CIAO, GARY MCLEAN It s not often I get to interview my dad Gary McLean and whilst it feels a bit weird, it was good to cover off some of his thoughts during his final motorsport event as a volunteer. That s right he is retiring from motorsport at this event. Gary has been a volunteer official since 1998 when Henk Duncan suggested he come to Phillip Island and then it was Clipsal, and so on. Since then he has averaged 14-16 events per year for over 20 years. He enjoys the camaraderie of the officials and the lifelong friends he has gained during his time in motorsport. It has been one of the best things he has done in his life and is very happy with the safety focus on officials. He says his team success has come from not from telling them what to do, but by guiding them and keeping out of their way until they make a mistake. Gary says the basic key for new officials is to look, listen and learn. He has seen many officials rise up through the ranks of officialdom by their hard work and dedication. His Formula 1 highlight has been winning the Stewards Cup which he is very proud of and this weekend he is hoping to see Daniel Ricciardo on the podium, but ultimately thinks Ferrari will win it. Apart from Albert Park his favourite tracks are Bathurst, Adelaide and Phillip Island. Gary said he will now focus on travelling with Kaye in South Australia to start with, and then Sydney with many more plans to be finalized for 2019/2020 onwards. Will he come out of retirement and do another motorsport event in 2020? He says no, but I know he will; but either way it s still Henk s fault. ISSUE ISSUE 3 / 1 PAGE / PAGE 1
FAMILY AND FUMES When it comes to contributing in motor sport, Gurmukh Dhami has a very rich history. The Malaysian-born official began his affiliation with the sport in the 1970s when he worked for a race team in his hometown before making the life changing decision to migrate to Australia. While his move to Australia saw him take a break from the sport, it wasn t long until he found his way back into motor racing, only this time it was as an official. Since getting back involved with the sport in his new home, Dhami is now able to continue giving back to his biggest passion that has given him so much joy over the years. "I started off as a race mechanic back in the 1970s in Malaysia and that s where my love for motor sport racing grew, Dhami said. Unfortunately, the racing team I was working for moved to Hong Kong and I didn t want to move there, so I migrated to Australia. I got back into the sport because I wanted to put back into motor racing, so I became an official and that way I felt I could still smell the fumes. Adopting Adelaide as his home state, Dhami has been volunteering for more than 15 years at Albert Park, while also working at the Superloop Adelaide 500. Despite the considerable distance between the two countries, Dhami made the effort to head back to his homeland for the past 12 years to volunteer as a Pit and Grid Marshal at the Malaysian Grand Prix, which held its last race in 2017. For someone like Dhami, who has been to many events around Australia and the world, there are two factors that he loves about being an official. It s meeting various people and making friends. Everyone down here is like a family and that makes it wonderful, Dhami added. Being with the same people you work with at every Grand Prix event, you become like a family. Sometimes working in the pit and on the grid, you re aware of how fast the cars are and how fast we ve got to think ourselves, especially if there is an incident at the start of the race, which in itself, puts pressure on us. Whilst the pressure and the people are what keeps the Pit Lane marshal constantly coming to Melbourne to take part in the international event, it s not the main reason behind his love affair with motor sport. The most exciting moment for me is seeing the first car take off and the adrenaline rush you get from witnessing that up close, Dhami explained. It is always an exciting feeling coming to the Australian Grand Prix and, God willing, I will continue to be able to do it for many more years to come. ISSUE ISSUE 3 / 1 PAGE / PAGE 21
TIM JACKSON (left) Tim Jackson grew up near Brands Hatch in England and saw an advert to become an official so he joined up. This is Tim s second visit to Australia and he has been living the Australian dream over the last three months by first attending the Bathurst 12hr event in February, then he travelled to Perth and did a road trip to Adelaide for Superloop 500. After this weekend s Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix Tim will be flying to Queensland s Morgan park, then on to Tasmania and then finally Phillip Island. Tim s favourite driver is Lewis Hamilton but he is convinced that Sebastian Vettel will win this weekend. He just applied through the CAMS website to come to Australia and was accepted. He is enjoying Melbourne. Tim s favourite tracks are Abu Dhabi and Silverstone. Overall, he attends 15-20 motorsport events per year and he is very lucky to have three tracks within 1.5 hours of home. STEPHEN WHITE (right) Stephen White is from Hampshire in England and this is his 20 th Grand Prix in Australia. Stephen used to 20 days per year back home but he attends fewer local events now and is focused on international races. Over the years Stephen has attended six Grand Prix s in Austin & six Grand Prix s Bahrain, two in Singapore and also 40 British Grand Prix to name just a few. Monza is his favourite track followed by old Nürburgring and Spa whilst he enjoys Phillip Island and Albert Park in Australia. Stephen s Formula 1 Tip for Melbourne 2019 is Lewis Hamilton. Away from the track Stephen s hobbies are rock climbing and mountaineering. Back home Stephen is a sector marshal but in Australia he does flags because he likes to have the local team run the corners. Whilst he is out in Australia, Stephen is visiting Tasmania for a fantastic holiday. ISSUE ISSUE 3 / 1 PAGE / PAGE 31
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INTERNATIONAL OFFICIALS This year another large contingent of marshals coming from over the world, nearly 80 from 16 countries. Again, the largest group flew in from Singapore - 32. The United Kingdom had the next largest group with 11. New Zealand has six, with India, Sri Lanka, and the United States have four each. Other countries represented are China, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, South Korea, and United Arab Emirates. Corner workers claim the majority of the workers, with Flaggies having the most, plus Trackies and Comms. Other specialties are Firies, Scrutineers, Vehicle Recovery, Sign-On Muster Tent, Spectator Marshals, Marshal Services, Pit Lane & Grid, Timing and Water Rescue. ISSUE ISSUE 3 / 1 PAGE / PAGE 51
THE HADDON FAMILY The family that plays together stays together. The Haddon family from Ballarat is a prime example. Father David is President of Ballarat Light Car Club and been coming to AGP for past seven years. For much of the time it was Dad and three of the children, but this year the youngest is now old enough to come and work. Dad is a Flagger at Turn 2.5, and two of his youngest are on station with him - Ambrose (17) and Oakley (16). Brittany (19) has been coming for the past four years and is working Turn 16. Paige (21) has come all seven years with Dad, and is working Turn 7. ISSUE ISSUE 3 / 1 PAGE / PAGE 61
WELCOME YOUNG OFFICIALS Soon after the last AGP, in response to many requests to work the next Grand Prix, CAMS Officials Manager Ainslie Gardner used social media reaches to distribute surveys to capture those interested people. This provided a large pool of people whose contact information was available when AGP work applications opened. The surveys were especially targeting those with fire-fighting experience. There was an offshoot program of this effort - the Young Officials Program, which was targeting young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who might have an interest in motor sport officiating. Applicants of the program were at Sandown for Supercars last fall, for training in a safe and supportive environment, supervised by experienced officials. The successful trainees were guaranteed a place on the roster for AGP 2019. Six are working trackside and one is working Pit Lane. Yet another program for young folks is the F1 in Schools competition, and James Gurney, who was with the winning Horizons team, is working with the Scrutineers in a development capacity. On Friday he worked in the Formula 4 Support Paddock. Aury Tomasini, 18, and Kashyap Ganesh, 23, are working Turn 0-Start/Finish Damian Hill, 18, is working on Turn 2 (right) Zac Warren, 18, is working Turn 6 left Saif Ali Kheraji, 22, is working Turn 13 left Jack Kennedy is working Turn 16.4 left. ISSUE ISSUE 3 / 1 PAGE / PAGE 71
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