FOCUSING ON SAFETY AWAY FROM THE TRACK

Safety is undeniably an important topic for racing drivers on the UK’S circuits. But it’s not just the racers themselves that need to stay safe, team members do too. And one company that’s very much embracing that safety philosophy is the family-run awning and trailer business Weatherweave.

The majority of awnings that teams use, need to be constructed and packed away by mechanics standing on top of trucks. Even with equipment like harnesses now being used, it’s still not a particularly safe practice.

“When they break the awning down they get on the truck, they pull the roof sheet back, so that’s 30m² of roof sheet on the truck, four metres in the air and that can catch the wind,” points out Weatherweave’s managing director Alex Pilgrim, himself a former Caterham and British GT racer. “The roof sheet acts like a sail and with extreme weather, that can be dangerous.”

But Pilgrim’s company has developed a clever solution to this problem. Weatherweave has created a system that allows the awning to be assembled and taken down while still on the ground. Using ropes and pulleys, the roofing sheets can be fed onto the frame – which is constructed as normal – and a joining strip secures it all in place. Rather than standing on the roof of a lorry, this can all be done from step-ladders or on the ground.

Significantly, this technique can be applied to existing awnings, so teams don’t have to buy a whole new piece of kit.

“The product was originally designed to fit our awnings,” explains Pilgrim. “We’ve now brought out another product for people that have other brands’ awnings because they use different sized beads. We’ve got three different sizes: 5-8mm, another which is 5-11mm and one that’s 5-13mm.

“It’s also about being able to take an awning down easier and faster, so there are massive benefits. The teams that have got it are over the moon with it.”

It’s affordable too, with the joining strips costing between £10 and £30 and the rope kit £40. But the key benefit is safety and it was designed with that very much in mind.

“The reason I developed this is I couldn’t live with having someone injured because I developed a product that they couldn’t use safely,” says Pilgrim.

This and a range of Weatherweave’s other products are available to buy from the company’s online shop, featuring nextday delivery by courier.