On 3 September, Circuit Zolder announced that during the upcoming 2019 edition of the American Festival NASCAR Finals on 5-6 October, Circuit Zolder is inviting all track marshals that will be working on Sunday to a big barbeque party that the track will host at the circuit’s paddock area as a way to reward and thank the marshals for the job that they have done to help organize motor racing competitions into an event that is enjoyable and safe for all participants.
This event was initiated by Bert Longin, father of current Euro Series Elite 1 championship leader Stienes Longin. The Longin family is among the current ambassadors of Circuit Zolder and they will be receiving full support from the circuit officials to organize the event during the 2019 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season finale race week.
Bert stated that he’s been thinking of doing this for quite a while and decided to spoke to the circuit officials on the idea after he learned about the tragic accident that happened during the Formula 2 Feature Race at Spa-Francorchamps last week that led to the death of promising young talent Anthoine Hubert and Juan Manuel Correa being seriously injured.
“It’s an idea that I’ve been playing with for a while, but it’s the right time for it to become a reality,” said Bert Longin in a press release that was released by Circuit Zolder. “The track marshals may be the most important group of people during a motor race, but sometimes they are assigned the most thankless tasks. The tragic events of last weekend in Spa have demonstrated that. Because motorsport is not possible without them, it is the right time that we thank those people from the bottom of our hearts. That is why on Sunday 6 October, the closing day of the American Festival, we are organizing a large barbecue at 6 pm in our VIP tent in the paddock of Circuit Zolder. All track marshals are welcome!”
“We need those people [track marshals] to organize races,” said Sven Pribylla, the General Manager of Circuit Zolder in the same press release. “That is why we are happy to give all the support to this project.”
Bert also invites every other team and driver that will take part in the American Festival NASCAR Finals to help support this special event.
“I am sure that we are not the only ones who would like to thank the marshals,” further adds Bert. Teams and drivers who want to support this initiative can always contact us via bert.longin@longin.be or pm@sportplus.be.”
Disclaimer: Unless noted, all photos used in this article are courtesy of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Stephane Azemard.