Race marshals at the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) are a low-profile team that is key to the success of the biggest annual sporting events of Monaco: the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Rallye Monte-Carlo and the e-Prix race.
Since the first Monaco Grand Prix, held on 14 April 1929, marshals recruited from among the members of the ACM ensured the smooth running of the event. They wore a simple leather cuff on their left arm.
However, a tragedy led to the creation of the official corps of ACM Marshals as it exists today. In May 1967 at the Monaco Grand Prix, Italian driver Lorenzo Bandini lost his life after his Ferrari caught fire at the exit of the double bend at the port. “I was nine years old and remember the flames and smoke very well. It was a traumatic event,” Prince Albert II said of Bandini’s fatal accident. The slow and complicated arrival of emergency services highlighted an urgent need to establish structured measures to protect drivers.
This is what ACM President Michel Boeri did in 1972 with the creation of a specialised, responsive and well-trained group of marshals. Army-like in how it operates, the group’s motto is none other than “Dare and Serve”.
Today, around 700 marshals are on hand for every major automobile event organised in the Principality. They carry out key missions: on-track intervention, road signalling, pit management and public safety. “All are volunteers, rigorously trained every year in a range of hands-on workshops aimed at testing reflexes, physical skills, reasoning skills and team cohesion,” says the ACM.
The Monaco Fire and Emergency Service takes part in workshop training on fire risks. Handling fire extinguishers, evacuating an injured person and how to cross guardrails are just some of the life-saving gestures taught to marshals by firefighters.
This continuous training, approved by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), guarantees a level of expertise recognized well beyond Monaco’s borders. ACM marshals are regularly invited to intervene on other racetracks around the world.
Since 1975, all marshals have been equipped with an orange suit that has earned them the nickname “Orange Army”, even though, during road events (Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique and e-Rallye Monte-Carlo), they swap their jumpsuit for a red sweater and jacket.
In 2025, the documentary “Les Anges-gardiens de Monaco”, written and co-produced by Yann-Antony Noghès and directed by Franck Florino, pays tribute to the discretion, efficiency and team spirit of these enthusiasts.
