Increases in Fuel & Energy Costs

[Mark Mitchell]

It has been predicted that costs of fuels including petrol are going to continue to rise.

I was just wondering whether this is likely to influence your descision to Marshal a) as often as you would like b) where you marshal (ie only your local circuit or c) will you think twice about marshalling at all?

I know not all of you on here (Particularly the younger ones) will have things like mortgages, families to support etc and might not be affected by the £1+ per litre of petrol. However, I for one have to weigh things up and unfortunately, will have to sacrifice some meetings.

PLEASE LET'S NOT GET INTO A "WE SHOULD GET PETROL MONEY" ARGUMENT that's not the purpose of this thread!

Unfortunately, I have had to pull out of going to Cadwell today, and have already sent apologies in for next Saturday at Oulton.

[Stephen Green]

Mark,

An interesting topic and one I'm sure many of us are considering right now. I think you are right to assume that people will be less inclined to travel to those far away places than they were prior to the petrol price rise. I also think it will affect those who regularly travel distance to marshal the numerous two day meetings that seem to adorn the current calender.

Maybe it's time we all considered sharing cars and making the effort to see which other marshals live close by and getting in touch to discuss future travel plans. In the case of two day meetings one could drive on Saturday and the other Sunday, thus halving the cost of travel over a weekend?

[blackhands]

I spent £450 on fuel marshalling in August - Sept will be cheaper but probably about £250. Unlike a lots of people I don't just go to my local circuits, but rather I follow the cars I'm interested in.

Whilst I can afford to do it I don't mind the cost but equally I have to consider the time spent even a one day event a long way off can take up 3 days. I personally enjoy it so I don't mind but I can understand that it can be a problem for those with mortgages and families etc.

[Stephen Green]

Thats about 12 tanks full of petrol! Blimey, you must have travveled up and down the country each weekend to do that?

[Mike Holmes]

Please don't forget that it affects competitors as well! Towing race cars and fuelling them is not cheap and these latest rises will have implications on all levels of our sport

[sinex]

I myself was only thinking abouth this subject today, whilst marshalling at Gurston (my nearest venue).
The way things are going I will have to be more choosy about which meetings I do and will probably only be able to marshal, once a month, rather than 2 - 3 times a month.
This will be a shame as I have met many fantastic people in 7 years of marshalling, however needs must and if it means I have to quit the hobby i love then so be it!!!

[Mark Mitchell]

Originally Posted by sinex

....The way things are going I will have to be more choosy about which meetings I do and will probably only be able to marshal, once a month, rather than 2 - 3 times a month.
This will be a shame as I have met many fantastic people in 7 years of marshalling, however needs must and if it means I have to quit the hobby i love then so be it!!!

Sinex,
My sentiments exactly only in my case, it's 12 years!

[blackhands]

Yep, I went to Silverstone, Mallory, Prescott, Shelsley and Elvington/Olivers Mount - my camper van only does 20mpg at best (at 50mph) but I tend to cruise at 70mph. Even Silverstone is a 400 mile round trip from here so thats 20 gallons or over £80.

[snetmarshal]

I agree, financial restraints has already resricted the meetings I do away from home circuit, but may soon start affecting local circuit aswell, so this also means I will be more choosy, unfortunately, it is hard to justify the expense if the meeting has small grids and lack of exciting racing

[Hepatic]

I only started to notice it the last month or so too, and i can see it hitting Anglesey more than most. I love the place but it's a 2.5hr drive each way from here, and easily a £40 petrol bill. OK, so Anglesey do donate cash for petrol, but it's still getting expensive. It's also a major reason why i've decided not to do the A1GP, as Brands is even further away. Shame, 'cos i was really looking forward to going there for the 1st time, and seeing some amazing cars race.

[PipSqueak111]

Fuel costs have already affected my meeting choices this season, before the latest price hikes. Only got down to Castle Combe (my 'home' circuit, despite it being 2 hours away!) for the Superbike weekend and the Classic raceday this season. That compares to seven visits each season the previous 2 years. Brands is only 35-45 minutes away, so I've been doing much more there this year.

Fingers-crossed I'll be moving jobs down to the West Country in the next 6 months, so Castle Combe, Thruxton and Wiscombe Park will more than likely become my regular venues.

Just waiting for these road-charging measures to be brought in by Tony, Gordon & Two Jags - that will escalate the cost of travelling to circuits even further.

Phill

[Mark Mitchell]

Perhaps the Marshals Club can help here by letting us know who lives near to who!
We could then arrange, as SG said previously, to car-share etc.

I think the BMMC could take the lead here, but I suspect the dreaded "Data Protection Act" will stop us dead in our tracks.

[Stephen Green]

Yes I think you might be right there Mark. Ten-tenths could be as good a place as any to advertise where you live etc?

Just so you know, I e-mailed Chris and the other Council members last night on this very subject.

[Grandslammer]

I've had to tighten my (rather long) belt My frequent visits to Silverstone have been put on hold,even though I car share (other costs incurring).For the time being at least,it seems like the only circuit I'll be able to do on a regular basis will be my local circuit, Combe .

[flagwaver]

Good idea, but be careful we don't want everybody knowing that we wont be in all weekend.

[Gridlock]

Not only the fuel costs but the wear and tear on the car. Here again cost are becoming higher.
As a result I tend to keep to my local circuits unless there are specific major events that I enjoy attending.
One way to reduce some of these costs is to attend for the whole weekend. Camping, Caravan or B&B. if it is of course a two / three day meeting.
B&B is possibly cheaper than the cost of petrol in some cases.
Certainly I dont expect clubs or circuits to meet any of these costs
However they can attract more marshals to their meeting if they provide good camping facilities such as toilets, and showers or even provide a couple portacabins that could be used Youth Hostel style. The latter they could even make a small charge for (It would be worth it).
I know some clubs do post a list of local accommodation. More could be done in this way and perhaps establish a larger list where marshals could get special rates. Those hotels and boarding houses that I have attended do not realise that marshals are not paid. It could in some cases fill unused rooms over weekends.
There is certainly a challenge here so its the way you meet it.

[Dave Brand]

I'm an engineer - I neeed to put numbers to things to understand them properly!

We've just had a great weekend at Croft. Total mileage for the weekend was 221; at 32 mpg, that's 6.95 gallons, 31.35 litres. Cost of petrol when the car was filled up on Friday was 96.9p/litre, so fuel cost for the weekend was £30.38. We did a meeting at Croft around the same time last year; petrol was then 81.9p/litre, so fuel cost was £25.58.

So, with the massive increase in fuel prices, the cost of petrol for the weekend was £4.70 more than last year; the excellent racing we saw was well worth a fiver!

The cost of petrol pales into insignificance compared with the cost of two nights' accommodation & meals - I could have saved the extra petrol cost by not having that tiramisu on Saturday night; nah, too big a sacrifice!

.....and we won £35 between us in raffle prizes, so that's the petrol paid for!


Maybe things aren't as black as they are painted?

[bigted]

but that fiver every week does add up

[Nighthawk]

I agree, financial restraints has already resricted the meetings I do away from home circuit, Castle combe but i will never stop and will always find a means to get to meetings. Its a shame it has come to this but lets hope for the future you never know?!.
Just had to cancel goodwood for the first time.
gutted!!!!

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by bigted

but that fiver every week does add up

Agreed, but for us the 200-mile round trips don't happen every week - we're probably lucky inasmuch as our local circuit, Oulton, is only a 90-mile round trip.

[A. Mudge]

With regards to the Data protection act, there is nothing to state that a simple small letter could be put with any membership renewal stating that you do not mind that you details be publically visable for the use of this purpose alone, this being the idea of the car share.

[PapaJuliet]

Not only has the fuel price gone up but I have switched from a diesel doing 37mpg regularly (i.e. on the very BAD trip in to work) and 45-50mpg on long motorway journeys, to an RX8 doing 25mpg on a good day.

The fuel costs have already affected my decisions. When doing a 2 day meeting I will definitely be camping rather than finding a B&B or driving home (depending on distance). I never really planned to do many long distance trips except for "big" meetings. But I do have 4 "local" tracks (i.e. within 1 hour drive) so I get plenty of variety.

It was very nice to see the 3 RX8s and the RX7 all finished the Britcar 24 hour race, even though the RX7 had so many problems.

PJ

[Ty Nicholson]

5 x training sessions (1 Marshal & 4 Rescue) @ 300 mile round trip, 270 mile round trip to my nearest circuit (Knockhill) and 720 mile round trips to Croft. Then's there's Max & Bernie's circus and the annual pilgrimage to Le Mans. At 25 mpg the fuel bill certainly mounts up and that's without food and maintenance costs.

Still it's the best sport/hobby in the world (isn't it?) I am going to have be more selective in the future. Supermarket own brand beans on toast instead of Heinz this week and cancel the wifes night out. That's the petrol money for Croft this month sorted.

[PipSqueak111]

Shouldn't be too difficult to organise car sharing through 10/10ths. Just look on the left of the posts; there's a 'Location:' sat there already to be used. Fill in your town or village rather than just county or nearest large town/city, and people should be able to see quite quickly where you are from and to drop you a PM to see if car sharing is possible for a meeting.

[Stephen Green]

Splendid idea and a good spot!