News / Blog - Motorsport News

Due to other assignments I only made a short stop-off at the Motocross track on Saturday.

I'd made the drive out to Pleinmont as I didn't want to miss the first Round of the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's 2017 Motocross Championship.

It's always interesting to get an early view of the racers as there are always a few changes in the line-up during the break.

Young riders move up Classes as they get older and stronger. New bikes are on show... will they produce the promised increase in performance?

You would be right if you told me that it is too soon to predict this years champions but I'm still going to back one young man who showed enough class on Saturday that it already seems likely he will be in the final running for the prestigious A-Group MX-2 crown.

I'm going to go on record (after just one meeting) as saying George Symons will be the young man to watch this year in the A-Group MX-2.

Make sure you pop back here at the end of the season to see if I have a proven eye for spotting talent :-)

My action pics of the Motocross are now online:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND 1 OF THE MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

Well, no surprises eh! It is the Winter Kart Series after all!

Round-2 of the 2017 Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Winter Championship at The Track started off very wet and ended just damp. Just like this photographer!

My day had actually started off at 7.30 am when I was up by the reservoir for the start of the Guernsey Triathlon Club's Reservoir Duathlon.

At that early hour things were very unpleasant for the competitors who had to endure two running sections split by a lengthy bike ride. It was the ride that really took its toll as the athletes got very cold due to the torrential rain and wind chill from the icy wind.

Taking pictures in such dreadful, dark and wet conditions meant I struggled to get any decent shots. Persistance is the only answer to that problem... combined with good waterproofs and an endless supply of dry hankerchiefs for the lenses - both camera and spectacles!!

I'll add a few pics of the Duathlon to a Gallery later.
UPDATE: DUATHLON PICS ARE NOW ONLINE HERE

Back at The Track the changeable conditions meant the racers had to adapt to the track each time they went out. This was great experience... especially for the Cadets who produced some exciting racing.

The Kart pics are now online here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-2 OF THE WINTER KART SERIES

Variety is good. It keeps things interesting.

However I don't like to stray too far from certain favorite themes... one of them is action photography, of course!

This morning the 'Action' mix included Round-3 of the Guernsey Velo Club's Mountain Bike Winter Cross Country Series sponsored by Ian Brown's Cycle. This round took place in the challenging pine forest at the Guet.

The course offered steep slippery slopes, tight bends around knarled tree trunks and longer level straights. However there were always tree roots laying in wait to throw off the riders.

The track challenged even the most experienced riders but all this didn't put off a sizable entry. I have a feeling this particular genre of cycling is going from strength to strength.

I only managed to find time for a short shoot at the MTB before I had to leave to cover the first of the Kart Club's Winter Championship at The Track.

Two things really struck me as I photographed these two events one after the other.

One was the contrast in noise levels. The Guet was a peaceful place to be - even allowing for the shouted support being given to the competitors from spectators. At the Track it was all about the sound of revving engines. That's the 'variety' I mentioned before.

The other thing that struck me was that one aspect was just the same between the events. That was the competition.

All sports have this same intrinsic element. Competitors want to be first. They want to be a winner and this wish drives everyone taking part to push their performance further every time they compete.

Oddly, this even rubs off on me. I'm actually a very competitive person. I've always managed to turn anything I've done into some form of competition. There's nothing more certain to get my competitive nature buzzing than when I see another DSLR camera lurking in the bushes :-)

Competition is usually good for us as it makes us push ourselves beyond where we were comfortable. We try and find a new level of achievement, hopefully! We're all winners then.

My pics from these two events can be viewed by following the links. Maybe they are just a little better than they would have been without the competition ;-)
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND 3 OF THE WINTER MTB SERIES
CLICK HERE TO VIEW RACE 1 OF THE WINTER KARTING CHAMPIONSHIP

My 2017 Motorsport season began last weekend with a GMC&CC Trails event.

This All-Day meeting was based around the beautiful setting of Fauxquets Valley.

I was unable to spend much time on the sections as I had other work booked but it was long enough to find out how muddy some of the tracks leading to the sections were. It was quite a surprise as Guernsey has just experienced one of the driest Decembers on record.

But somehow the mud was deep, sticky and very slippery!

Now, I'm never the most steady person when its slippery underfoot. When I'm also carrying a few grand of kit up and down the slopes trying to find the best angle I'm just one slide away from an expensive accident!

That's not mentioning how dirty the result would be!

Last Sunday there was an extra twist to my trying to keep on my feet.... and clean.

As I mentioned, my day's work consisted of photographing several other events. These were public affairs that required me to be fairly smart... definitely not covered in smelly mud.

As I made a couple of visits to the Trails between the other shoots I was swapping wellies for brogues with a practiced touch. I even managed to keep my hands clean... and more importantly the cameras, lenses and trousers.

It was worth all the effort though as I have been eager to get back to the Motorsport photography after the winter break. Looking at my calendar I'll be busy most weekends from now on so keep a look-out on this website for my regular updates.

You can view a few pics of the All-Day Trials here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE GM&CC ALL-DAY TRIALS

I love round numbers. Numbers like one million, one hundred, ten… in fact any number that ends in noughts. The more noughts the better though!

There is something nice and tidy about a number that ends in a nought.

I’ve no idea where I get the passion for numerical tidiness from as my office desk is proof that I don’t carry this zeal for tidiness into all aspects of my life!

But I won’t let that small fact spoil the pleasure I felt when my website viewing passed another significant mark… another of those cherished ‘round numbers’.

In fact I’m celebrating two new markers in one this time around. Just how happy can a photographer be???

The celebration comes as this website's total picture views passed through the FIFTEEN MILLION mark…. that’s SIX NOUGHTS you know ;-)

By coincidence this also marks a new record for the number of views within a twelve month period. In fact it is just eleven months since the website views passed ELEVEN MILLION, so for the first time, I have had more than FOUR MILLION views within a year.

That deserves a smiley face :-)

When viewings passed the THREE MILLION annual total I commented that it probably wouldn’t be repeated but now I’m getting cocky and have set myself the challenge of breaking an annual FIVE MILLION views.

To achieve this I don’t see any time in the near future when I’ll find a moment to get around to tidying the disorderly desk…. But that’s fine as ‘tidy’ round numbers will keep me happy ;-)

Thanks for the continued visits to view my pics. It is you who make up the numbers.

You can view a few of the old ‘Milestone Millions’ Blogs by following this link:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PREVIOUS 'MILLION' BLOGS

The last Motocross meeting of the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's 2016 Motocross Championship was an exciting event as the final places were fought for.

Once again the weather turned out to be just about perfect with the overnight rain leaving the track in near perfect condition.

All the extensive work that a small band of helpers had done over the summer break on laying out a new track has certainly paid off. The re-designed corners and jumps have offered a new challenge to both racers and photographers as we all took time to find the fastest lines and best photographic angles.

These changes can re-invigorate all of us when the motivation starts to drop. Also the fact that most meetings have been dry and mild also helps I guess ;-)

I've added a new gallery featuring the final Race-8 of the Championship. Check-out the pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE FINAL MX RACE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP

On a sunny day in the wooded Dos D'ane valley everything is as pretty as a picture.

With the leaves taking on their autumnal colours and the low sun I almost broke one of my 'mantra's'... that is that I don't take 'pretty' pictures anymore!

That all changed when I took up photography as a full-time occupation.

Back in my RPS and Camera Club days I took as many landscape, sunset, sunrise, flower, wildlife pics.... (you get the idea) as any other hobbyist photographer.

Somehow that has changed now that a lot of my work is to a clients strict brief. My other two specialties - Music and Sport photography also don't offer many chances to make a 'pretty' picture.

But as I edited the recent Trails meeting held in the Dos D'Ane valley I noticed that I was getting close to making a 'pretty' picture - all by accident - as natures colours were beginning to glow.

In the end the pics I ended up with were still just motorsport pics but I loved how the seasonal colour added a bit of zing to some of the shots.

You can view the pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW TRIAL PICS WITH AN AUTUMNAL GLOW

In the 'old days' when November was just around the corner we weren't surprised if conditions started to get dull and overcast.

We could expect to have to add an extra layer of clothing to keep the chill of the sea breeze at bay. There would be little encouragement to go down to the beach... except for dog walking.

However nowadays the calendar date is no way to predict what the climate will have on offer. This is perhaps the influence of global warming on the weather? Who knows for sure?

So maybe it was that climatic effect that played a part in giving the latest round of the 'Winter' Autocross championship a very unseasonable feel.

On Sunday it was a glorious warm and sunny morning down on Chouet beach. My guess is that if the noisy Banger racing hadn't taken over the sands for the morning a few swimmers would have taken advantage of the lovely day.

But they were restricted to the equally pleasant afternoon as Round-4 of the Winter Banger racing championship churned up the sands in the morning.

I was out in the sun taking a few pics of the action. Check them out here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-4 OF THE AUTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

A late update... so it's a quickie :-)

I'm on the road early in the morning so it has been a rush to get today's (actually it's now yesterday's) Motocross Gallery online.

The job's now a good'n as a complete Gallery of all the action from race seven of the GK&MC Motocross Championship has been selected, edited and uploaded.

It's been a rush but the pics are here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE MOTOCROSS RACE-7

Tarmac and sand wouldn't normally be used in one sentence when talking about motorsport.

But this is Guernsey and we do things a bit differently over here :-)

On Sunday those two contrasting surfaces both featured in my mornings photography.

Luckily the two events were timed with just a small overlap allowing me to get along to both of them.

First up it was tarmac that offered a track surface. This was at the aptly named 'The Track' for race eight of the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's Summer Kart Championship.

Following on from this it was time to head off to the sands of Chouet Beach where a track had been marked out for race three of the Autocross Club's Winter Series.

So in just one morning I was able to enjoy two wildly contrasting events... in fact perhaps the only similarity was that it was motorsport so the competitors were fired up with only one thought in their head... TO WIN!

These races are always entertaining and I recommend them to you if you're looking for something different to occupy yourself with on a Sunday morning.

Follow these links to view the pics:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE KARTING PICS
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE BANGER RACING PICS

The final two races in the Guernsey Powerboat Association's Stanley Gibbons Investment Powerboat Series couldn't have been more different... bearing in mind they were separated by just twenty-five hours.

To be honest, race one of the weekend was a bit of a miserable affair when judged from a photographers point of view.

A dull, overcast sky will only offer a grey coloured sea. Also the colour of the race boats loose any 'zing'. And of course during the race the grey sky fulfilled its promise by adding a few heavy showers into the mix.

So perhaps we just need to forget race one!

That is because Sunday's race two turned everything on its head. When I first arrived there was no guarantee that the sun would appear. The sky was grey again. But as the minutes passed by, so did the cloud.

Photographers turned out in numbers... where were you all yesterday, eh?

We were given just the sort of light we like and we all snapped away.

It was nice to end the busy season on a sunny high. Next year is just around the corner. It's already expected to be one of the best ever as World Championship racing will return again to Guernsey's waters in 2017.

My two days of pics are now online:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LAST TWO POWERBOAT RACES OF THE 2016 SERIES

Sunday was another busy Motorsport photography day.

First up was the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club Twisty Sprint at The Track.

The event was sponsored by Channel Island Fuels and gave the Motorbike racers their first try of the new Track after the re-design and re-surfacing.

Whilst the essential layout remained as before a new complex that now includes a tight hairpin corner added to the challenge as the correct braking point would be critical to achieving your best time.

The riders had what seemed like an endless number of timed laps and were kept very busy with the continual swapping of tyre warmers.

In the end I made two visits to The Track - split by a trip to Chouet to photograph the Autocross Banger championship.

These two events completed a busy and varied weekend of motorsport - in the dry!! A welcome change to Saturdays damp Petit Bot hillclimb.

I'm working through the edit and have just added a gallery featuring the Twisty Sprint. I'll add another link to the Autocross Bangers when they are also online.

Follow the links to view the pics:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE TRACK TWISTY SPRINT


The Autocross Banger racing galleries have now been updated with pics of Round-2 of the Winter Championship:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LATEST AUTOCROSS PICTURES

Petit Bot Hillclimb 2016 turned out to be an event that tested my patience and stamina! I will explain more below.

This end of season Hillclimb is a bit of an odd one in the calender.

Firstly no formula single-seater's are allowed to race. This automatically excludes some of the fastest racers.

Then you have the challenging and narrow track (maybe the reason the single-seater's are banned) which most years really is green.... a motorsport term for a track that hasn't been rubbered in by regular racing.

But when the term is used for Petit Bot hill it is because the road surface actually is green! This is caused as the damp tree-lined valley receives little direct sun and a layer of fine moss covers much of the road.

The thing about the Petit Bot Hillclimb is that sometimes it turns out to be a seasons highlight.

But then sometimes it is a bit of a damp flannel (maybe an oily rag would be a better motorsport term)?

2016 was one of the non-vintage years. The event suffered from many delays which were only dampened further by a few showers that lasted just long enough to be uncomfortable.

Now I should also add to these comments that I haven't gone soft. Delays and getting wet are all part of sport photography. I've enough stamina left to handle a bit of that :-)

What really finished off a rather flat day for me was that after spending an extended time on my Petit Bot picture edit (longer than usual due to the low and varied lighting) I somehow managed to loose the full two hours work by pressing the wrong button in Lightroom!!

When this happens at 1am in the morning you know you've had a bad day which just got badder :-(

So the edit had to be done again... this time making sure to be more careful which buttons I pressed!

The jobs now re-done and the pics are online:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2016 PETIT BOT HILLCLIMB

Sometimes even the best plans go wrong.

That almost happened to me today when I arrived at The Track to capture Round 7 of the GK&MC Summer Kart Championship.

I was a bit later than usual as I had to finish an edit that needed to be submitted before a deadline. Normally I would still be in time to capture plenty action... but not this time!

With just two Classes racing and a meeting that that had clearly run very smoothly there were just the two finals to go.

So it was action stations and finger on the button with no time to waste.

It seemed that before you could count ten laps it was all over :-)

As I'm still trying to work out the best shooting angles for the new track layout I need all the track-time I can get.

So I've made a note in the diary for the next race meeting: 'Must not be late'.

My pics are already online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF ROUND-7 OF THE SUMMER KART CHAMPIONSHIP

Somehow life always seems to find a natural balance... even when it comes to my funtime/worktime equilibrium.

It seems that whenever I find time for a bit of motorsport action photography there is always a payback lurking just around the corner!

This shouldn't be a surprise for me, after all I've been in this game for over a decade now.

But, like a well earned hang-over, after the fun comes the less welcome recovery.

With photography this is represented by the picture edit. An unavoidable outcome after the fun part of taking the pics.

So there we have it. I've been lucky to spend three days in Alderney photographing the motorsport weekend. So when I returned home there was no way of avoiding the extended edit.

There is good news though. I've just completed all the picture galleries and I didn't even need the help of any painkillers!

They can be viewed here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ALDERNEY FORT CORBLETS SPRINT
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ALDERNEY AIRPORT SPEED EVENT
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ALDERNEY FORT TOURGIS HILLCLIMB
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I'm just back from four days spent in Alderney.

Three of my days were filled by motorsport... one was all about walking, exploring and beer :-)

Once again, this year I was touched by the Alderney 'magic dust'... whatever that is?

I can't really articulate quite what it is that makes a stay in Alderney so special and memorable but at the start of every year I seem to forget the previous years and I question whether I should commit the time and money to another Alderney motorsport weekend.

I forget what a fantastic time I always have. In fact I don't actually have a decision to make. This weekend should be the first commitment in the diary!

If you've never made a visit to Alderney - it doesn't have to be for the motorsport - you have missed out on a most enjoyable experience that takes you back a few decades to a time when life seemed a lot more simple and relaxed. I recommend it to you.

But now I'm back home and the usual pressure on time and workload returns :-(

For me this means a day spent catching up with the editing.

First examples of my three days work are pics of the Alderney Fort Corblets Sprint:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2016 ALDERNEY FORT CORBLETS SPRINT

I wouldn't recommend my day today as a remedy for a five-day long hangover... but it seems I have no choice :-(

I've just returned from photographing the 2016 Jersey Live Festival. This year it turned into an intense five day photoshoot and party!

The festival ticked almost all the boxes... we had lots of great performances, rain and sunshine, booze (lots), and loads of fun and pics.

But real life returns all too soon :-(

In my case this means sitting at a screen trying to focus on the backlog of edits. The list includes a Hillclimb shoot, the Vale Earth Fair (big) shoot and an even bigger two days of Jersey Live.

But before all that I have Press submissions to sort out for the Vale Earth Fair, the Motocross 2-Day meeting and a quick edit of Jersey Live!

There are also the orders that came in whilst I was away that need printing and framing.

All this is enough to send my brain into a hungover spin!

However I expect no sympathy from you as it is all self inflicted and I imagine I'll do exactly the same again next year. As long as the body holds out!

To prove that I don't give up at the first sign of a hangover I've just put up the hillclimb gallery. More to follow:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GMC&CC HILLCLIMB PICS

A couple of days ago someone asked me where I've been on holiday.

This person had (logically) assumed that as I hadn't made any major updates to this website for around two weeks that I must be lying on a beach somewhere, beer in hand, not a care in the world.

If only!!

No, the lack of updates is for completely the opposite reason. I'm stacked with work at the moment.

Now if you were to ask my missus about this she would be quite happy and content. You see, if I'm dashing around on photoshoots I can't keep a check on how much time she is spending in the summer house reading on that new Kindle I bought her for her birthday.

Now I wouldn't want you to think that I'm disliking work at the moment. Far from it. I'm someone who will always find another thing to do rather than sit around... even on the beach!

But all this activity does cause a log-jam in my picture editing and web-site updates. I have just sorted out one though. The gallery features pics of the 2-Day Motocross meeting.

There are other updates on the way (Vale Earth Fair & Hillclimb) but they will have to await my return from photographing Jersey Live together with a couple of Commercial Tallpictures jobs whilst I'm over in our sister Isle.

I must also get around to writing a Blog to celebrate the 14 MILLIONTH viewing on this website... hopefully before the counter hits 15 MILLION ;-)

View the 2-Day Motocross pics here:
VIEW PICS OF THE 2-DAY MOTOCROSS MEETING

Saturday was Hillclimb day.

Got a nice ring to it hasn't it :-)

I've lost count of how many hours I've spent crouched on the grass verges of Le Val des Terres taking pics of Hillclimbs. Or how many miles I've walked carrying a weighty backpack.

I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said weeks and a few marathons!

I'm lucky that on several weekends every year I get to call the 'Terres my workplace.

In fact if the hill could be fitted with a bar with a Real Ale pump somewhere along its length I'd be very happy to call it my office ;-)

However, for now, I have to entertain myself by trying to capture the best action pics of the racing.

Unfortunately at the end of the day I have to return to my little, dark office to complete the edit :-(

But now that I've finished the edit and uploads I can go off to my actual 'Town office'.... which incidentally does have Real Ale on tap!

Hey, it's been a long dry weekend and I deserve it :-)

You can take a look at the days work by clicking the link below.
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST HILLCLIMB PICS

There was action both on the water and the shoreline of Havelet Bay for Rounds 5 & 6 of the GPA Stanley Gibbons Series of Powerboat races.

Firstly, on the water there were several more boats in the line-up than earlier races. With the return of Diablo after a new V8 engine transplant the spectators were treated to three of these crowd pleasers.... it's all about the noise me thinks!

The V8 rumble works for me, but hey, I'm biased as I've beem driving V8 AMG Mercedes for years :-)

When it comes to entertainment value there is no substitute to getting plenty race boats to the start line as there are inevitable gaps as the competitors spread out around the course it helps greatly in keeping the public's attention if there are more boats.

Races 5 & 6 were the best yet of the 2016 series. Well done guys 'n' gals.

And so to the shoreline. Well I think some stretches of the harbour walls were fully lined with photographers! This sport must be the most photographed out of all the many that take place every weekend in this Island.

So I'm sure that not a moment of action was missed!

I've just uploaded my contribution to the coverage:
VIEW PICS OF ROUNDS 5 & 6 OF THE GPA POWERBOAT SERIES