand Prix saw the death of a second track marshal in less than a year. A similar incident occurred at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix, where an on-track accident triggered a chain of events which left a member of the track-side support staff with fatal injuries from flying debris.

I would be the first to agree that any death in motor sport is tragic, and wherever possible, steps should be taken to minimise the risk of injury to all those people involved, either drivers, other team members, marshals or spectators.

It goes without saying that all steps possible should be taken to protect the spectators of a motor race. Without them, it is less likely that the events could be staged with such success, and I feel certain that a spectator-less Grand Prix would not have the same appeal to the drivers. As it says on the ticket, motor sport is dangerous, but all precautions possible should be taken to protect those making the journey to watch the event.

However, it needs to be remembered that the job of a marshal is inherently dangerous. They need to be on the scene of an accident as quickly as possible in order to protect those racing on the track. Also remember that all marshals are volunteers, freely giving their time to the sport they are passionate about.

It may be possible to encase the marshals in concrete bunkers, protected from all the action on the track, but this could only increase the time taken to reach an incident, which could in itself have dangerous consequences. Consider accidents such as Gerhard Berger's crash at Tamburello, where his Ferrari was rapidly engulfed in flames. Had a fire marshal not been on the scene quickly, Berger almost certainly wouldn't have escaped with relatively minor injuries as he did.

That said, if any steps are possible to protect the marshals while doing the vital job they do, then they should be investigated. I'm sure that this will be the case.

My sympathies go out to the family of the marshal who was so tragically killed this weekend, and to those of the marshal killed at Monza last year. Without them, motor sport would be unlikely to continue as it does.

Last updated: 05 March 2001