News / Blog - Motorsport News

I've just enjoyed a weekend that was full of action, sports, charity events, live music, the occasional celebrity, fun and a moment of adrenaline rush!

My galleries will be updated with all this drama over the next few days but first online is a Gallery featuring Saturday's Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Hillclimb at Le Val des Terres.

It was here that my adrenaline rush took place. I felt this whilst taking pics at the first corner of the 'Terres... just before the entry into 'the tunnel'.

I was minding my own business just trying to capture the dynamics of the bikes, cars and karts as they found the racing line through this fast corner.

My peace and karma was shattered as I heard the distinctive rumble of Shaun Leigh approaching me on his way to the top. My position behind a granite wall meant that the V8 engined FMD Colour Monster Locust only came into view after Shaun had entered the bend.

It was then that I realized that things were not quite going to plan as my usual view of the racing cars - that is controlled and hitting the apex wasn't happening this time!

Shaun was drifting the big V8 sideways through the corner... and at considerable speed! More to the point he was sliding in my direction!

But, as I should have known, Shaun wrestled with the steering, stamped on the throttle and brake pedals and, somehow, managed to miss me and the granite standing in his way. He pulled off one of the biggest 'saves' that I can remember and then powered his way onwards to the finish line.

The whole event only lasted a second or two but I can remember it in slow motion... and I have the pics to remind me.

After that experience the rest of the day was quite subdued but I still managed to capture some good pics. They are now online:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW SHAUN LEIGH GIVING ME A FRIGHT

Moving the Rubis Soapbox Challenge across town to St Julian's Avenue was a great success.

The 'track' was steep and was lined with spectators who enjoyed the free fun and entertainment. All the smiles made that clear.

There were even a couple of crashes to make things more memorable :-)

However the only damage done was to a couple of the Soapboxes as the 'red haze' of racing descended and the drivers pushed their machinery to the limit in the quest of lowering their best time by small fractions of a second.

I fancy that this day of fun could be established in its new setting. It seemed perfect for racers and spectators alike. Hopefully we will all meet again next year on the steep slope of our newest race track. See you there.

My pics are now online here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 RUBIS SOAPBOX CHALLENGE

The Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's Summer Series Kart Championship passed the mid-point with Round 5 today.

This championship still has plenty to offer in the form of close racing with each driver able to drop their lowest points when the final count takes place.

I'm pleased to say that the weather stayed dry this time... unlike Rounds 2 and 3 which were nasty and wet!

I have only just dried out my kit after getting completely drenched on Friday night whilst taking pics of the OSA All Terrain Challenge. Summer, what summer?

So this evening, as I don't have to spend time on drying and cleaning the kit, I think a little tipple of a Single Malt Scotch Whisky or two will be in order.

This is my little treat as today's Karting pics are already on-line :-)

View the pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND 5 OF THE KART SERIES

The 2017 Guernsey Motor Festival Seafront Sunday was bigger than ever. St Peter Port seafront was closed to traffic allowing a huge display of all types of vehicle.

The entertainment spread along to the North Beach car park where a day of motorsport action took place.

The weather played its part by encouraging thousands of people into town and the day provided a fantastic end to the MSA National Hillclimb weekend.

This gallery features some of the displays and entertainment...
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 MOTOR FESTIVAL SEAFRONT SUNDAY

Rounds 19 and 20 of the Avon Tyres - TTC Group 43rd Guernsey National Hillclimb Championship were held at Le Val des Terres on 15th July 2017.

This was a bit of a vintage year as we saw five local drivers qualify for places in a National Round.

Darren Warwick and Nick Saunders qualified for both Rounds and duplicated their podium places each time by finishing in second and third place. This was Nick's first time on the local National podium and it was a deserved reward for a driver who has chased this goal for so many years.

Both competitors drive cars that lack all the modern technologies and have to make local knowledge count together with awesome skill and nerve! When you drive a car that is slower up the straight bits there is only one way to be competitive against the 'power junkies'... you have to be faster around the twisty bits. That's where the nerve comes in!

Congratulations have to go to Richard Spedding who won both of the local Rounds... this was actually the first time that Richard had stood on the top step of the podium. Guernsey is guaranteed a special place in his motorsport memories!

Twins Paul and Ian Le Messurier were also notable qualifiers in what was basically a home built car. Very impressive. They have made a habit of joining the 'top guns' in the Run Offs. Well done guys.

The other truly impressive performance came from Jackie Le Cheminant who became only the second lady to qualify for a Guernsey Top Twelve Run Off. Jackie has only just taken over driving the Rubis OMS car that used to be shared by her father and brother. Jackie certainly showed that she is more than a match to the guys in the family.

Another memorable performance came from John Dunne who seemed to raise his own high standards in response to the appearance of a couple of top tin-top drivers from the UK. Just as in Jersey, John was pushed hard by the visitors but was triumphant and ended the two events with a new record on both hills.

This gallery shows all the action from 2017.

If you are a competitor please consider buying a couple of pics as this is my livelihood and my wife gives me a very small beer allowance. I'm meant to earn the rest ;-)

Follow this link to view all of the Guernsey National action:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL THE GUERNSEY NATIONAL ACTION

This is just a brief Blog to tell you that the Galleries have been updated with pics of Rounds 17 and 18 of the Avon Tyres - TTC Group 44th Jersey National Hillclimb Championship.

These latest Rounds were held at Bouley Bay hill, Jersey on 12th July 2017.

In contrast to the previous years event when it was a scorching day leading to incredible racing and the outright record for the hill dropping three times, 2017 started with a light drizzle and never really fully recovered.

However the event was notable for a local man. Jason Mourant took his Gould GR55 to a memorable win in Round 17 beating all-comers and becoming the first local resident to win a Jersey round of the MSA Hillclimb Championship since 1962.... it only took 55 YEARS! Well done Jason.

These galleries display all the action. Please remember that pics are very low resolution and don't display the detail in a print or higher resolution digital files.

Now the racers move on to Guernsey and Le Val des Terres. Once again I'll be track-side capturing all the action,. See you there.

Follow this link to view pics of the 2017 Jersey National:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE JERSEY ROUNDS OF THE 2017 NATIONAL HILLCLIMB

I've just managed to add a gallery of GK&MC Sprint pics from Saturdays Vazon Coast Road meeting.

That is probably it as far as updates go until the end of the week as I'm now off to Jersey to photograph their round of the MSA National Hillclimb Championship at Bouley Bay.

We are all hoping that Condor Ferries has managed to find space on one of their ferries to get the trailers over after running out of space yesterday!

Normal service (updates) will resume shortly....

Click here to view the Sprint pics:
CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VIEW THE GK&MC SPRINT PICS

The weekend has been very busy but what great fun.

It was about as diverse as you could make it... just how I like it!

Over the two days I have photographed a Sky Bet Championship football team, Bristol City, playing a friendly against Guernsey Football Club at Footes Lane.

As a contrast to that I captured some of the 'action' during the Guernsey Bowls Tri-Test match at the Corbet Field. This featured teams from Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

Another summer sport that was on the list was a Praxis CI League Cricket match at the College Playing Field, 2mi Wanderers Irregulars vs Canaccord Genuity Griffins.

Then to mix things up a bit more there was Motorsport action at Vazon Bay for the GK&MC Sprint meeting.

Now that list would have been interesting enough as it is but the weekend continued with a photoshoot at the Pheonix Artistic Roller Skating Club's competition at Beau Sejour. This was the first time I had been asked to cover this event and I was very impressed by the standard of performances.

.... and that wasn't the end of the 'togging. A quick visit was booked for me to photograph Noi Monachan and her garden which was opened to the public in aid of the Guernsey Headway Charity.

Oh, and there was a bit of gig photography added to the list to complete the mix!

All that photography has left me with some editing to do... but that is well on the way. You can view the first galleries featuring the Guernsey Bowls Tri-Test match, the Praxis CI League Cricket match and the GFC vs Bristol City football.

Follow these links to view the first pics:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE GFC vs BRISTOL CITY FOOTBALL
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE BOWLS TRI-TEST
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE PRAXIS CI CRICKET

The Condor Ferries International SandAce ACU British Championships took place at Vazon Bay, Guernsey on 24 June 2017.

For 2017 the event had been awarded a new International status which is a fitting reward to the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club and all the officials who put in so much work during the year to make it happen.

There is a particular pressure on the team of officials when their race track will disappear under the ocean as the tide comes in! The whole operation is now very slick with all the essential elements in place. The only thing that the team couldn't control was the weather which lacked the sun that would have really completed a perfect event.

Luckily the rain didn't appear until the finals and by that time the large crowd were captivated by the high standard of racing and most of them stayed on to see the climax of the 2017 championships.

Once again the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club organized a fantastic event that ran smoothly and efficiently.

Well done to all those who made it happen... see you again next year!

Click on this link to view galleries featuring pics of the atmosphere and racing at the 2017 SandAce Championships on Vazon Bay, Guernsey.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 SANDACE CHAMPIONSHIP

Maybe this is an incorrect quote by I think it probably sums up my weekend quite well...

'Only Mad Dogs & Guernseymen go out in the midday sun'

That's exactly where you would have found me for the two scorching weekend days. Saturday was spent photographing the Reservoir Speed Event. Then Sunday there was the Powerboat racing to photograph.

Both events required standing under the relentless sun... I'm looking for a bit of sympathy here but I doubt I'm going to get any :-)

Actually I'm not complaining about having to stand outside in the heat. In fact far from it, as today I've been mostly stuck in the office completing the edit and paperwork that plays too big a part in a professional photographers life :-(

It was worth the effort though as I'm now nearing the completion of that work. This is a sure sign that the weather will break - just as I want to get out in the garden!

My main updates today have been to add three new galleries featuring the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Reservoir Speed Event, Cars, Bikes and Karts.

You can view the pics by clicking on this link:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2017 RESERVOIR SPEED EVENT

The weekend has been a proper scorcher.... almost too hot to work!

But that's OK for me as I don't count what I do as work. It's usually just fun!

And there has been plenty of fun, sun, sea, motorsport, music... and more sun for me over the weekend.

June is shaping up to be the normal non-stop month for me as the diary is pretty full :-)

So there's no time to be too chatty in this Blog so I'll get straight to the point. I've just added a new Gallery of pictures featuring one of the weekend's assignments - and it ticked the fun, sun, sea and motorsport boxes. That's nearly the full set!

You can view a new gallery of Powerboat Racing pics by following the link.

This features Race 4 of the Guernsey Powerboat Association's Stanley Gibbons sponsored Race Series over the North Beach Outer course.
CLICK TO VIEW THE SCORCHING POWERBOAT RACING PICS

Yesterday I spent the afternoon on the beach... and it felt just like summer!

I was tempted to go rock-pooling but as I was on Vazon bay there was a shortage of pools... but lots of SAND.

That was just right for what I was photographing. SAND racing :-)

The beach was actually unusually firm, dry and flat for Round 5 of the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club Championship. When those conditions were combined with a day that actually felt like summer we were sure to have an enjoyable afternoon.

Let's hope that we can repeat the very same sunny weather for the British Sand Ace Championships at the end of the month. I've got my finger's and lenses crossed to make sure!

Earlier in the day, my mornings photoshoot had re-enforced why it felt like a summer's day as I'd been assigned to cover a cricket match at the College Field. How very 'British summertime', eh!

The only thing missing was a cool gin and tonic. But later, I made do with a few pints of Real Ale... sorted!

Cricket pics will follow.

The Sand Racing pics are now online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND 5 OF THE SAND RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

The Guernsey Autocross Club's 2017 Fun Meeting on Chouet Beach was well supported by a sizable team of drivers from Jersey.

The visitors really seem to have caught the Banger racing bug as they even arrived with their own cars!

Needless to say none of them were worth taking home after the racing and they were removed from the beach on the back of a skip lorry ;-)

The extra Jersey cars meant that the entry was as big as I can remember and the action really was none-stop! Spectators enjoyed a full program of racing... and the viewing, as always, was FREE!

Banger racing lived up to its reputation as one of the cheapest forms of Motorsport - and certainly the best fun per pound!

I've added a gallery of Autocross Fun Meeting pics... and it's as big as the field of cars!

Follow this link to view the gallery:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2017 AUTOCROSS FUN MEETING

As this website smashes through 17 MILLION VIEWS I maintain the effort to keep the updates coming.

CLICK HERE TO READ MY 17 MILLION VIEWS BLOG

The variety of work that makes up an average week of photography keeps everything interesting for me... and I'm pleased to say a few of you too, judging by the amount of picture views made every day on this website :-)

As an example of some of the variety of photoshoots there have been three new galleries added today. They feature Round three of the GK&MC Summer Kart Championship.

Then there are pics of Jo Reeve's fortieth birthday gig at the Golden Lion which saw Gay Army make a rare live appearance.

There's also a gallery of cricket pics that I captured during the Loveridge Cup half-time at KGV. See the previous Blog for those pics.

All this still doesn't mean that I'm up to date with the weeks work yet... but I'm definitely three steps closer!

These links will take you to the new uploads:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ROUND 3 OF THE SUMMER KART SERIES
CLICK HERE TO VIEW GAY ARMY PLAYING AT THE GOLDEN LION
CLICK HERE TO VIEW CRICKET AT KGV

This is just a quickie to keep you up-to-date with another couple of new galleries featuring some of the Bank Holiday weekend action.

My previous Blog offers a bit more information regarding the weekends work.

The latest two updates feature the Loveridge Cup U18's Final football game a KGV - Sylvans vs Rangers.

Then there's another update featuring the fourth round of the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club 2017 Sandracing Championship at Vazon Bay.

I've still got a load of updates to make... keep tuned into this Blog page for more details....

These are the latest galleries:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE LOVERIDGE CUP FINAL
CLICK TO VIEW ROUND 4 OF THE SANDRACING CHAMPIONSHIP

There's a theme here.

We start off with all the anticipation ahead of a busy Bank Holiday weekend.

It's always going to be none-stop action as many sporting and music events seem to get organized to take advantage of an extra day of leisure... if you're not a photographer that is!

Even though the holiday weekend means an overload of work for me I still look forward to them.

The bit that isn't so appealing is that by some freak of nature the holiday weekend seems to get more than its fair share of bad weather and rain!

So I guess I should have known that the waterproof kit would get an outing at least once... and it did. In fact the rain was so torrential on Sunday that the Powerboat racing had to be stopped because the visibility was so bad the safety crews couldn't see the racers!

In the end there was plenty other action to fill three full days so I was happy. It is only now that the editing has to be completed that I'm less enthused.

But I've been covering Bank Holidays for long enough to know the score and the only way to get through to the end is to stick at it. The end will come into view in a couple of days.

It is more straight forward for you. All you need to do is pop along here to this News page every now and then and I'll post a link to my new pics for you to view at your leisure. That's what Bank Holidays are all about :-)

So far the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's Hillclimb pics are online. View them here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE BANK HOLIDAY HILLCLIMB PICS

I’m chuffed to say that this website continues to gain a following. My thanks and a high five (a hug if you’re a lady) to anyone who pops along here for an occasional browse through the picture galleries.

The time I spend taking pics is mostly exciting and enjoyable…. and it definitely beats having a ‘proper job’!

Now whilst the pleasure I get from working full-time as a photographer should be enough to keep me happy there is an additional side to making me smile – that is this website and the amount of interest shown in my work.

The total number of picture viewings of the galleries has just passed another MILLION MILESTONE. The total now exceeds 17 MILLION VIEWS!

It seems that the annual average has now settled at FOUR MILLION VIEWS A YEAR!

This got me interested in calculating what that number means on a daily, hourly and minute basis. The result is quite surprising!

So I started with the 4 MILLION annual views.

A simple division gives you 11,000 views a day – every day of the year!

I then looked at the Google Analysis which shows most viewings are between 7am and 1am…. that’s eighteen hours out of the twenty-four day.

So another division…. 11,000 views divided by the 18 hours gives you 600 views an hour every day of the year!

Next divide the hourly views by 60 minutes and you arrive at 10 views a minute.

Finally another quick calculation and you can work out that (on average throughout the year) a picture is viewed every six seconds. WOW!

So there we have it, my Maths teachers at the Grammar School always said that I would be surprised how useful ‘learning sums’ could be later in life. In this case it has helped tickle my ego and encourage me to keep taking the pics…. At least while the interest remains ;-)

Thanks again for all your support.

If you want to read a few of my previous ‘MILLION MARK’ Blogs just click on this link:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PREVIOUS MILLION MARK BLOGS

It was a case of dodging the showers at a recent photoshoot I did for BMW, Jacksons Garage and the Guernsey Press.

The special event was an open day featuring a wide range of the latest BMW motorbikes which were on display and also available for test rides.

Brian Martel had been asked to test ride and report on the BMW R nineT Scrambler. I needed to capture pics to support his article.

Whilst I'm guessing that the damp conditions were what this bike is designed to cope with it was still a shame to get a new bike wet and splashed with spray.

After the shoot, this meant more work for both the photographer and garage technicians to get the bike looking at its best again.

My cleaning 'tool' was the Lightroom 'spot healer'. I didn't go for a complete touch-up as I quite liked the slightly 'grungy' look. I am sure, however, that my cleaning work was easier than the rags and polish required back in the garage!

You can view a small gallery of pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A FEW PICS OF THE JACKSONS BMW OPEN DAY

Whilst I'm sure many locals would have enjoyed two days leisure on Guernsey's beaches last weekend I was on the golden sands for work :-(

I'm not looking for any sympathy though. Far from it. I get to spend my 'work' time outside doing what I enjoy. I think I'm the lucky one here!

I also spent quite a bit of time walking around L'Ancresse golf course with my cameras slung around my neck trying to catch up with crucial moments of play in the Piccadilly Trophy and the Junior Hampshire Greenjackets Golf competitions. Again, what's so bad about doing that as my way to earn a crust (pay for the real ale)!

The beach work was capturing the action on the sands of Vazon Bay (Sand Racing) and the Autocross Banger racing on Chouet beach.

I've now added a couple of Galleries featuring the Motorsport action:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST AUTOCROSS ACTION
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST SAND RACING ACTION

The headline to this Blog is hard to say for a photographer!

Especially one of my era who grew up with rolls of film that offered little scope for any manipulation.

Another thing that sets me up as an 'old generation' 'tog is that I really don't 'get' videoing at all. I know that all my recently purchased cameras have a setting and buttons to start a video recording but I've never explored what they can do.

You'll now understand that I'm proper 'old school'. Maybe this means I'm missing out on all that fun... the endless editing, the massive files.... and just how do you sell the finished video after all that effort when, if you put it online, it is essentially given away?

Of course all of the previous comment could be complete rubbish... I did say that I have no idea about video!

However, even I can see that sometimes the 'good old fashioned' photograph cannot explain what is happening as well as a moving picture could do.

Perhaps the picture at the top of this Blog is an example. In this 'frozen' form you could be forgiven for thinking that it was captured moments before a terrible accident when the Marshall is run over by the Sand Racing car.

But you'd be wrong. I'm sure that any racers are able to interpret the picture correctly. It is clear from the angle the car is leaning into the corner and the spray being thrown up that the driver is making a huge controlled slide. The Marshall in the picture is also an experienced beach racer so he clearly felt comfortable so close to the action.

Now, having explained all of that, I reluctantly have to concede that a video of the same action wouldn't have needed any explanation at all!

But is that what we want when looking at dramatic moments of action?

When a photographer is lucky to catch a special moment in a photograph there remains something for the viewer of that picture to interpret in what they see before them. So this still leaves me thinking that a carefully timed and captured 'still' picture is the finest form of recording action sport. I welcome your own comments on this subject.

You can see from my comment that this 'stills photographer' is not likely to be pressing his 'Record' button anytime soon!

A full gallery of pics taken at the last Sand Racing meeting is now online:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST SAND RACING PICS