Marshalling is like becoming part of 'big family'

Signing up to marshal for road racing events is like becoming part of a "big family", a director of the organisation tasked with manning the course has said.

Laura Sawyer, who joined the board of the Isle of Man TT Marshals 18 months ago, said she initially signed up several years before to "give a bit back" to the sport she loved.

A minimum of 563 volunteers need to be stationed around the 37.7mile (61km) course before any practice or race session can go ahead.

Ms Sawyer said marshals, whether they were local or had travelled to the island from around the world, had a "shared purpose" of a love of motorsport.

She said some of those who signed on had come from as far away as the United States, Australia and New Zealand to be part of the event.

"Everybody is a volunteer, everybody's giving up time, whether they're locals and they've taken time off work, or they've travelled from the UK, Ireland, or further afield, all with a variety of backgrounds," she said.

"You meet so many people, and we're all here because we love the TT, we love road racing on the Isle of Man and motorsport, and we're all here united by being a marshal."

Ms Sawyer said one of the attractions for many people signing up was that fact that "nobody gets closer" to the action, as marshals had a "front row seat".

"As a marshal you're so intrinsic to racing... fingers crossed nothing happens and we get a good smooth run, you get to see the bikes coming through," she said.

"Obviously it's not just about watching the bikes, you've got to keep your eyes and ears about you because it's all about keeping everybody safe."

However, she said that while everyone involved was "aware that incidents can happen", it was important to "keep the perspective".

"If you look at the total amount of man hours given as a marshal, as opposed to the total amount of man hours that would actually be taken up involved in those incidents, it's a tiny percentage."

One aspect of the Isle of Man TT fortnight that nobody involved in the event has any influence over is the weather, which means contingency qualifying and race sessions are built into the event's schedule.

And those all need to have the minimum marshal number too, something the organisation also works to try to secure in advance.

"At the end of the day the weather will do what the weather wants to do. As long as we're as prepared as we can be then that's kind of all we can do," Ms Sawyer added.

The 2025 Isle of Man TT races run until 7 June.

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