Lovecotes Farm, Chickney Road, Henham Village, Bishops Stortford, CM22 6BH
MEET THE TEAM THAT MAKES IT ALL HAPPEN
TERRY RATCLIFFE
TERRY RATCLIFFE
TERRY RATCLIFFE
Terry runs the race way with his family. Leading the scruttineering team and marshalling as well. He can nornally be found on the home straight with a black flag in his hand.
KEITH RATCLIFFE
TERRY RATCLIFFE
TERRY RATCLIFFE
Keith on the day drives the water bowser round the track to keep the dust down. He also is the chap that processes the licences He also works the points out so if you want a trophy be nice to him.
ANN RATCLIFFE
TERRY RATCLIFFE
EMMA ROWBOTHAM
Ann is the first face you will see, Booking cars in and taking payment from spectators. We all know Ann is really in charge.
EMMA ROWBOTHAM
EMMA ROWBOTHAM
EMMA ROWBOTHAM
Emma books drivers in at the office for scrutineering she also is a lap scorer which is no easy task when there's 40 odd cars screaming round.
PAUL CARTER
EMMA ROWBOTHAM
TOMMY CARTER
Paul is a scrutineer he generally looks after the Juniors. He also marshals on turn 2 he loves his black flag so always smile has you drive by. Just so there is no confusion Paul is on the left, bt can be seen on Friday nights with a blonde wig.
TOMMY CARTER
EMMA ROWBOTHAM
TOMMY CARTER
Tommy does it all if you crash he is normally the first person leaning in the car checking your ok he is faster than Mo Farah on mud !!! Tommy also drives the push truck.
alan butts
Lee Sutton
Lee Sutton
Alan runs the pit gate ensuring that its blocked and no other cars can get on while a race is in progress. A race wont start till he puts up a green flag.
Lee Sutton
Lee Sutton
Lee Sutton
Lee stands at the bottom of turn 1 he is the first person to put out a yellow flag when it all goes wrong after a start.
PAUL MARCAR
Lee Sutton
Johnny stannisor
Paul can be found on turn 3 it can get a bit bumpy there he also has a good line of sight to the first aid team.
Johnny stannisor
Johnny stannisor
Johnny stannisor
Johnny marshals on the top bend where you end up in the wall if you get it wrong, He is also know for his pics and vids that go up on face book after the meeting.
Roy catpak
Johnny stannisor
Aubrey Woodley
Roy marshals on turn 4 fast out of that corner down hill to the flag. He is good to see if you get the the exit wrong.
Aubrey Woodley
Johnny stannisor
Aubrey Woodley
Aubrey marshals from the infield rather brave I feel he also releases the cars before the race starts. He also is the Hot Rod scrutineer. As you can see it looks like he is enjoying a Werthers Original.
FacetS FIRST AID TEAM
FacetS FIRST AID TEAM
FacetS FIRST AID TEAM
Facets First aid team located at the top of track by the entry/exit good to know they are there when your about to hit the wall flat out. They also keep our Guest safe.
Paul collins
FacetS FIRST AID TEAM
FacetS FIRST AID TEAM
Paul is a recovery driver in a lift truck it does take a few to clear the track after a good banger heat
collin ketley
FacetS FIRST AID TEAM
collin ketley
Colin drives a push truck so if your car still rolling he will get you back to the pits.
SUE WOODLEY
Jamie Townsend
collin ketley
Sue starts all the races here nothing moves without her say so. You will only see Sue's face if you are on the start line.
Jamie Townsend
Jamie Townsend
Jamie Townsend
Jamie is the voice of Stansted Raceway with his fast wit and a sharp eye, he is top of his game.
As you can see we don't let him out of that box much.
Catering staff
Jamie Townsend
Jamie Townsend
There here to ensure you stay full and keep the pit crews and staff going it hungry stuff racing.
A LITTLE BIT OF STANSTED HISTORY
OUR COMMENTARY BOX
So this is our beloved commentary box. This has been home to Jamie Townsend for many years but the time has come to say goodbye. As the race track grows we need more lap scorers in there as well and it can get a little cramped. But we wanted to give it a fitting send-off so we asked Roy Catpak to find out more about our box.
So what did Roy find out
These are called Runway Caravans and are built by Vauxhall in Dunstable between 1961 and 1986. They were bought by the MOD and used by military and civilian airfields. Because the ends of runways were so far from the proper control tower they couldn't see aircraft that was landing, so one of these would be parked at the end of the runway, where they could see the approaching aircraft and do a visual check that its wheels were down. The controller in the caravan would radio the control tower if he could see any problems and the tower would radio the pilot. If a plane was trying to land before lowering his wheels they would fire a red flare to tell him not to land. If a plane was landing but didn't have clearance because his radio wasn't working they would fire a green flare to tell him the runway was clear and he could land safely. There are two ports or shutes in the roof where they would fire the flares from, they would also do a visual check of aircraft that were preparing to take off. They would be looking for panels and hatches that might not be closed properly. It had to be mobile because planes don't always land in the same direction, so it would be moved from one end of the runway to the other depending on which way they were landing/taking off. The truck was only allowed to do a maximum of 30 miles an hour (Paul Carter would be the perfect driver then) because of the fragile nature of the structure. They went out of use in the early 90s when CCTV became available. Many of them went on to become control towers for small private airfields, gliding clubs, etc. There are still a few around in aviation museums, Flying clubs and race track commentary boxes (lol).
We are making investigations to see if this would be of interest to an Aviation Museum, we would love to see it restored to her former glory.
Below are a few snaps of a couple Roy found on the Internet and if you look closely at our one you can see some of the old markings through the green paint, which would suggest it was used in more of a civil roll.
Thank you, Roy, for your efforts great bit of history there
RUNWAY CARAVANS BEDFORD TK
ROYAL AIR FORCE
This will fit in with the surrounding and maybe harder to spot for enemy aircraft but providing an important roll for returning planes to a damaged airfield. Clearly with the age of these models being post war these wouldn't of seen any action.
MAINLY USED ON CIVIL AVIATION AIRFIELDS
Clearly in this livery it would of been easy for pilots to spot while landing so they could take visual instructions if necessary.
