X站福利所

X站福利所聽 licensed Rescue personnel provide immediate medical and extrication facilities at the scene of an incident. They move around venues aboard X站福利所 licensed Rescue Units, which are kitted out with the latest medical and extrication equipment.

Meanwhile Recovery personnel retrieve stricken rally cars, operating from X站福利所 licensed Recovery Units fitted with vehicle recovery equipment.

To obtain a Trainee licence you will first need to gain the support of a current X站福利所 licensed unit and then complete X站福利所鈥檚聽, which must be returned to the X站福利所 Membership Services Team聽with a supporting letter from the unit operator.

You will then be sent your Trainee Licence and the relevant Training Module.

Charley Webber has been a X站福利所 licensed rescue crew member for more than 20 years, having first become involved in the sport as a marshal. His officiating background is predominantly in rallying, and he currently sits on the X站福利所聽Rescue Panel.

鈥淎ny X站福利所 sanctioned motorsport event in the UK will, if required, need to have a licensed rescue crew and vehicle on-site. Essentially, we provide rescue and medical facilities, mainly for competitors, in case the worst should happen and somebody is hurt or trapped in a car following an incident.

鈥淲e work with either a doctor or paramedic, and we carry fire extinguishers and a wide range of equipment, similar to what you鈥檇 find on a frontline ambulance if you dialled 999. Should a competing driver or crew have an accident and be unlucky enough to become trapped in their car it will be our job to treat them for any injuries they may have and then extricate them from the car, which could even mean cutting the car apart using mechanical shears; in that respect we do a similar job to what the fire service does on the road. But this can be on a race circuit or deep into a forest on a rally a long way from civilisation.

鈥淒ifferent members of the rescue crew have different roles, but usually everybody is medically trained to a standard whereby they can provide first aid at the scene and aid the doctor or paramedic.

鈥淭he principle of the role is essentially the same between disciplines such as race and rally. The difference is that at a race circuit you can usually get to the scene very quickly, and in fact there鈥檚 a target response time of 90 seconds. But there isn鈥檛 a response time on a rally; the guideline is that there should be one vehicle at the start of a stage, and if the stage is over nine miles long there will be another vehicle at a mid-point. Then there鈥檚 the fact that the vehicles you can be dealing are often very different, for example a single-seater at a race event compared to a rally car.

鈥淚f you want to try your hand at rescuing you can聽join their local motor club, which will also point you in the direction of your nearest unit. You then need to get in touch the crew chief, who will either take you out to observe the unit on an event or, if you鈥檝e already been out marshalling聽and gained some experience, invite you straight to a training day. In fact I鈥檇 say that if you鈥檙e a complete novice the ideal thing to do would be to attend a marshal鈥檚 training day first and marshal at a few events first to get a better idea of how they鈥檙e run.

鈥淚f the crew chief is satisfied that you鈥檙e the right sort of person for the job he鈥檒l supply a letter of endorsement to accompany your聽, which you need to fill out. As long as X站福利所聽is happy it will issue a trainee licence, and when you鈥檝e got that you鈥檙e free to go out on a rescue unit. You have to attend a number of training days and within a three-year period, once the crew chief is happy that you鈥檝e done all the relevant training and you鈥檝e got all the signatures from your various training days, you can make yourself available for an assessment.

鈥淵ou鈥檒l be assessed on all medical and rescue matters and will probably have to tackle a live scenario as well, where you鈥檒l have to demonstrate your knowledge of treating injured competitors and extricating them using the appropriate equipment. All the while you鈥檒l be watched by a X站福利所聽assessor and normally a doctor or paramedic. If you鈥檙e successful, another letter will be sent to X站福利所聽and a full licence will be issued. The training doesn鈥檛 stop there, though, and once you have a full licence you鈥檒l have to pass another assessment every three years to make sure your skills are up to date.

鈥淚n terms of the characteristics that make for a good rescue crew member, you obviously have to be a team player and you need to be able to take commands from the crew chief and act on them. You need good people skills and also an ability to put up with sitting in a rescue vehicle for long periods of time doing absolutely nothing, because actually that鈥檚 the best case scenario; a good day for us I a quiet day. But when the what鈥檚-it hits the spinny thing, you鈥檝e got to get out there and do an incredibly important job.

鈥淚 love being part of a rescue crew because I love my motorsport, and it鈥檚 my way of getting more involved and becoming part of it. I also love helping people, and I鈥檓 passionate about the vehicles that I run. Being a good crew member is not just about enjoying the event; it鈥檚 about enjoying being part of the crew, looking after your vehicle and your equipment, and even fundraising to buy new equipment. We鈥檙e a weird bunch, I must admit!鈥�