Jackie Stewart, the three-times Formula One World Championship winner often said
the only true professionals in motorsport racing are the mechanics.
And, despite the pressure of the high-octane pace, gruelling work and long hours
it’s a role an islander from Lewis thrives in.
Morgan Macsween who hails from Ness is a race mechanic at JHR Developments at the centre of the British Formula 4 championship.
Daily, he’s rubbing shoulders Pete Silwinski, a former engineer with Lewis Hamilton’s team.
The 21-year-old has an exciting start to 2025, jumping up to the GB3 Championship
team as JHR embrace the faster F1-inspired machine Tatuus MSV GB3-025 on its race
debut.
Having completed a comprehensive development testing programme across circuits in Italy and Spain just before Christmas, the new Tatuus MSV has already proven to be faster than its predecessor.
Hailed as a “hugely exciting” addition with “extra spice” to the GB3 Championship, JHR will have the car running continuously in the UK across the coming weeks as preparations ramp up.
That piles on the pressure for Morgan and his team mates to maintain JHR’s reputation as proven front runners in every series they enter. They’re one of ten competing in this season’s GB3 competitions.
“This will be a huge year in carrying on my journey to Formula 1 as a mechanic,” says the former Ness FC and Camanachd Leòdhais shinty player.
“I want to be in Formula 1 as I believe it’s the pinnacle of engineering, truly extracting everything you can out of the team.
“I believe I work hard enough to be able to achieve that goal.
“F4 is a great starting point and it’s given me a good base to my career, and with the GB3 car being new this year it will teach me a lot about finding the basic things that enhance a car’s performance.
“Unfortunately, I don’t get to drive the cars on track. The younger me always had a dream to be a racing driver but being a mechanic you see how much funding people need to make it to F3 let alone Formula 1.”
For the moment he’s sticking to the less expensive side of the tracks preparing the cars to their optimum performance.
Morgan’s love for motorsports started from the age of five after being inspired by
go-karting sessions at the former Lewis Karting Centre.
Countless hours glued to the TV watching Formula 1 and WRC rallies built up his knowledge of the sport.
Through his early teenage years in Ness he tinkered about on cars with his dad teaching him the basics.
His ultimate goal was always to become a motorsport mechanic, normal garage work didn’t appeal.
Driven by determination to chase his dream, Morgan found work and saved up every penny he could while researching college courses offering suitable training.
National College for Motorsport at heart of UK racing at the Silverstone Circuit was the perfect choice but seemed miles out of his reach. Fierce competition for places and his lack of experience stood against him. Conscious this could be his only opportunity and with nothing to lose he completed the form.
“With no background of being at any motorsport events or being a mechanic I thought my chances were slim,” said Morgan.
“But I sent in the application and got accepted.
“At this point life felt like a complete dream that I was about to get involved in things that I had seen on TV for years.
“I put all my effort into making it work as I knew I only had one shot at it.
“I am so thankful for the people that helped make it happen.”
A big bonus of the trainee race technician course was free access to the neighbouring
famous Silverstone track. There Morgan gained all important hands-on experience coupled
with two days a week in college rebuilding single seater race cars.
On a day-to-day shift, Morgan’s work involves fitting and cleaning tyres, stocking
and cleaning the race truck, checking everything is prepared and ready for their
next outing. He and the team also help prepare the race cars which includes cleaning
parts and repairing damage from the previous race. Sometimes, this interval can be
up to two weeks ensuring the cars are in prime condition to compete on track.
A typical race weekend gets going on the Thursday with an awning or a garage erected as a temporary base. Race cars are despatched for weighing, checking they’re within strict legal limits.
Two 45 minute sessions on the track are scheduled on Fridays.
“I do the pit board telling the driver how many laps left to do and pitstops and
any set-up changes to extract the most out of the car.
“Saturday is the best day in my opinion. The adrenaline kicks in when we start off
with qualifying. It’s a 20-minute session and you have to make a pitstop which could
be the deciding factor of your weekend.
“The adrenaline is one of my favourite things about working as a team to get the best result.
“A couple of hours qualifying we have Race 1 where the jobs can vary anywhere from manning the pit board to changing a front wing or a punctured tyre.
Closing off the weekend are two races on the Sunday to make any changes to peak the cars to race ready status.
“Then, after a long day we have pack down. Everything is packed away into the race truck and taken back to the workshop.
“Outside of the track we all stay in the same hotel and eat together, so really these people are like a second family with the the amount of time you spend away and we try do some fun activities like karting or mini golf to relax a little.”
Life in the pitlane is the dream job for Morgan Macsween
22 January 2025
