News / Blog - Motorsport News

With most of the festive events and the New Year celebrations behind us the GMC&CC Trials section had one last party during their first Trials event of 2020.

Tradition has it that the day starts with a handicap event for the Seniors. This is combined with the Juniors riding their own sections in Fauxquets Valley.

A timely break is made for the competitors and family to have a social lunch. Then in the afternoon... probably carrying a little more weight... the Seniors complete a number of Sections in and around St Andrews.

I managed to make two short visits either side of other assignments. You can view my pics by following this link:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE FIRST TRIALS EVENT IN 2020

The Guernsey Motor Cycle and Car Club Trials section recently organized a training session for their Junior bikers.

There was a relaxed atmosphere down on Lance's land below the reservoir with parents mingling with a few senior riders and enjoying a cuppa whilst the youngsters looked for anything to traverse.

Many of the Junior bikes are battery powered making them near silent so I literally had to have eyes in the back of my head as they were approaching from all angles!

Seeing the miniature riders taking on obstacles without fear was quite impressive. It looks like the time invested in training is paying off and will hopefully ensure that there is a new generation of competitors ready to enter the senior championship.

I have added a small gallery of pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE JUNIOR TRIALS TRAINING SESSION

Following on from a recent Blog I'm once again considering how the seasons impact my photography.

Today I had to put down the paint brush (yes I still seem to have acres of wood and walls to decorate at Malander) to head out into the wilds of the Islands finest seasonal weather to take some pics.

On autumn days like this the conditions can change by the minute. Strong winds meant that the rolling heavy showers arrived and departed without warning and half of the fun was had from attempting to find some form of shelter when the heavens opened... or suffer the soggy consequences.

I didn't have much left in the my photography diary today as two of the booked assignments had been cancelled due to the week-long heavy rain.

This just left me with the GMC&CC bike Trials event. So it was to Bordeaux Harbour that I headed to take a few pics. I soon found the trials sections with the resilient observers dutifully on station awaiting competitors as they completed their four circuits.

The entry size had been depleted (probably due to the weather). Guernsey trials often include sections on coastal rocks. These are always challenging even in perfect conditions but they quicly become a slippery and unforgiving terrain when wet.

However it was worth the effort made by riders and photographers as the seasonal skies and moody light added a bit of added drama.

You can view my pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW TRIALS PICS FROM BORDEAUX HARBOUR

With a seasonal chill in the air it was still a very nice place to be down on Chouet beach for the Autocross racing.

It was Round-3 of the Guernsey Autocross Winter season and the race wins were shared around the pits a bit more than usual. This resulted in some entertaining races for the spectators who wrapped up against the cold breeze.

I've added pics of the racing here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-3 OF THE AUTOCROSS WINTER SEASON

The 2019 edition of the GK&MC Petit Bot Hillclimb was, as usual it seems, damp. Happily it wasn't as saturated as last year's hill but it was still a shame as it spoilt the chance of chasing the records.

The size of entry was disappointing... at one time it seemed that holding the event was at risk of cancellation.

In the end the Club went ahead with the long running hillclimb and the small entry meant that every racer had a chance to hit the hill multiple times. It is hoped that next year there is a bit more interest shown to race this quirky hill as if it gets dropped from the calender it may well be the end of this end of season tarmac event.

I only had a couple of hours down Petit Bot as I was booked on another job later in the afternoon however the short entry list and speed of turn-around meant I was able to cover most of the photographic vantage points.

My pics can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2019 PETIT BOT HILLCLIMB

Following the action photographers mantra of getting close enough... then taking one step closer I paid the price for doing this on Saturday at Vazon Bay, Guernsey.

The occasion was the 2019 Condor Ferries International Sand Ace ACU British Championships. The chosen venue for this prestigious event is the white sands of one of Guernsey's finest beaches.

The problem this year was the knock-on effect of the weather... the same weather that put a question mark over whether the competitors would even make it over for the racing.

Mother nature had brewed up strong gale force winds making the ferry an uncomfortable journey for the visiting racers. But once over here that was forgotten and they all seemed to enjoy the change of track surface from the more usual grass track or Speedway arena.

But I have digressed. What I was going to say was that the wind was still strong enough to be a nuisance - even to a photographer.

It was quite a challenge to capture great pics as when I got right in close the spray off the wet sand covered my camera and lens. And for the longer shots using my Nikon 180-400mm (reaching 560mm with the built in 1.4x converter) the buffeting wind made composing tight shots difficult.

Ultimately it's nice to be tested and I left the sands with a good set of action pics. You can view the galleries here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2019 SAND ACE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Where has this year gone? Already we have seen the last of the Val des Terres Hillclimbs leaving just the Petit Bot special on the Hillclimb calendar. Blimey that means it must be September already!!

The completion of the tarmac hill events doesn't mean my own diary is thinning out as all you local motorsport followers know that when one season ends another starts up to fill the gaps!

But the final hills of the year are a reminder that Autumn is on the way. In theory this should give me longer nights to catch up with the persistent backlog of editing. Time will tell if I can pull off that target by Christmas!

I've just added my Gallery of pics of the GK&MC Hillclimb here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE LAST GK&MC HILLCLIMB

The 2019 GK&MC 2-Day Inter-Island Motocross Event took place in (mostly) fine and dry conditions. The track had been well prepared and probably benefited from the heavy shower on the second day which damped down the dust. We all needed a soak in the bath after the several hours spent in the dust storm!

It was great to see a good sized entry which included many riders who had made the trip over from Jersey. There were also several locals who had been missing from recent events. Hopefully that wasn't just a 'one-off', it would be nice to see them back competing in the Club's regular championship.

Racing was very competitive across all Classes and a good sized crowd enjoyed two days of excitement. There was plenty to look at in the pits between races and even a bar to take a well earned pint once competition had finished.

This gallery features some of my action pics....
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2-DAY MOTOCROSS EVENT

I'm getting back into the swing of picture editing after a very busy period since the New Year.

This year has seen Carol and myself moving from our family cottage home of over forty years. We had to move into temporary holiday accommodation for several months. It is that which was so disruptive!

We are now in our new place - which is still far from finished. We have swapped that nearly 200 year old cottage for a bungalow which, whilst being built in the sixties, can now been considered brand new after the huge amount of building work and re-refurbishment that has been done.

All this upheaval has meant my attention has been distracted from my work. But, slowly, I'm sorting out a few of the edits and adding picture galleries to this website.

This Blog announces two new updates in the Sandracing Galleries. Pics of Rounds 7 & 8 are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUNDS 7 & 8 OF THE SANDRACING CHAMPIONSHIP

Darren Warwick has received a sponsorship deal from Zef Eisenberg's MADMAX Race Team allowing Darren to race the last three rounds of the 2019 FIA European Hillclimb Championship.

This Championship series is very expensive to compete in as the Hills are spread across many European countries. The overall cost has meant that currently no British driver takes part.

There is also the added challenge that Darren will be competing against many big budget teams and drivers.

However we have our hopes raised that Darren does enough during this short run of events to attract a big headline sponsor in 2020 to allow him a real opportunity to try for his Class title.

As well as the MADMAX logos Darren's car also features Zef's new ITV4 series 'Speed Freaks'.

This gallery features my pics of Darren and Zef shaking on the deal.
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF DARREN WARWICK & ZEF EISENBERG

Whilst it was a shame to see a reduced number of racers signed on to compete in the latest Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Hillclimb at Le Val Des Terres this did mean that those who turned up enjoyed a packed day of racing.

This was also helped by the Club's Motocross Section taking responsibility to man most of the Marshall posts.

The result proved what can be achieved if all Club members play their part in running a successful event.

My pics of the day are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST GK&MC HILLCLIMB PICS

The Guernsey Autocross Club celebrated the 50th anniversary of their first ever race meeting by returning to St Sampsons Harbour for a special race.

Judging by their smiles, Drivers didn't seem at all bothered by the sticky, smelly mix of sand and mud. The high harbour walls formed a perfect arena and were packed with spectators enjoying the mucky action.
Let's hope we don't have to wait another 50 years before race action returns to this natural 'stadium'.

The Autocross Club committee and active members should be congratulated on reaching such a great milestone of half a century of this fun, and relatively cheap, form of Motorsport. Most other genres of Motorsport are becoming expensive and more and more regulated. Guernsey's 'Banger' racing remains quite unique and a fantastic sport that brings smiles in equal measure to both racers and spectators alike!

I enjoyed photographing the historic racing from the slippery harbour floor and surprisingly avoided going horizontal on my back!

The results of my work can now be viewed here:
VIEW PICS OF THE 50th ANNIVERSARY AUTOCROSS MEETING

Visitors to the 2019 Motorsport Seafront Sunday and Twisty Sprint enjoyed a beautiful Guernsey summer's day and were well entertained by the racing, noise and action.

A large crowd was drawn to North Beach where the Twisty Sprint and demonstration runs showcased some of the many genres of Motorsport that are organized within our small Island.

I think the Motorsport Seafront Sunday attracts more people than any of the other Seafront Sundays and the families who visit certainly hang around for longer as the action comes fast and thrilling. The Twisty Sprint gives spectators the chance to get really close to the racing... they feel the rush of air as the competitors speed past them, the smell of brakes and overheating clutches all with a whiff of tyre smoke!

Well done to the Guernsey Clubs for working so closely together to organize such a successful event.

I've uploaded a few pics that offer a small taster of some of the Twisty Sprint and demo run action:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2019 MOTORSPORT SEAFRONT SUNDAY

The Guernsey rounds of the 2019 Avon Tyres/Wynn Developments Motorsport UK British Hillclimb Championship will be remembered for the great performances made by local competitors.

Once again the national contenders arrived with their specialist racing cars. As always they were spectacular, fast and bristling with the latest technology.

But Guernsey and Les Val Des Terres must give them one of the toughest of challenges among the whole seasons championship.

This Island has developed driving talent way beyond what you would expect from such a small population and those racers have hand built and modified their dated machinery to such a high level that only the very fastest national competitors can get the better of them!

Five locals made at least one run off. Darren Warwick, Nick Saunders, Tim Tulie and Paul Le Messurier all qualified for both rounds with Ian Le Messurier joining them for the round 22 run off.

So Guernsey should be proud of these racing hero's who fly the chequered flag so high for us.

My pics of the event are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE 2019 BRITISH HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP

Now firmly established in the Guernsey Motorsport calendar the GK&MC Reservoir Speed Event maintains a special status as it only runs on alternate years.

The 2019 event was eagerly awaited and several competitors were out to try the twisty course for the first time. More than a handful of Class records were re-written as the day was warm and dry.

I was only able to cover the morning's racing due to other commitments but this was long enough to capture plenty action.

Follow this link to view the picture gallery:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2019 RESERVOIR SPEED EVENTY

No record was safe from attack at the 'Terres on Bank Holiday Monday. I'm not sure what was in the air but something must have permeated down the hill as nothing was holding the competitors back.... apart from a few 'abrupt stops' when the grass banks got in the way!

Sadly there were so many activities organized Island wide on this Bank Holiday that the crowd numbers of spectators were smaller than usual meaning that many missed such an entertaining day.

One thing is certain though, the racers had great fun with many taking away stories to tell how they were on the absolute limit and beyond to lower their Class record.

I was track-side capturing some of the action:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE BANK HOLIDAY HILLCLIMB

Chouet beach was lined with a large crowd of spectators for the end of season Autocross Fun Meeting.

In recent years the format of the Fun Meeting has become a sort of Motorsport 'Muratti' with a growing contingent of Jersey cars and drivers coming over to enjoy some fun on the Guernsey sands.

This year the action was non-stop and, unlike our local football team, the Guernsey Banger racers took the Trophy with a very strong performance.

I've added a new Gallery of pics featuring the action. Follow this link to view the pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2019 AUTOCROSS FUN MEETING

What a nice day in the office. Sun, sea, sand were all enjoyed by the Sandracing 'petrol heads'.

There was plenty of action to entertain the crowds who were encouraged by the seasonal sunshine.

I was on the sands capturing all the action. Follow this link to view my pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-4 OF THE SANDRACING CHAMPIONSHIP

The latest Gallery features another of the weekends photoshoots.

Vazon beach was the perfect place to spend some time on Saturday afternoon. Sadly because I had other assignments booked in I could only stay for a few races... but it was worth it.

There is a new Gallery online featuring some of the action:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2019 SAND RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

Its been a busy few weeks doing almost everything apart from photography!

Life has been full of selling property, buying property and dealing with Advocates. I need to get back to work to pay for that one as that's an expensive business!

Also I've packed more boxes of belongings than I'm prepared to admit too.

How is it that many of us feel we need so many possessions to be 'who we are'? Probably most of them are forgotten and unused until we have to pack when moving residence!

To add to the work load I've been project managing the modernization of our new home which will be a completely up-to-date and most importantly easy to keep clean and maintained fully networked bungalow... after it is finished and we can move in. For now we have to 'camp out' in rented holiday accommodation.

Carol and I never really expected to be moving to a modern place after more than forty years living in a nearly two hundred year old Guernsey cottage but now we have started on this new journey we are really excited by it and we are certain the future will be easier for both of us.

All this ties in with my retirement in less than a years time but this will mean anything but putting my feet up as there will be a long list of decoration and projects to complete before life becomes all about putting the feet up, drinking beer and laying in the sun (at least that's my plan - I haven't run it by the boss yet!).

Luckily I was able to find my cameras this weekend (an amazing feat given we have things spread over four buildings and dozens of boxes) so I managed to get out to take some pics. I've photographed Sandracing, Cricket and a loud gig... much like normality really!

The first pics are online and feature a pre-season friendly game of cricket at KGV where Cannaccord Griffins played a visiting side from the UK, Sparsholt. The pics can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF CANNACCORD GRIFFINS v SPARSHOLT