TT MARSHALLING: MEET SECTOR 9
At the 2024 Isle of Man TT Races, The Mountain Mile through to Black Hut will be manned by new Chief Sector Marshals Graham Makepeace-Warne and Kate Silverthorne. Lizzie Kinvig, Deputy Clerk of the Course, got in touch with them to learn just how they came to be leading Sector 9.
Graham and Kate first got involved with road racing on the Isle of Man when the visited in 2013 for the Manx Grand Prix.
“We stayed with friends who had been several times who also marshalled, and stayed with a friend of theirs, a popular local racer, Keith McKay.
That year the Senior Manx Grand Prix had to be postponed and ultimately got cancelled due to a shortage of marshals available for the new Saturday race day. Keith was due to race that day and missed out”
They said that given the generosity of their host during their stay, they vowed to come back the following year to marshal and that’s something they’ve done every year since.
They’ve been stationed at Sector 9 for a while now, which covers the section between The Mountain Mile and Black Hut. It’s slightly further from home in Sandygate where they chose to live when they moved to the Island in 2016, but it’s part of the course that has a greater need for marshals.
When signing on to marshal, you can choose which sector you’d prefer to be stationed at, which often means the more popular spots are well attended leaving other sectors short.
The 00 sector is different and allows any marshals signed on there to be placed around the course where there are shortages or need of extra support. This sector is a great way to experience more of the TT course, get in touch with more marshals and learn where your favourite team is.
Now living in Sandygate near Jurby in the Isle of Man, Kate and Graham chose to move to the Isle of Man after watching the racing in 2016 and seeing the incredible landscape and wildlife the Island has to offer just shortly before the bikes fly past.
“We were waiting for the racing to start. The mixture of excitement for the racing ahead, mixed with the peace and quiet of the mountain, is quite surreal. It was during a moment like this in 2016 that we decided to move to the Island.”
When the racing is underway, Graham and Kate like to keep themselves separate from the racers so that anytime they give assistance they are able to do so with a clear head.
Although, Kate says her favourite “would probably be Hefyn Owen because he stopped at the Mountain Mile a couple of times for a brew whilst I’ve been DSM there” whilst for Graham it’s got to be “Michael Dunlop for his ‘balls out’ racing style and commitment to roadracing”.
As Chief Sector Marshals, Graham and Kate report to the Chief Marshal and the Clerk of the Course. They are responsible for the day-to-day manning of their sector, overseeing all equipment, managing a team of deputies, and liaising regularly with Race Control.
Anyone new to the world of marshalling can learn more by signing up on the TT Marshals webpage. If you’re a full marshal and are interested in gaining more experience in order to graduate to deputy chief sector marshal, talk to your DSM or CSM about how you can progress up.
