FOCUSINGON SAFETYAWAY FROMTHETRACKSafety is undeniably an important topic for
racing drivers on the UK’scircuits. But it’s not
just the racers themselves that need to stay
safe, teammembers do too. And one company
that’s very much embracing that safety
philosophyis thefamily-runawning and trailer
business WeatherWeave.
The majority of awnings thatteams use,
need to be constructed and packedaway by
mechanics standing on top of trucks. Even with
equipment like harnesses now being used,it’s
still not a particularly safepractice.
“When they breakthe awningdowntheyget
on the truck, theypull the roof sheet back, so
that’s 30m² of roof sheet on the truck, four
metres in theair andthat 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 asail andwith extreme weather, that can be
dangerous.”
But Pilgrim’s company has developeda
clever solution to this problem. WeatherWeave
has created a system that allowsthe awning to
be assembled and taken down while still on the
ground. Usingropes and pulleys, the roofing
sheets can befed onto the frame – whichis
constructed as normal – and a joining strip
secures itall in place.Rather than standing
on the roof of a lorry, this can all be done from
step-ladders oron the ground.
Significantly, this technique can be applied to
existing awnings, so teams don’t have tobuy a
wholenew piece of kit.
“The product was originally designed to fit
our awnings,” explains Pilgrim. “We’ve now
brought out anotherprod uct for peoplethat
have otherbrands’awnings because they use
different sized beads. We’ve got threedifferent
sizes: 5-8mm, another which is 5-11mm and
one that’s 5-13mm.
“It’s alsoabout being able to take anawning
down easier and faster,so there aremassive
benefits. The teams that have got itare over
the moon with it.”
It’s affordabletoo, with the joiningstrips
costing between £10 and £30 and the ropekit
£40. But the key benefit is safety and it was
designedwith that very much in mind.
“The reason I developed this is I couldn’t
live with having someone injured becauseI
developeda product that they couldn’t use
safely,” says Pilgrim.
This and a range of WeatherWeave’s
otherproducts areavailableto buy from the
company’s online
shop, featuring next-
day delivery
by courier.Promotional Feature’FOCUSINGON SAFETYAWAY FROMTHETRACK
Safety is undeniably an important topic for
racing drivers on the UK’scircuits. But it’s not
just the racers themselves that need to stay
safe, teammembers do too. And one company
that’s very much embracing that safety
philosophyis thefamily-runawning and trailer
business WeatherWeave.
The majority of awnings thatteams use,need to be constructed and packedaway by
mechanics standing on top of trucks. Even with
equipment like harnesses now being used,it’s
still not a particularly safepractice.
“When they breakthe awningdowntheygeton the truck, theypull the roof sheet back, so
that’s 30m² of roof sheet on the truck, four
metres in theair andthat 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 andwith extreme weather, that can be
dangerous.”
But Pilgrim’s company has developeda
clever solution to this problem. WeatherWeave
has created a system that allowsthe awning to
be assembled and taken down while still on the
ground. Usingropes and pulleys, the roofing
sheets can befed onto the frame – whichis
constructed as normal – and a joining strip
secures itall in place.Rather than standing
on the roof of a lorry, this can all be done from
step-ladders oron the ground.
Significantly, this technique can be applied to
existing awnings, so teams don’t have tobuy a
wholenew piece of kit.
“The product was originally designed to fit
our awnings,” explains Pilgrim. “We’ve now
brought out anotherprod uct for peoplethat
have otherbrands’awnings because they use
different sized beads. We’ve got threedifferent
sizes: 5-8mm, another which is 5-11mm and
one that’s 5-13mm.
“It’s alsoabout being able to take anawning
down easier and faster,so there aremassive
benefits. The teams that have got itare over
the moon with it.”
It’s affordabletoo, with the joiningstrips
costing between £10 and £30 and the ropekit
£40. But the key benefit is safety and it was
designedwith that very much in mind.
“The reason I developed this is I couldn’t
live with having someone injured becauseI
developeda product that they couldn’t use
safely,” says Pilgrim.
This and a range of WeatherWeave’s
otherproducts areavailableto buy from the
company’s online
shop, featuring next-
day delivery
by courier.Promotional Feature’