Few professional racing drivers – let alone amateurs – ever get closer to a Formula 1 starting grid than a simulator, but for a growing number of licensed SCCA® volunteers, the F1 paddock is not only accessible, but beckoning, as in: North American Grand Prix Racing Wants You!
Oregon Region’s Cierra da Corte is one of those “growing numbers.”
In late April, the skilled 27-year-old military medical readiness specialist joins several Region members flying to South Florida to enjoy the May 2-4, 2025, Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix – not as a spectator, but as one of several hundred SCCA members serving in key roles at the first of three 2025 U.S. F1 races.
Washington State native Cierra will take to Florida a wealth of volunteer experience.
"I've been going to Oregon Region races since I was literally a baby,” she says. “My dad, Russ Newhouse, drove a Super Vee in vintage classes forever, and when he couldn't afford to race anymore, he became a flagger.
“When I was a lot younger, my mom came with us. She worked on safety trucks and was very involved in the really early stages. Not so much anymore. I’m an only child, so it was just my dad and me. When it was the weekend in the summertime, you know, we were at the racetrack.”
Hard at Work
Cierra started working in Race Control as a data logger at about age eight, happily ramping up her involvement and expanding her role into her teens.
“When I was about 15,” she remembers, "the SCCA lowered the minimum age for drivers [and] they made a big push in our Region – you know, 'If they can drive, they can flag’ kind of thing.
Cierra has been working Flagging & Communications ever since, upgrading her license from Regional to Divisional to National with a growing fascination for pro racing, notably Formula 1.
At age 19, da Corte (she was Cierra Newhouse then) joined a handful of Oregon Region fellows and headed to Texas.
“The first F1 race I volunteered at was in 2016 at Circuit of The Americas, and it was amazing,” she exclaims. “It was a dream. The station I was at was 20A, on the front straight – the jackpot, really, for your first experience. You get to stand on the front straight and see all that amazingness happen.”
She’s been going back ever since, though she missed a couple of years after getting married and living briefly in Hawaii [where her new husband was stationed] – too expensive to travel from there.
Back home in Vancouver, WA, in 2021, she quickly rejoined the F&C fray – regionally and at pro races.
"I've done the USGP at COTA a handful of times now,” she explains, "I've done both Las Vegas F1 races and this will be my third Miami race, though I’m going as the Assistant Registrar and a runner for Race Control – so I won't be on a station. I'll be more on like the admin side.”
In Demand
SCCA volunteers are in huge demand at FIA events like F1, as well as at IMSA events, IndyCar, and other pro races because of their experience and training which, in all specialties, is top-notch.
“Training-wise, Oregon Region is just so great – they have great training methods. It's very hands-on; you don't stand around and watch. We put a flag in your hand and you learn by doing with skilled company. The consistency and the welcome – how welcome the Region makes everyone feel – you just keep coming back...
"And then the training on site at F1 races is really great,” she goes on. "We have classroom time and then, for the people who respond to on-track incidents, there is hands-on time with the cars before we go hot, that kind of stuff.
“The F1 and SCCA race officials put a really solid focus on training and on safety. We’re briefed every day – ‘This is what happened yesterday and this is how we're gonna be better today.’”
Da Corte says she could see her husband out on track someday in the ’86 Mazda RX-7 now sitting in their garage, waiting for attention.
“He was always a car guy and he’s done a couple of Oregon Region races with me,” she says. “When we have IndyCar at Portland, he comes out. I kind of drag him along – he comes out and flags when he can.
But, Cierra says she’s never had the desire to get out on track herself.
“No, for me it’s always been like, you know, I could or should do that kind of stuff, but at this point, I would rather be on this side of the fence kind of thing. I enjoy it so much and,” she laughs, “well, you only have to see just so many impacts and incidents to be like, 'I think I know my place.'"
Stay Flexible
Are there any special skills needed to work a Formula 1 race vs. an SCCA U.S. Majors Tour® or Hoosier Racing Tire Super Tour?
“This goes for a lot of events, but I’d say just the need to be flexible. Stuff is always changing and [at an F1 race] we're on TV time, on FIA time, and we're there to support. So just to be flexible, ready for anything, ready to jump,” she laughs.
“In F1, you're at the same station all weekend, though you can be at a different station every year,” she explains. "I've done the [SCCA National Championship] Runoffs® a couple of times – at Indianapolis and Laguna Seca – and I think it's great that you kind of change stations throughout the week. Gives you a really cool perspective.
“But I think in an F1 setting, you really want to be in the same place every day. It requires a specialist sort of mindset.”
Cierra’s advice for an SCCA member who’s on the fence, volunteering at the local level but looking longingly at working F1 or IMSA?
"Just come out and do it,” she says. “It’s a big professional event, but at the same time … everyone is relatively easygoing and welcoming. We love having new people there, and it's not as daunting as you might think. The SCCA gives you a lot of tools before and during the event to be successful.
"I was told as a kid and know it’s true: It carries a lot of weight to have an SCCA license of some kind. It means that you've done the work and you've shown up and you’ve gained experience."
On to Miami
Cierra’s husband, hard at work on an electrical engineering degree, won’t be going with her to this year’s Miami F1 race, but she’ll have plenty of company over the weekend in the form of an ever-active Oregon Region Community.
“It's myself and then Kim McFarland – she's one of our starters and she's actually been the Assistant Race Chairman for this event a couple of times. One of our stewards is coming to flag. Another one of our guys, a driver in a different local club, will be on the Pit & Grid team. Every year we tend to get more Oregon Region people going.
“It’s long hours, but it truly is the best seat in the house – in my humble opinion, anyway.”
Not that there is much time for sitting, but such is the dream. And Cierra da Corte has no plans to give it up any time soon.
Want to work FIA and IMSA races like Cierra does? Contact your local SCCA Region and start volunteering today. From there, you’ll get access to SCCA’s Learning Management System (LMS) tutorials and begin your journey. Find out more at scca.com/trackside.
Photo courtesy Cierra da Corte
