CAREERS & FEATURES increasing acclaim around Britain and Europe ’ s most iconic circuits . Marcus is now well-established in the pro / am sports car racing world as one of the country ’ s top GT4 competitors .
GT4 class cars are closely related to the prestige sports cars driven by the public , usually factory-built by manufacturers like Porsche and Lamborghini , but modified to equalise performance . They compete in endurance races , which can last up to three hours and involve around 30 to 40 cars , so driving skills really are put to the test .
Marcus drove a Ferrari 458 to second place in the 2015 British GT Cup last year , driving with Tom Ingram ( scoring five wins ) and is pushing to be the British GT4 pro / am champion this year , along with Abbie Eaton , his co-driver in a Maserati Gran Turismo MC .
He says : “ It ’ s an endurance test rather than the sprint races I used to do over 20-30 minutes , so you ’ re allowed to use two drivers during the race with a changeover . I ’ m an amateur driver and this year I ’ ve started sharing the driving with Abbie , a professional . We ’ ve had a surprisingly successful season in the top flight and are [ at the time of writing ] currently second in the Pro-Am Championship .
“ It ’ s the ultimate personal test . What I do on a dayto-day basis with Cranswick is very much involved with teamwork ; a group of people working together to win . GT4 has team elements , but it ’ s basically you and your machine against other people and their machines – it ’ s very combative and the adrenaline high is unsurpassed .”
Marcus may be classed as an amateur , but he has to work hard to maintain fitness and raise the funds . “ Sometimes it really does feel like another job ,” he says . “ As soon as Christmas dinner is finished , I have to start losing any extra weight , training three or four times a week before testing starts in earnest in April and May .”
Spring , summer and autumn bring a series of competitions around the country , and involve weekends away from home . “ Lisa ’ s amazing and very tolerant ,” he says . “ She gets that it ’ s a massive passion and also a massive opportunity . We have to work very hard each season to secure the sponsorship and there ’ s a lot of networking and pitching involved . But it could all end tomorrow so you have to give it 100 % when you have the chance .”
The time and effort become worthwhile when Marcus lines up alongside other competitors on the grid . “ When it ’ s just you and the machine , the feeling is unmatchable ,” he says . “ The adrenalin rush when you ’ re doing 140mph , just millimetres away from other cars racing round the track , is like a dream .”
Football was his only obsession when he was younger . “ Luckily for my dad , I wasn ’ t into go-karting then , because football boots are a lot cheaper ,” he laughs . “ Jamie always comes to watch me race now , but I ’ m also trying to keep his real interest limited to football and rugby for the same reason !”
Marcus ’ enthusiasm for ‘ the beautiful game ’ was such that he persuaded his Pocklington School teachers to establish a football team to run alongside the well-established rugby team , when he joined the Senior School from Lyndhurst Prep in 1987 .
“ Even then , Pocklington was about giving people the opportunity to do what they were good at , to develop their passions and encourage them in the areas they were not so good at . It ’ s one of the reasons my son is starting there soon ,” Marcus says .
“ Friends with children there now say that ’ s still very much the case . Pock fulfils all the academic , music and sporting demands to produce people with rounded personalities and a rounded set of skills . I ’ ve always been very competitive and Pocklington nurtures that side of things , too . I ’ m looking forward to getting to know the place again .”
ZANNA ON VLOGGING , BLOGGING AND FITNESS
Zanna van Dijk ( 99-10 ) spent her time at Pocklington School dodging exercise in all its forms . Today , she is one of the country ’ s most popular fitness vloggers and bloggers , whose posts are viewed by thousands of people worldwide .
Her total ease in front of the camera and clear writing style and has earned ( at time of going to press ) 123,000 Instagram followers , 17,775 YouTube subscribers , and a devoted website following . Her posts , vlogs and blogs detail her daily workouts , food diaries , travel tips and more – all promoting a healthy , nutritious and fitness-based lifestyle .
Zanna , 24 , is also a fitness model and personal trainer – but it ’ s her blogs and vlogs which gather the most attention . Brands are queuing up to attract her endorsement , offering travel and freebies galore . This summer she flew out to the Rio Olympics with Adidas , who laid on a luxury villa shared with other vloggers and bloggers , plum seats at the Games , and introduced her to athletes including Tom Daley .
Zanna said : “ I attended the cycling , basketball and athletics ; all of which were incredible . At the cycling I got to see world and Olympic records being broken !
“ I loved seeing Jess Ennis and Greg Rutherford achieve their medals . My favourite moment was when Mo Farrah came back from a fall and went on to win gold in the 10,000m ; and then came and hugged his daughter who was seated in front of me .
I could see the tears in his eyes and I felt so proud to be supporting him and Team GB .”
She added : “ It was certainly a once in a lifetime experience . Adidas gave us such incredible opportunities . We got to watch the Games , meet the athletes and explore the city by going on hikes and day trips . I left feeling super inspired by the people I met !”
Zanna has appeared on TV , and on the front cover of Sunday Times Style and Women ’ s Fitness magazines , with accompanying features detailing her work-out regime and fitness tips .
The Sunday Times described Zanna as one of the “ hottest # fitstagram stars out there ” – yet at Pocklington School , she insists she was a bookish teacher ’ s pet who had no interest in exercise .
“ I really enjoyed the academic side of things and put a lot of effort in – but I was definitely not sporty ,” she recalls . “ I was tall [ she ’ s now 6ft 2ins ] so should really have been a netballer , at least , but it was always too cold and I ’ d make up excuses .
“ I was always at the back in cross country and I used to get my mum to write notes to excuse me from swimming . I never went near the gym and I couldn ’ t have cared less about exercise .”
Zanna , who comes from near Beverley , East Yorkshire , started out in the same vein at the University of Sheffield , where she gained a first class honours degree in Speech Science . But then her attitude changed .
“ It was a slow transition and very much a learning curve ,” she says . “ I was fed up of feeling tired and unhealthy and started to try and change . I made loads of mistakes along the way , like bad diets and exercises I didn ’ t like , but then I found my own balance .”
She and a friend followed fitness posts on Instagram and , partly to motivate themselves , started their own accounts to document their fitness quests . Zanna started to attract a following – and hasn ’ t looked back since .
“ I never intended for vlogging or blogging to become my job ,” she says . “ When I was at school it didn ’ t even exist . You couldn ’ t – and still can ’ t study to become either . It was just an organic thing .
9