In this series, we are going to share the stories of the marshals within our incredible community. First up we have the story of Dave Brice.

In over 40 years in the sport, Dave has seen quite the career as a marshal. He first began his marshalling journey in the 1980s, starting as many of us do being a huge fan of all things racing.

From here, he will take you through that long and storied journey, including marshalling, clerking, and stewarding everything from Formula One to karts, motorbikes, and drag racing.

We thank Dave for taking the time to share his story, and hope you enjoy reading.

If you want to submit your own guest blog, you can do so here.

Dave Brice – 40 years in Motorsport

Early beginnings in racing

I was born in Bognor Regis, my first involvement with Motorsport was in the late 1960s when I started watching stock car racing with my neighbour who raced in Superstox.  I was immediately hooked, and a core memory for me is watching Derek Warwick win the 1973 Superstox World Championship. I bought the Motoring News magazine, now called Motorsport News, on the way to school every Wednesday, and became interested in F1 because of local F1 drivers Derek Bell and David Purley, both of whom had their cars displayed in the town.

In 1974, I started racing a kart that had been given to the Scout Troop I was in, and in 1976 had a Formula Ford 1600 race at Brands Hatch but crashed out. I couldn’t really get on with the 1600s and was all for giving up, when one day, my dad got me some laps in a Formula Ford 2000 at a test day at Goodwood. Driving a car with slicks and wings was a completely different experience and I was quick and loved it from the off.

I raced for one season in the British Formula Ford 2000 championship where I was very quick in the dry but rubbish in the wet. Managing to secure sponsorship from Sealink, I tried the European series with a best finish of third at Pau. Following this I had the opportunity of a Formula 3 test at Spa. However, this did not end well as I managed to roll the car multiple times at Eau Rouge in the damp resulting in a fractured skull and multiple broken bones, leaving me in a coma for eight days. This sadly meant I could no longer hold a racing licence.

It took about a year to fully recover, but I still had the need for adrenaline. I spent a season racing in Enduro (similar to motocross), however the number of falls I had made me realise I was going to badly hurt myself again. I decided to get rid of the bike, which was a shame as I really enjoyed the Weston Beach Race. However, my life in motorsport was by no means over yet.

Marshalling

A way back into the sport

I was at the Racing Car Show at Alexandra Palace in January 1986 when my then wife pointed out the British Motor Racing Marshals Club (BMRMC), now the British Motorsport Marshals Club (BMMC), stand and said she thought that would be a good way to get me back involved. I agreed and so signed up and attended the National Training Day at Silverstone. Everyone was so welcoming, friendly and I really felt that I belonged. The grading scheme at that time was explained to me, and straight away I knew I wanted to aim for the top (Observer), so that I would be available to do everything that I could.

My first day was the BMRMC Race Meeting at Silverstone and by the end of the season I’d done 24 days, also visiting Brands Hatch and Thruxton. I realised straight away that variety was the spice of life and aimed to marshal at a new circuit every year. In my first year I upgraded from Novice to Course (Green 64).

I applied and was accepted to marshal the British Grand Prix in 1987, and so after just 3 days training and 31 days ‘on the bank’ there I was at Copse Inside, having to deal with Riccardo Patrese’s Brabham which came to a very smoky halt after a pitstop. Even 40 years later, I can still remember the excitement of being accepted to marshal my first Grand Prix, and getting the badges for the event.  At the end of the season, I upgraded to Flag (Blue 74), and in the following year I was upgraded from Flag to Flag/Fire (Red/Blue 58).

In 1989, I was a flag marshal in the pit lane for the British Grand Prix, which meant that once the actual race started, I was redundant. This really suited me because two of my friends were mechanics with Tyrell, so over the weekend I was able to spend a lot of time in their garage which was awesome!

The 90s, and achieving my goal

At the beginning of the 1990s, I was upgraded to Observer (Black 100), so the goal was achieved after just four years. I was settled doing thirty or so days a year and in 1992 started working for the Ian Taylor Racing School at Thruxton. This came to an end when Ian died racing at Spa in 1992, which really made me question whether I still wanted to be involved in motorsport, as I held a huge amount of respect for Ian. Deciding to carry on, I was upgraded to Examining Observer (Black 100X)

The years went by, and I was still averaging around thirty days a year, finding time to play cricket on Saturdays and to marshal on Sundays. I’d tried my hand at marshalling bikes, cars and karts, and visited all the English circuits, including what had been my ‘home’ track of Goodwood, which felt a bit bizarre having spent so many days testing there.

In 1997, I concentrated on Silverstone, acquiring a caravan to keep at the venue to act as my accommodation there. This was the year I really got back into karting, as the BRDC Marshals Club covered all four days of karting at the Racing Car Show, and I fell in love with karts. In 1998, I bought a flat in Northampton, and the number of days marshalling at Silverstone doubled. I was also appointed by the MSA (now MSUK) to be a Driving Standards Observer, which I did at the 1999 Grand Prix.

New Millennium – clerk and steward

In 2001, I tried being a Clerk of the Course with the 750 Motor Club (750MC), and so a new career began, with me clerking the whole 2002 season for the 750MC, with the odd day still as an observer. In 2005, I was down to Clerk for the 750MC at Silverstone, but due to an MSA steward being unable to attend, I was asked to stand in for them. As I had really enjoyed this unexpected opportunity, I decided, along with marshalling in 2007, I would work to get my stewards badge, managing to attain this in the August of that year. In the following years, I mixed stewarding and clerking with only a few days left for marshalling. Checking my records, I note that for example in 2015 I did 45 days but only 3 as an Observer.

I was made one of the permanent stewards for Super 1, which at the time was the top Kart Championship in the UK. This was a real eye-opener as people would protest everything with money being certainly no object.  During this time, I stewarded the odd day at Santa Pod Raceway which led to me going onto the MSA Drag Race Committee, and in 2013 being made one of the 3 FIA Stewards at The Main Event. This was probably the peak of my marshalling career.

A real change then happened in 2018 when I retired from work and suddenly, I could marshal whenever I wanted to, including during the week. I started at Rockingham and Mallory Park, regularly marshalling over 25 weekdays through the year at both circuits.

This continued for the next four years, until a bigger change came at the end of the 2022 season.

Moving to Ireland

At the end of the 2022 season my wife Elaine and I decided to move to Ireland as we had fallen in love with the people and the country over years of watching family road racing on motorbikes, including the Ulster Grand Prix and North West 200.

From 2023 to now it has been business as usual just at different circuits including 22 days at Kirkistown, some as the MSUK Steward, some as a Post Chief. We have come back over the Irish Sea multiple times in this period, with some days stewarding at Silverstone for me and at Santa Pod for Elaine. In fact, 2024 saw us spend a total of 31 nights at hotels and 10 return ferry journeys over the course of the year.

Our plans for 2026 are to spend more of our time marshalling and stewarding here in Ireland, with our only planned trip over the water for Formula Student at Silverstone.

To summarise

So, after over 40 years of Marshalling what have I learnt?

Always expect the unexpected, things will still happen that you’ve never seen before. Be prepared for anything and find out what it is you like. Car racing, bikes, rally, Rallycross, Karts etc. You will have favourites but have a go at everything, you might be surprised.

It’s the same with clubs or circuits, remember you are a volunteer giving your own time for free, so go where you’re treated well and respected.       

At the end of the day, it’s a hobby, or in my case, a way of life, so make sure you enjoy it.