There are many well-known individuals part of the close-knit Motorsport Australia volunteer officials family – especially when it comes to the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix.
 
One of those notable individuals is Peter Rackley – better known by his nickname, “Snowy”.
 
Volunteering as a Motorsport Australia official at every Australian Grand Prix since it first moved to Melbourne in 1996, Snowy has been in recovery for almost all that time.
 
The position itself is quite unique as it can transition from very quiet to extremely demanding in a matter of moments, keeping recovery officials like Snowy on their toes throughout the weekend.
 
But for Snowy, who is a very popular figure amongst the 940 officials at this year’s Grand Prix, there are always ways to keep occupied during the nation’s premiere motorsport event.
 
“I’ve been an official for the best part of 27 years now and I enjoy recovery at both the Grand Prix and other events as well,” Snowy said.
 
“Over the years, I have had some good memories and picked up some pretty cool drivers’ cars, including Mark Webber in 2008 when he crashed at turn six.
 
“I was recently moved to turn one which gets busy every so often, but there was a lot going on there last year because cars from every category had issues there, including Formula 2, Formula 3 cars and Supercars.
 
“However the big highlight was last year’s Formula 1 race after the safety car restart, when there were multiple cars at once. That kept me busy.
 
“And that’s the thing with recovery – one year you might get nothing, then the next, everything turns pear-shaped – so I enjoy the challenge of that, as well as enjoying the crowd.
 
“You meet some amazing people here in Albert Park and I like to interact with the crowd – sometimes I like to stir the ones in the grandstands and have a bit of fun and games with them.”

Although Snowy has spent a long time volunteering at the Australian Grand Prix, he has also been an official at many other events – anywhere from club level and state events to Supercars.
 
But it’s his overall positive attitude and playful demeanour that makes him someone that other officials naturally gravitate towards.
 
“I used to do about 29 events a year and nine of them were Supercars rounds, but it got tough so I had to wind it down unfortunately,” Snowy added.
 
“I originally started doing car shows when a friend of mine invited me to be an official and I got started here. I was introduced to recovery and officiating at the AGP a long time ago and haven’t looked back since.
 
“I think the fact that I like to have fun is a reason why people enjoy working with me. In fact, everyone that works with me ends up wanting to work with me again because I do stir the crowd – and it’s because I believe that you’ve got to enjoy life.
 
“I have my nickname because of my hair, and everyone knows me as that and not my real name, but I think because I used to play the official ‘Strawney’ (fictional character played by Peter Helliar) lookalike at events, and people had a lot of fun with me.
 
“I just enjoy the sport and being an official. I always have a lot of fun.”