Monaco's Automobile Club trains marshals for the Grand Prix track

Monaco’s Automobile Club trains marshals for the Grand Prix track

Monaco's Automobile Club

As is tradition before the Grand Prix, Monaco’s Automobile Club (ACM) held their marshal training camp last weekend. In light of the pandemic, preparations for the races took place with a few changes this year.

A total of 496 volunteers attended the training in the Principality. Over the course of the weekend, they practised their skills, improved their reflexes and familiarised themselves with the new protocols in place for this year’s three events*. Since its foundation in 1972 by Michel Boeri, the ACM President, the marshal training takes place every year in the Espace Fontvieille Chapiteau, where the Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo takes place every year.

Advertising

Across the weekend there are ten workshops in order to test the volunteers reflexes and physical skills. These include training for: First Aid, Pre-video, Pre-rail, Intervention, Post-video, E-Prix, Timed run “Gazelle”, Flags and track signalisation and Fire.

Increased fire training after Romain Grosjean’s accident

Due to the health crisis, there were strict safety rules that had to be followed throughout the weekend. These workshops were a good opportunity to explain and also to apply the safety measures that will be put in place during the races. “Our volunteers fully accepted and respected these protocols,” detailed Jean-Michel Matas, Deputy Commissioner General of the ACM.

Another key part of the weekend was fire training. After French driver Romain Grosjean was involved in an accident last November during the Bahrein Grand Prix, organisers have become increasingly aware of the importance of fire safety. As such, the Principality’s Fire Brigade lead a workshop every year, teaching the importance of fire control and how to remove a driver from a vehicle as quickly as possible.