Expert Witness

Martyn Thake has more than 30 years of comprehensive motorsports and special event experience; encompassing all areas of facility design, operation and management, racetrack design, construction management, event promotion, event management, operations and logistics management, sanctioning body track inspection, insurance inspection, risk management inspection, risk assessment, safety plan design and implementation, event management planning and implementation, race car design and manufacture, performance driving instruction and emergency service dispatch.

More than 100 different motorsports and entertainment facilities (including drag strips, dirt ovals, paved ovals, go-kart tracks, permanent road courses, 30+ temporary street races, temporary events and TV shows) around the world have benefited from my input on their operations procedures and facility/track design, redesign and inspection. I have performed hundreds of operational reviews, track inspections, designs and redesigns for CART/Champcar, IMSA, ALMS, FIA, IRL and SCCA, as well as insurance companies and independent clients from around the world and have advised and testified as an expert witness.

As an FIA track inspector, I currently serve as the backup inspector for FIA-licensed tracks (Grade 2 or higher). I am also an instructor for the SCCA’s Track Reviewer program.

As an experienced professional expert witness, I offer testimony in the areas of: Racetrack design, construction, operation and management – Racecar design, manufacture and distribution – On-track & off-track safety (design & implementation) – Event planning, operation and management – Emergency services – Emergency service dispatch – Performance driving.

Past clients include; Arizona Counties Insurance Pool, The Cincinnati Insurance Company, Mt Hawley Insurance, K&K Insurance, Naughton Insurance, Evanston Insurance Company, Wells Fargo Insurance, Truesports/Mid-Ohio, the American Le Mans Series, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and CART/Champcar.

I was a founding board member of the Motorsports Safety Foundation. MSF is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving safety standards in all forms of motorsport.

As Director of Circuit Development for CART and Champcar (2001-2006), I was responsible for the operational readiness of the racetrack and operational television production for all the tracks the series raced on.

I was a member of the Horton / CART Safety Team (87-02), including 2 years as the Safety Team dispatcher (rapid response, ambulances, wreckers, etc.), President & CEO of the racecar manufacturer SCCA Enterprises (91-95) and a Firefighter/EMT for the Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD), Crested Butte, Colorado (98-01).

My company, Motorsports Consulting Services, LLC (MCS), provided design, construction and event operation and management services, plus operations and logistics department staffing for the Grand Prix events in St Petersburg, Miami, Houston, Cleveland, Denver, and Baltimore. For all these clients we also prepared and operated the event operation and management plans and developed and implemented all safety plans and crisis and communication plans.

2017 – 2020: Projects include; the all-new Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida, the historic Pueblo Motorsports Park in Colorado, M1 Concourse in Pontiac MI, Palmer Motorsports Park in Palmer MA, Wild Horse Pass Raceway in AZ, Eagles Canyon Raceway and MSR Houston in TX, Stonegate Motorsports park in KS and Wolf Creek Autobahn in MN.

In 2017 MCS was retained by FAMZ in Zhejiang China to design a motorsports park, to include an FIA level 2 track as it’s anchor.

In 2016 MCS was retained by a production company to design and build the 10 tracks for a new car show being developed for Netflix. The show, Hyperdrive, was 2 years in design and development, construction and shooting took place in a Rochester NY at an Eastman Kodak plant in July and August of 2018. The show debuted on Netflix in August of 2019.

In 2106 MCS supervised the repaving of Heartland Park Raceway in Topeka, Kansas.

In 2014 MCS was retained by the Goldenport Motorsports Group in China to design two new FIA level 2 facilities. The Central China Goldenport Motor Park in Wuxe City and a Motorsports Theme Park in Zhengzhou.

In 2013 MCS was retained to design the Miami, FL course for the FIA Formula E Championship – the world’s first all-electric racing series.

In 2012 MCS was selected to be the Operations and Logistics provider to the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston. The race took place on the grounds of Reliant Park in Houston TX in October 2013. Due to the NFL schedule only allowing us 9 days access to the site, we completed construction of the entire temporary racing facility in 4 days, a job that usually takes 4 weeks.

In 2008 MCS was commissioned to design the facility and track for an Indycar race on the streets of Baltimore MD.

In 2007 Brainerd International Raceway and Resort in MN, retained MCS to upgrade their facilities. We added a new racetrack inside the existing one, enabling the facility to run drag, road, kart and motor-cross events at the same time. We also designed upgrades for their kart and off-road tracks and reviewed their event operating procedures.

My driving instructor experience spans from the famed Brands Hatch Racing School, to Aston Martin’s Elite Performance Driving Academy, to the prestigious Brainerd International Raceway Performance Driving School.

I understand every case has its own unique requirements. If you are in need of an expert witness in any field that relates to motorsports, please do not hesitate to contact me for a free evaluation and consultation.

Respectfully,
Martyn Thake
+1.303.888.7453 • [email protected]