2015 Motorsport Highlights Reel - Mega Gallery 

"RWS Motorsport" (rwsmotorsport) 12/06/2015 at 10:33 • Filed to: Photodump, RWSMotorsport

48

100

23 Events, 42 days, about 12,000 miles of driving, 60,000 photos. Yep 2015 has been a great year. Heres my favourite pictures from the year, be warned theres 300ish of them, ranging from Goodwood Festival of Speed to Le Mans, to the Nurburgring and club rallying. Enjoy:

The Wyedean Rally in Wales kicked things off for me back in February.

I am sure there are better ways to spend valentines but I’m dammed if I can think of any.

Ex Group-B Metro sideways and muddy.

Mid March and off to Goodwood for the first time, for the 73rd Members Meeting.

Mclaren brought some toys out to play.

as did a select few owners.

There was another photographer there who was saying he had made the trip over from Canada just for the Mclaren F1 demos. Cant say I blame him.

The cars may be 50 years old, but thats no reason not to drive them flat out.

Group C cars had their own special paddock area.

The 905 looks quick standing still. You can see the F1 crossover in this car in a big way. The rear end especially just looks like an F1 car with covered wheels.

At about 10.30 15 or so Group C cars were unleashed. That much fun doesn’t seem like it would be allowed that early in the day.

Mercedes brought this SL, their new AMG GT and an F1 car for a demo on the Saturday.

High Airbox F1s anyone?

So many owners wanted to bring their cars they had to be split into 2 groups and run 2 sessions for the demo runs.

Stoffel Vandoorne driving a quick powerful F1 car. Not something he will get to do for a while...

Nick Swift in the tiny Mini was doing his best to fight the bigger boys in their Camaros and SD1s. One of my favourite memories of this year.

And to top it all off, we got a sunset like this.

I don’t know what deal Lord March has done with God to sort out weather for his 3 events, but its clearly worked. Either that or God is as much of a Petrolhead as Lord March.

From the Members Meeting to the BTCC opener at Brands Hatch.

Freddie ‘son of James’ Hunt, seemed to have a fairly good year, jumping from different cars and different series throughout 2015.

One of the rising stars of the BTCC, Adam Morgan in the Ciceley motorsport A-Class.

Up against the full manufacturer teams, like Yuasa Honda, with the newfor 2015 Type R.

The WEC season opener at Silverstone was my next stop, with the ELMS in support on Saturday, before the 6 hours on Sunday.

Well it wouldn’t be England if it didn’t rain for the WEC.

This picture was taken about 2 hours after the previous one... I love the weather here.

Proof Gulf colours look great on anything.

Marc VDS in their epic Z4 GTE, the only one outside of the USA.

The Mighty 38 Jota car had another strong year, after starting well here at Silverstone.

Its not a proper sportscar race if there isn’t an AF Corse Ferrari in it.

Porsche had the pace at the start of the year, but not the reliability. I cannot wait to see what the 2016 LMP1s look like at Silverstone.

Another new car for Europe, the C7R Corvette in the hands of Larbe. That noise!

Strakka parked their Dome S103 after half the season, making Silverstone this cars 1 and only UK appearance.

And now for something completely different: The British Drift Championship:

This was only 3 weeks after the Members Meeting. About as far apart as you can get in terms of spectators age, style, and yet everyone there because they love cars.

I had no idea what to expect going into this event, but I am so glad I went.

The car control these guys have is incredible. They make it look so effortless and easy, when in reality its clearly anything but.

Admittedly when a 16 year old is driving this 1000bhp monster, you do have to wonder about the sanity of the organisers.

If memory serves me correctly there is an LS engine under the hood of this AE86.

Still in April...

The Britcar 24hr made a return to the calendar.

Sadly lacking in entries, the race was nonetheless good although as attrition took its toll it ended with 12 cars running, and an overall victory for a TCR spec Seat Leon, which had run faultlessly for the full 24hrs.

Radical had their new RXC road legal car there. Thats right, if you feel so inclined you can stick some numberplates on this thing and drive it to the shops.

MARC Cars Australia brought a couple of their Focus over to see how the UK market took to them. Look good, sound good, heres hoping someone buys 1 or 2.

Ginetta were also using it as a proving ground for their new LMP3 car.

And then the heavens opened. Poor marshals had to stand out in this.

Martini Porsche at the Blancpain GT Series in May.

GT3 cars on the full Brands Hatch GP loop is always rather special if you ask me.

I dont like the Z4 road car, but the GT3 is one of my favourite cars of the current lot.

With a great backdrop, and fast flowing corners the cars really fly through here.

Oh and there was a Diablo in the carpark. Standard.

This home built Porsche Turbo is based on a 996 chassis, with a custom body on top,

The Nurburgring 24h in May marked my first time shooting inside the fences as an accredited photographer, and what a way to start.

Heavy rain on the thursday night made for an interesting first practise session for the cars.

It also marked the first time the new R8 went out racing most of its competition with factory teams from lots of other manufacturers also vying for overall glory.

Up against these factories was the SCG003. Sadly after this session the yellow car was withdrawn following a heavy hit with the barrier. Still, the guys gave it 100% the whole weekend up against the might of Audi, BMW, Bentley, Aston Martin, Porsche, Nissan and Mercedes Benz.

Yep, thats a race team sponsored by Haribo.

Bentley had this awesome tribute livery as a reference to their Le Mans win in 2003.

WTCC were also on the support bill. I have to say I dont think this really worked, as 3 laps with about 20 cars did not make a great spectacle. Still, the cars looked cool when they did come past.

The Historic 3 hour race was impossible to follow with regards to the actual race, but to be honest when the cars look this good who cares.

M1 procar in BMW motorsport colours. Yes please.

The pre grid rollout for the N24 is always a bit special.

The SCG was rather popular.

JALOPNIK is EVERYWHERE!!!

Fairly busy at the start.

Billie was making good progress through the field before darkness fell, and it because the unfortunate victim of an oil spill on the Nordschleife.

With 160 odd cars entered, the pitlane was always busy.

Well thats 1 way to save tyre wear.

MANTA!!

Up at the Iconic Karussel, this is a shot I have always wanted to get.

As is this, with the car cocking a wheel as it leaves the concrete banking.

The Germans are crazy! climbing the fence with traffic flares just before midnight, as you do.

Obligatory long exposure shot of the night.

Dirty race cars = the best race cars.

The Schulze run GT-R had a quiet run, which is what you want for a 24 hour race. Sadly is was also a fairly slow run, which is less good.

Amazingly Billie got back out after its night time excursion. From what I heard it ended up on top of the barrier, so mighty impressive stuff from the AMR boys.

And back to Brands Hatch for the FIA Historic Masters.

Some very nice old F1 cars being driven HARD by some mighty fast drivers. Pretty cool hobby.

Its not all F1 cars, with some sportscars also on the bill.

And a demo run from some newer F1 machinery.

A Marlboro sponsored cheese wedge.

And the son of the creator of JCB. Thats a family of proper petrolheads.

Super Touring Cars were also on the bill, although their race was cut short by a big crash halfway round lap 1, which required a Spinal board to get the driver out. Thankfully turned out he had just broken a couple of ribs, but its never good when someone requires medical attention.

E30 M3s make up a good portion of the lower grid of this series, and look great doing it too.

This Ferrari 246 TR made an appearance at the Members Meeting, this event, the Silverstone Classic and the Revival. Not a bad year.

Who let this F1 car onto the grid!

My first year at Le Mans, I can really see why people go every year. Definitely back in 2016.

More special liveries please Porsche.

Another new car for me, the Viper. What a beast.

Midsummer Sunset was pretty great too.

The Low Drag Audi may not be pretty but it was devastatingly quick.

The Aston Art car was a nice treat, and certainly stood out.

Plenty of people out for the start of the race.

I make 3500 bhp in this photo at least.

Murphys Men in their Oreca 03.R

The Nissans looked good, in my opinion. Shame the program was a bit of a flop. I really hope they come back fighting in 2016. I know they have a list of excuses longer than this post of why 2015 was tough, but they really have to have them ironed out in 2016, and at least be on the back of the LMP1H field, rather than just barely faster than an LMP2.

(spoiler altert!!) The eventual winners leaving the forest esses.

The morning after. Don’t go offline in the Ford Chicane.

Down at Mulsanne, with an assortment of drunk French fans.

The two Toyotas had a faultless run. Just slow. Another team that needs a good 2016.

I think they are quite pleased.

2 weeks later and back to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed. HOLY CRAP THIS IS AWESOME!

If you want to just look at the cars and arent that fussed about seeing them go up the hill, go on Thursday as they are almost all there, and its much quieter.

On the three other days its hard to get a clear shot of the cars.

Anyone a Ferrari fan?

Or a rotary fan?

The Honda Screamer was not a car I expected to see. Cool little thing, made slightly cooler for me by the fact I built a model of this exact car over the winter.

Its a car I hadn’t heard of before Gran Turismo, but this has to be one of the prettiest cars ever made, the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2.

Being allowed to get this close to the proper F1 machinery is far to fun to be allowed.

This 90s F1 cars are just so clean and simple. Can we go back to this please?!

Kimi on the Friday in the F2012.

Queueing before going up the hill.

Rothmans 956. Seriously, this event needs to be on any petrolheads bucket list.

Dindo Capello waving to Lotterer (out of shot) driving a 908/03

The Kamaz Dakar truck did some tree trimming on its way up the hill.

The Rally stage is really cool side show to the main hill.

And when Kris Meeke is on it in his WRC spec DS3 physics stop applying.

Lancia 037 although sadly not in Martini colours. I mean that is like complaining that you’ve just been given a lifetime supply of beer, but its only your second favourite kind of beer.

SWB Quattro tearing through the forest.

An uncleaned TS040 from this 2 weeks earlier.

Double Gulf.

And my first Singer 911. These are even better in person, if thats possible. Being driven by none other than Chris Harris.

Ferrari brought an FXXK, along with every other car in their lineup. Because Goodwood.

And a Pagani huaayayryrayaya (SP?)

The before shot.

M8F, also owned by the JCB family.

Slightly different, the noise of this thing was unlike anything else, even the 787bs.

And the Hoonicorn.

Double Group B epicness.

And the Kings car. So many other drivers were taking pictures of this thing on their phones.

Mad Mike living up to his name.

All the marshals came forward to wave as Sir Stirling Moss came up this hill in 722.

BJ Baldwin took this thing round the rally stage too. It really struggled to fit through the narrower parts of the course.

The Manthay Porsche came over from Germany to have a go in the top 40 run offs.

Only at Goodwood would you find a Nissan R90CK left around the back of some trucks.

Lotterer and Pirro just chilling before going up the hill.

And a Batmobile.

And back to Brands Hatch in July for some more HSCC racing.

Junior Formula cars make really good club racers, and there are dozens of series for different kinds in the UK.

More rain, this time at the Silverstone Classic in July.

More Group C cars though so can’t really complain.

These are some seriously brave guys to come out in cars this powerful with that little grip. And it was only a practise session.

This was one of the final sessions run without a safety car, and with that much water you can see why a safety car wasn’t a bad idea.

The E-type has exploded in popularity in the UK for racing, with more and more being restored and modified to race specs.

Offline the standing water was pretty significant.

The open topped cars in this weather cant be fun.

The 90s Gt Legends paddock was pretty tasty too.

550LM is another bucket list car for me.

Saturday was much nicer than Friday at Silverstone, and the Funfair was in full swing.

Finding the Breadvan in the paddock became a priority when I saw a tweet on Friday showing it was there.

I might be alone in this view, but I stand by it, this is 1 stunning car in person.

More F1 cars from the 80s.

What a great hobby to have for these guys, getting to do 6 or 7 rounds around Europe racing some wonderful old cars.

The Supertouring cars have really enjoying their comeback since the idea of setting up a series for them was suggested a couple of years ago.

The Lola T70 would put a lot of modern machinery to shame with its speed, this thing is ridiculously fast considering it must be 40 years old.

And we got a great sunset to make up for the previous days abysmal weather.

Group C cars at dusk was a great way to close down the Saturday.

And what a sunset we were treated too.

The rain came back Sunday, however I cant complain as it allowed me to capture this, my favourite shot of 2015.

And this picture later became my first printed work, featured in Classic Porsche magazine in their wrap up of the event.

Sadly the meeting was curtailed early because of the rain, meaning the Super Tourers and the Group Cs didn’t get to come out again.

Back to Brands Hatch, this time for the British GT Championship.

GT3 and GT4 cars make up the grid making for an interesting mixed class event.

Brands Hatch in the sun takes some beating if you ask me.

Snetterton for the BTCC was up next.

Snetterton is an old airfield so its very flat and open. It does make getting an interesting backdrop for pictures fairly tough, but gives some good views for spectating.

Team BMR upped their game massively this year, becoming a serious threat for the title. If 2016 picks up where 2015 left off in the BTCC it’ll be a bumper year.

Porsches have been a staple of the BTCC support bill for years, but this year with 27 of them was the first year that the racing has lived up to the expectation. Another series which I have high hopes for in 2016.

Andy Jordan had a special livery for the weekend to celebrate 25 years of Pirtek. It was pretty hard to miss.

Umm, not sure thats the right way to do that corner?

And back to Brands Hatch again, this time for the Lotus Festival.

The rarely used Rally Stage at Brands was being used to take passengers out in a pair of Talbot Lotus rally cars and scare them stupid.

Lotus themselves also brought out a pair of F1 cars to do demonstrations on the track.

The Lotus On Track Europe trophy shows just how popular the make it across Europe, with something like 40 cars out on the entry.

The Brighton Speed Trials made a welcome return to the calendar in 2014, and showed signs of being back to full strength this year.

There can’t be many events where you can race an F40 against an MG Midget, an RX7 rallycross car, and an AC Cobra kit car.

Variety is the spice of life.

A completely standard RS4 Avant was in the same class as the F40. No idea who was faster though,

The Speed Trials are not just for cars, with plenty of bikes out there racing too. The number of full spec drag bikes has dropped but there are still plenty of modified sports bikes to fill the gap.

Plenty of people come out for the event too.

And the same weekend as the Speed trials an event thats about 10 minutes from my house, Shere Hill Climb takes over a local lane to run ‘non competitive’ motorsport. So no timing, no winners, but plenty of hooning.

Being close to Mclaren means its not that surprising to see a Papaya Orange Mclaren entered.

The Surrey hills make a great backdrop for this event.

This Escort was making some big power by the looks and sounds of it.

Martini Lancia is always a good sign too.

Note the haybale being clipped by the Morgan. It may not be competitive but that doesn’t mean people aren’t competitive.

And back to Goodwood for the 3rd and final time, this time Revival fever had taken over.

More vintage cars than you can shake a stick at.

Friday was wet, so dirty race cars were the order of Saturday morning.

In case anyone didnt know, there were a couple of Shelby Daytona Coupes there too.

The speed on the straights of these things was impressive, especially when you consider they have drum brakes, so slowing them down begins around about a mile before the corner.

An original Aston Martin DP212(or 214) was part of the Bruce Mclaren Tribute.

The Tourist Trophy had some special cars in it, and was suggested to be the most valuable/expensive grid ever assembled for a race.

This is my phone wallpaper now, just Ferraris.

The Daytonas came out for a high speed demo, with some going for it, and others at a more leisurely pace.

Ferrari 330 TR was in the members enclosure having been driven on the road to spectate.

I guess his picture will have turned out better than mine, it certainly looked incredible as he was sketching away early Sunday morning.

The nose of a 60s Ferrari does take some beating as a pretty, simple, design.

There was plenty at Goodwood for the Tifosi thats for sure.

And then someone let some nutters out on the track.

Don’t say this isn’t competitive racing. If theres even a sniff of a gap the guys in the TT were going for it.

11 Spitfires and 1 Hurricane showed the other side of Goodwood.

And another wonderful sunset on a wonderful weekend of racing.

From one end of the scale to the other, the Birkett 6 hours at Silverstone in October was an interesting Saturday.

With about 240 cars there, racing in teams of 3-5 there was plenty of variety.

Ferraris to BMWs, TVRs to Spires, Smart cars to Clios, this race had pretty much everything which wasn’t an open wheeler.

And rain, meaning lots of Oppo.

Im sure there was some Escort in this car at some point, but now its pretty much all custom. And properly fast for it.

And that concludes the track based section of 2015. 2 more rallies to finish the season off as I started it.

First up was the last ever running of the Tempest rally, with the organisers saying rising costs, more difficulty getting land owners permission, and an ageing management team have killed one of the most popular club rallys in the UK. Shame.

But doom and gloom aside, the rally was great inspite of the miserable weather, and there was some amazing car control on display as a result of the rain.

All the rain, just all of it.

Still, the rain did make for some good puddles.

Boys and their toys, always trying to get them filthy and muddy.

And there were still plenty of people out in the rain enjoying themselves.

Land Rover Defender 90’s dont look like they would make good rally cars. And they dont really, but they are fun as hell to watch wallowing around trying to get the doorhandles to touch the ground.

And then it was WRC time.

Kubica has had an amazing effect on the popularity of Rallying, with about as much Polish heard in the forest as English.

Hail, just to add something different to the equation.

And the staple of UK rallying, a Mk1 Escort

The Welsh forest does make for a spectacular back drop for the spectators willing to wander further from the designated sites

And then the storm hit, and it rained. That does seem to be the theme of this post, cars and rain.

Kris Meeke went well on his home event, although his future is still uncertain with Citroen putting WRC on hold for 2016.

So that was my 2015. Well done if you made it this far. Theres plenty more shots from all the events on my Flickr: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Heres to 2016.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:43

12

Greatest. One-make. Series. Ever.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:46

3

And now it’s time to play “What’s That Company Sponsoring The Race Car?”

So... what’s Unisia, you ask?

From here : Unisia makes “height sensors for electrical or hydraulic systems for vehicles, including land vehicles; stroke sensors for use with shock absorbers for vehicles, including land vehicles; acceleration sensors for measuring longitudinal, rotational and lateral acceleration of vehicles, including land vehicles; and cruise control systems as automatic speed control systems for vehicles, including land vehicles, water detectors and control modules (microprocessors).”

Scroll down for another round!

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:47

0

Yes please I’ll have another of this car.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:48

0

And now they’re gone. RIP MarcVDS-BMW. They still roll in MotoGP, though.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:48

0

United Colors of Benetton AF Corse/SMP.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:49

0

Larbre Comp is the hero we deserve, and they are still here, roaring. May they live long, and prosper.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:50

0

3... 2... 1...

quarterlifecrisis > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:52

1

Killer images! I thought some looked familiar...then I realized I already followed you on Flickr. Really, some great stuff in there.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:53

0

Mr. Glickenhaus, Jalopnik/Oppositelock legend. Now where’s the road car, sire?

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:53

0

Better than the white one.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:53

0

Citroen Y U no make hot version of base car?

RWS Motorsport > quarterlifecrisis 12/06/2015 at 10:54

0

Thanks very much :) Yeah they are just my favourites from this year, rather than any new shots in there, just one mega gallery.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:54

0

Not everyday a V12 still gets to race on this level.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:55

0

Aston wears it better than Audi IMO.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:55

0

Yeah I don’t care if you have a V12.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:56

0

Maybe they should bank the entire corner on the redesign?

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:57

0

Who are you, good-lookin’?

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:58

0

Soon.

No, really, they better sort this car out.

Also, yes, I still believe in them.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 10:59

0

Hmm... will Riley still be eligible to run Le Mans next year? Because it would be epic to see the Viper, new Ford GT GTE, ad C7.R together, much less in one photo.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:00

0

OK: who here can guess what was the show before the TV died?

My guess? Agents of SHIELD .

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:01

0

Soon.

I’m gonna get’cha next year.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:01

0

Give to Stef.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:02

0

Riley-Viper + Pratt & Miller-Corvette + Ganassi/Multimatic GT = MAXIMUM MERICA!!!

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:03

0

Here’s a good Which Would You Rather .

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:03

0

No this is a BMW livery.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:04

0

Anyone a Ferrari fan?

I am!

*faints*

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:05

0

FW15C?

CALUSA > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:05

0

Did it ever raced in BTCC or any other class?

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:05

0

Huh. I thought the step-nose was bad. Turns out it wasn’t so bad.

Also, 2012 rocked.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:07

0

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Now THAT’s a race rig that can take you to Valhalla.

CALUSA > Wheelerguy 12/06/2015 at 11:07

1

And then there is Unisia Jecs as well.... :D

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:08

0

Doesn’t matter. Is still the ultimate all-season, all-terrain exotic.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:09

0

This car has both tailfins and a V12. You argument—and P1 GTR—is invalid.

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:10

0

So, yeah, my man FVassler is driving for Corvette in America now...

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:11

0

gib

CALUSA > Wheelerguy 12/06/2015 at 11:11

0

FW13? Because of the nose.

CALUSA > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:12

1

Great selection of pictures!

Always nice to see your posts, especially BTCC and rally stuff. Keep up the good work!

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:12

0

How much are used examples?

Wheelerguy > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:13

0

dat ass

RWS Motorsport > CALUSA 12/06/2015 at 11:13

1

No this is just a club series for old Jag XJs, and someone did this awesome homage to the F1 livery

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:13

1

Great pics. And the Driftworks ae86 is a personal favorite.

http://www.driftworks.com/blog/dw86-comp…

CALUSA > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:15

0

Oh wow a racing series with Jaaaaags, that’s bonkers. Looks pretty good indeed!

ChemicalCutthroat > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:19

3

Anyone else get a little watery eyed just looking at all this magnificent machinery? Particularly Goodwood. Right in the feels.

shurkon93 > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:45

1

So I’m a plebe living in the states. If I want to drop the money to fly to Goodwood to see the Festival of Speed, obviously I need to buy a ticket but is the ticket all access? Or do I need to buy a separate paddock (garage ticket) or as a plebe I’d I have no access to the garage at all like in F1?

For comparison’s sake I go to a lot of Indycar races and I buy 2 tickets. My seat and a paddock pass where I can get up close and watch the teams work on the cars and possibly rub shoulders with a few drivers.

TGRIP > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 11:54

2

Still can’t believe that this beautiful Beast didn’t make it on the Best Racecars of 2015 List. [grumble, grumble]...

Autohaus Derp > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 12:16

0

What is this!?!

DATGTOTHO > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 12:19

0

Is it just me or does these GT3 cars photos look like they’re straight out of Gran Turismo??

Viggen > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 12:22

3

A 1000hp Le Mans Prototype, parked on the side of the road with two wheels in the grass like it’s any other car. It’s those little things that make me want to go to the Festival of Speed so bad!

RWS Motorsport > shurkon93 12/06/2015 at 12:32

2

Yeah the ticket is all access, thats one of the best things about it. The Thursday is the Moving Motor show, so the whole site is open, but theres nothing on the hillclimb or rally stage. Instead theres a big motor show where about 20 manufacturers let you test drive there cars.

However that means that all the paddocks are open to look around, with less people there.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the Festival of Speed, where there are demos on the hill all day, and the Rally stage is open. Its much busier these days but still brilliant. And there are always drivers wandering around, and theres a little drivers lounge/tent and you can hang out around that until drivers come out.

Most of the pictures from the FOS were from photographer areas, just because its easier not shooting through a crowd, but all the shots of the cars under their tents and stuff was from the public access areas. There are also grandstands to watch the hill which is a nice idea to have a dedicated seat to go back to, but definitely not essential.

Oh, and you should totally do it!

RWS Motorsport > DATGTOTHO 12/06/2015 at 12:38

0

You picked a bad shot to choose that on, its a Porsche, and we all know we cant have Porsche in GT because reasons :(

Also, yeah I think the bright sunshine and very green grass do make it look slightly CGI, but I assure you its 100% genuine, taken from a windswept grandstand and sunny Silverstone.

RWS Motorsport > Autohaus Derp 12/06/2015 at 12:38

0

Lada Vesta TC1 WTCC car. Hooray, clearly the WTCC marketing program working well :/ ha

Stef Schrader > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 12:41

2

Shaken and stirred.

I’m in love!

DATGTOTHO > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 12:46

1

Autohaus Derp > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 12:47

1

I thought it might have been a Lada and my eyes were decieving me!

Awesome photos by the way, thanks so much for sharing.

DATGTOTHO > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 12:49

1

Now that you mention it, it’s stuck in my mind again. Porsche Y U NO GIVE GT LICENSING FOR UR CARS!!!!

BlurpleToyotaDishwasher > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 13:17

1

“sunny Silverstone.”... yeah right, we’re on to you.

XanosCloud's Account Got Kinja'd > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 13:28

1

God, I love this car.

XanosCloud's Account Got Kinja'd > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 13:30

1

This is cool

XanosCloud's Account Got Kinja'd > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 13:33

0

I’ll be in my bunk

XanosCloud's Account Got Kinja'd > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 13:36

0

So much Hnnnnnnng in one article

WhiskeyGolf > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 13:51

1

Fantastic photos, all of them! Great look through European racing in 2015

gamerjerome > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 13:56

0

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 14:50

0

Thispost doesn’t make me want to move to Britain even more or anything.

Harrison Voorhees > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 14:52

1

I’ve never had so many erections without switching browser tabs. Thank you.

Harrison Voorhees > ChemicalCutthroat 12/06/2015 at 14:52

0

Watery-pants’ed maybe

Bret > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 14:57

0

Great photos! Thanks for sharing. I desperately want to go to the Goodwood FoS. And Ville da Este, and Mille Miglia, and Le Mans, and and and. :-) Thanks for sharing your shots so I can fuel my dreams.

e36-burger-lord > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:06

0

This is like having an English butler who is also a bad-ass assassin ninja.

e36-burger-lord > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:10

1

Please, Santa! I’ve been a good boy this year!

e36-burger-lord > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:13

0

Enjoying the view.

RWS Motorsport > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback 12/06/2015 at 15:13

1

Even with all the rain? Wow, thanks very much :)

Sky Higa > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:13

0

RIP fast Mitsubishi road cars.

RWS Motorsport > Bret 12/06/2015 at 15:14

1

Oooo, Ville da Esta, Mille Miglia you say? I shall add them to the 2016 bucketlist....

Sky Higa > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:14

0

Love this livery design.

Sky Higa > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:15

0

This helmet’s so simple yet so classy. I love it.

e36-burger-lord > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:17

1

Hoosiers, bro....Hooooooosiers.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:18

0

Ican deal with rain! New York gets a good amount in spring and autumn. Then we get many many snows.

Sky Higa > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:18

0

Flying Godzilla!

RacinBob > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:19

1

Yes, but can it deliver Pizza?

Sky Higa > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:20

0

Toyota almost won last year at Le mans, but of course they got wrecked by a ferrari. Surprisingly they’ve been super close to winning it all a couple of times now.

Sky Higa > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:21

0

SO SMALL SO MUCH POWER

Sky Higa > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:22

0

They really need to bring this logo back.

Sky Higa > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:24

0

Ironically, he’s a Toyota driver in Super GT and Super Formula.

Sky Higa > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:27

0

Mirage WRC DO IT MITSU

Universal Exotics > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 15:51

1

Fantastic post! Thanks for the Photos!

Keith > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 16:00

1

I’ll take two. Send the bill to the Zuckerburgs wealth-haven LLC.

Bman76s-ws6OtherAccount > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 16:27

0

The Calder 3.0 CSL may well be my favorite car of all time.

metaphorik > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 16:31

0

Morgan

Project WHaT > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 16:32

0

How do you do those panning shots? I really want to learn how to do those.

chaozbandit > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 16:38

2

The Jalopnik bump is everywhere! Great photos as usual, definitely inspiring looking through your showcase. Makes me want to step up my game for 2016 when it comes to my automotive photography haha. Unfortunately there isn’t quite the same amount of world-class variety in Eastern Canada as there is in the UK, and I don’t have the budget to fly over to Germany for the nurburgring (I could probably make the Targa Newfoundland, or a COTA weekend in the US). But who knows what the future has in store!

It looks like we both had a pretty busy year, and I’d probably gone to Mosport as many times as you had visited Brands Hatch / Silverstone combined. ~30 events and ~50,000 photos through my A6000 and trying to scrap together the budget for an A7R for next year. Not bad for my first year doing this as a hobby, and I somehow managed to capture a wide variety of stuff: major international auto show to kick off the year, tons of local club / night meets, Pirelli world challenge, IMSA TUSC, Porsche GT3 Cup challenge, Ferrari challenge, my first stock car race, my first NASCAR (trucks) race, my first historic GP, F1 @ Montreal, my first autocross, my first stage rally, just to name a few.

I’d say my stills have gotten pretty decent but my action shots are pitiful - after reading the post, I was wondering if you had any tips for getting those beautiful panning shots? I just feel like I can never get the framing right and when I do, the shutter speeds don’t give a proper feeling of speed.

Until I get off my lazy butt and put together my own showcase, I want to thank you for so many great photos and best of luck with next year! :)

RWS Motorsport > Project WHaT 12/06/2015 at 16:39

0

Put your camera in Shutter priority (TV on Canon, not sure on Nikon or the others sorry) and put the shutter speed down. A good rule of thumb for panning cars is to have the shutter speed match the zoom length, so zoomed all the way in on a 300mm lens, go for 1/300 (or as close as possible).

And then practise. Lots. Its all about matching the speed of the car and timing your shots right, thankfully with digital you can get 10 shots of each car as it passes and the middle one should be alright, even if the other 9 arent so good.

When I first got my camera I spent a couple of hours in my old flat panning cars on the road in front of the house, which helped a lot get the motion down. I must have looked like a nutter, but still, was good fun.

RWS Motorsport > chaozbandit 12/06/2015 at 16:47

1

If it helps this is only my third year of doing this as a proper hobby. I think it was Speedhunters that made me think ‘wow, I want to take photos like that’ rather than just grabbing a shot to record the moment.

Having a local track is awesome, and when that local track is Mosport thats pretty damn sweet. I will not call that place Canadian Tyres Motorsport Park, thats just wrong. Variety certainly makes it more interesting doesnt it?

Oh wow that sounds like a pretty epic year too though with all those events, you should totally do a mega gallery to!

With panning, apart from the obvious practise practise practise, its about learning what shutter speed to use for what zoom. So the Ferrari Breadvan was about 1/30, and maybe 100mm zoom. I knew I was going to get a lot of crap with that, but I had about 6 passes of the car before the race was over so thought it was worth a go, and that 1 keeper out of maybe 60 or 70 shots was worth it. Its just about getting the shutter speed low. 1/100 will give you a nice blurred background, and about 1/320 or 1/400 will still give you some movement, but might start looking a touch still. Personally Id say stick your camera in Shutter Priority mode (don’t know what that is on Sony, sorry) and start at maybe 1/320 or 1/250 and see how you get on. Lower shutter speed, more blur, higher shutter speed, frozen and still.

KMK90 > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 17:15

0

drifting looks like a lot of fun to shoot. I will have to find a event for next year.

RWS Motorsport > KMK90 12/06/2015 at 17:17

0

It really is. I was just starting a 2016 calendar and British Drift Championship is definitely on there. The cars just look so spectacular, and you can really feel the speed from them.

chaozbandit > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 17:32

0

Haha yeah funnily enough, I started off looking at Speedhunters stuff as well and then went “I should try my hand at that.” Mosport forever! It’s certainly nice having that as my home track, and when a season of 6 events there costs less than half what I paid for my F1 ticket this year, it`d be a crime not to go (plus thats what weekends are for!)

I should! But the photos are kind of all over the place, and I’d have a heck of a time trying to pick 300 or so photos (lots of racecars, plenty of hyper/super/sports cars, the rest are street cars :/)

Ah that’s really helpful actually, thanks! 100-150mm is where I’ve fund myself shooting most of the time, with anything beyond that for autocross, drifitng, and rally. I kept within 1/250 to 1/640, for whatever reason thinking it would reduce shakiness, but now I’m thinking I should go for slower shutter speeds. The root of the problem is probably a result of not knowing how to best match shutter speed with the speed at which the car passes through the frame - a particular issue at a turn like Moss (T5) at Mosport, the slowest corner of the track. Anything higher than 1/250 would look like a still at those speeds.

But yeah, I’ll keep that in mind! I doubt I’ll get much practice over the winter, and my first motorsport event isn’t until autocross starts up in March, and then Pirelli World Challenge in May.

What’s your take on focus preference? I had it set to auto most of the year but as I started shooting on older Sony glass, I found manual to yield more keepers (although even with peaking enabled I was still having some difficulty, mainly due to lack of experience).

Stephen the Canuck > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 17:36

0

If that’s the DriftWorks AE86 (I believe it is), I’m pretty sure it’s a NASCAR Toyota V8. I’m sure somenody else has already mentioned it.

RWS Motorsport > Stephen the Canuck 12/06/2015 at 17:40

1

It is the Driftworks AE86 yep. The fact its a Toyota Nascar V8 does make more sense than the LS engine swap. Good knowledge sir!

RWS Motorsport > chaozbandit 12/06/2015 at 17:45

1

With focus I am slightly spoiled in that Im using a 7d Mkii and a 100-400L for most of my long stuff, which was pretty much designed for this sort of work. So the autofocus on that is really quick, and accurate. Definitely much more accurate than I could be on Manual. I use the Servo mode which makes fine adjustments between shots and then the small spot selection to choose which point is in focus, and generally have the rough spot the car will be in focussed up before the car arrives.

Higher shutter speed will reduce shake, or at least will stop the images being shaky, but I guess that panning is essentially deliberately shaking the camera to blur the background, so you kind of want that. It’ll come with time, I’ve sort of learnt that the lowest I can go and still get an image thats good is about 1/60 at 100mm, and if I push it maybe 1/30 or 1/40 depending on car speed. I will often just start a bit higher to get a banker shot in, then start playing though. That way if the lower speed is crap then it doesn’t matter, and if it works all the better.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 17:58

0

Fantastic.

gmctavish needs more space > RWS Motorsport 12/06/2015 at 17:59

1

I saw one of these a little while ago. So tiny and so gorgeous.

Canut > Wheelerguy 12/06/2015 at 18:15

2

Here you go.