News / Blog - Motorsport News

It takes more than a few inches of mud to put off a Moto-X rider.

In fact they positively love a bit of slippery action. So that made today's track conditions just about perfect for most of the competitors. There is no doubt that a few puddles can help liven up a photograph too. This echo's what I was saying in my previous blog about the Karting Championship.

So it made for an enjoyable morning on the cliffs photographing the latest round of the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's Motocross Championship.

The strong wind and low light levels made for a few challenges - but I did manage keep to my feet and I avoided any embarrassing slides into the grime :-)

So the riders seemed to relish their mud-bath however I definately wouldn't want the job of cleaning their bikes and race kit!

Pics are already on-line. Please take a look...
MOTO-X RIDERS LIKE IT SLIPPERY

The Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Summer Kart Championship was completed in challenging conditions.

With Classes where the new Champions were still to be decided it was a tense morning at The Track with supporters braving the rain to watch the outcome.

They were treated to some skilful racing that saw the drivers looking for the fastest line in the wet. It was noticeable that they preferred a different approach into the corners than the normal dry line as smooth seemed to reward with a faster pace.

I always find that it is well worth suffering the discomfort of rain dripping down my back and wetting my kit when I get back to my studio and process the pics. The results always offer something a bit different. See what you think.

Pics are now on-line.
VIEW PICS OF THE WET FINAL KART RACE

Just a quickie update...

Pics of Round-5 of the GK&MC Motocross Championship are now online.

I did say it was a quickie :-)
VIEW PICS OF MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-5

Continuing a fantastic and varied year of Motor Sport today I was in a cliff-top field photographing a special Guernsey Motorcycle & Car Club race meeting.

With the Sandracing season over the bikers had decided that one last outing was needed before their machines are packed away for the winter.

The Club had managed to pull all the required parts together to allow the racing to take place and we were all treated to beautiful weather and a setting that was near perfect.

For me, as a photographer, it was an opportunity to capture something a bit different.

I moved on to photograph the Motocross later in the day. Once again the setting was on the picturesque Guernsey cliffs.... 2013 is definitely a vintage year for Motorsport :-)

The challenge is to match it in 2014....
VIEW PICS OF THE GRASSTRACK RACING

Too busy to brag? OK, well just a bit then... 5,000,000 times :-)

I hope that what I'm about to do is all done in 'the best possible bad taste' :-)

I know that modesty should always be the order of the day. But if I don't 'blow my own trumpet' then nobody else is going to do if for me!

So with my modesty temporarily filed away in the cabinet I'm going to brag a little. I won't be offended if you press the delete button right now :-0

The thing is, I'm chuffed by a couple of things. Firstly this web site passed 5,000,000 views (yes FIVE MILLION) on the 3rd of October 2013.

Amazingly just five days later it will probably notch up the next 100,000! (EDIT: It actually took six days to clock up the next 100,000 views). That's a LOT of viewings! May I thank everyone for the huge interest in my pics.

My other moment of immodesty is to mention that this month I have had several more pics published in National Magazines and Media. Top of the pile has to be the front cover of Speedscene Magazine, the Specialist National Publication for Sprinting and Speed Hillclimbing.

The cover features my pic of Darren Warwick at the Guernsey round of the MSA British National Hillclimb Championship. There are also pics inside to support Eddie Walder's report.

That's it. Short and sweet. I'll retrieve my modesty from the filing cabinet. Normal service returns, ha,ha
READ ABOUT THE FIRST 4,000,000 VIEWS
READ ABOUT THE FIRST 3,000.000 VIEWS
READ ABOUT THE FIRST 2,000,000 VIEWS
READ ABOUT THE FIRST 1,000,000 VIEWS

I know it is WAY too early to put 2013 into the bottom draw, only to be talked about in a nostalgic way. But I must admit that as I processed the many pictures I captured over the weekend of the Guernsey Motor Sport scene I drifted into thinking about what a fantastic year it has been.

Local Motor Sport fans cannot have anything to say against this amazing year which has given competitors and spectators so much to enjoy. That also goes for this local Action Photographer!!

I have delighted in the opportunities that the new events have offered me to capture something fresh. We have had the return of the Salerie Twisty Sprint, there was the Reservoir Sprint, a new Speed event near Alderney Airport and then, yesterday, a Twisty Sprint at the Kart Track. Add to this a bit of Grass Track racing yet to come and 2013 must rate as an all-time 'best vintage'.

One thing it has meant for me, though, is a huge amount of work and commitment of time to allow me to offer what I think is the widest coverage of the local Motor Sport scene, ever!

I am privileged to have great access to take pictures that I hope reflect the atmosphere and action at the many events. I am in my element whilst on the edge of a race track cameras in hand.

However (wait for the shameless plug) my photography is actually my business... it is my income. I can only justify the time and money spent if I can make a few sales. Web-site viewings massage the ego, Paypal helps pay for the beer!

I told you it was going to be a shameless plug ;-)

Whilst I have tickled your conscience you might like to take a look at the weekends pics...
VIEW PETIT BOT HILL CLIMB
VIEW THE TRACK TWISTY SPRINT
VIEW THE AUTOCROSS BANGER RACING
VIEW THE JUNIOR TRIALS

It might not always seem to be the case but I really do try to keep my picture galleries fresh and up to date :-)

Unfortunately sometimes other work gets in the way - and this has been the case for the last few weeks of the 2013 Summer months.

Lots of things seemed to coincide. My Commercial photography has been incredibly busy. As this is what pays the bills it always has to take precedence. However the photography that I most enjoy (Motor Sport, Festivals & Gigs) also seem to peak at this time of year!

I have also been trying to gain a few 'Brownie Points' from my missus by ticking off jobs around the home from a very long list. I have a long way to go on this front but that's another whole story :-)

The important detail in this Blog is that I have now completed a long-promised (make that VERY long-promised) picture gallery.

It had been pushed to the back after I decided the best option for me was to keep up-to-date with new photo-shoots, leaving the already late ones waiting. This at least meant less delays.

So I'm PLEASED to announce that the September 7th Kart Club Hill Climb Galleries are now open (I leave you to imagine the drum roll) ha, ha.

I've made these galleries larger than normal in an effort to placate the waiting masses - enjoy ;-)

Oh, by the way, have you noticed that this web site has now had more than FIVE MILLION VIEWS. More about this later :-)
KART CLUB HILL CLIMB PICS ARE NOW ONLINE

September has had a special place in my annual calendar of essential 'to-do's' for several years.

That is because tradition has this end of summer month reserved for the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's Alderney weekend.

Taken at its simplest, the two (or now three) days of Motor Sport are simply race events on our smaller sister island... good fun, but so what, we have many events in Guernsey.

But of course it isn't that simple!

What the Alderney events represent is an occasion for Club members to get together to put on logistically challenging Motor Sport. Nobody should be left with the impression that any part of the setting up of three different 'offshore' events is easy. You must remember that every piece of kit that is needed - from the broom to sweep the track to the timing gear to the straw bales has to be shipped across to Alderney. Then the racers have to pack all the tools and spares they think they might need. It takes a boat load or two to transport everything!

In fact this year highlighted some of the problems as our Jersey cousins failed to get over due to the cargo boat being cancelled due to bad weather!

However, living up to the best traditions, the GK&MC managed to beat all the problems and we all enjoyed three fantastic days of Motor Sport... well actually it was more like two and a half days as the first days Sprint racing was abandoned due to heavy rain :-(

It is a testament to how enjoyable the whole weekend was that even though we lost some racing on Thursday it is just a forgotten memory... there were so many brilliant performances on the following days. The social life is also memorable in its own right :-)

I have already made a diary date to be in Alderney for next years racing - I recommend that you do the same.

For now you can take a look at my pics to see what you missed...
VIEW PICS OF THE 2013 ALDERNEY SPRINT
VIEW PICS OF THE ALDERNEY AIRPORT EVENT
VIEW PICS OF THE 2013 ALDERNEY HILL CLIMB

This speed of updating my Galleries will never last! Particularly as it has been at the expense of leaving other important updates waiting patiently on my hard disks... notice the plural. I always backup everything, just in case.

So I apologise that the promised Vale Earth Fair pictures - and there will be loads, the last Kart Club Hill Climb and Jersey Dead pics are still on the 'to-do' list.

The decision to upload the latest photoshoots at the expense of the 'to-do' list was made so that I don't put any more updates into the pending folder.

All this energy (I don't know where I found it!) means the I have already added today's Round-7 of the Karting Championship into the picture Gallery.

There was plenty of action and I managed to capture a bit of it... but that is my job, eh!

Hope you like the latest pics...
VIEW ROUND-7 OF THE KARTING CHAMPIONSHIP

In an effort to match the speed of Adam Girard I've already uploaded today's pictures from the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club Sprint meeting.

Today Adam re-wrote the record book by lowering Kent Gavey's Motor Cycle record for the Vazon Sprint. This was a record that has stood since Sept 2004.

Credit has to be given to Kent for setting his time so long ago as many have tried to match it since. It was Adam who put together a perfect run on his Graham Brown Ltd Fireblade to set the new mark at 9.66 sec.

With the Guernsey Sprint season now over we will have to wait to see how long the new record will last.

Adam's runs were perfect examples of how 'fast usually looks unspectacular'. What I mean by this is that Adam's launch from the line is smooth, carefully measured with little wheel lift. He perfectly judged the traction and wheel spin.

From a spectators view there were many more dramatic runs... but that is not how you break records!

Thanks to all the racers for entertaining us today. The prize for the biggest wheelies must go to Anthony Poynder... next year his target has to be the full quarter mile :-)
VIEW PICS OF THE GK&MC SPRINT MEETING AT VAZON

If anybody thinks that the only way to enjoy Motorsport is by being out at the front then they really should have been down at The Track last weekend.

They would have enjoyed a Kart meeting that was billed as a 'Non Championship Fun Meeting'... and 'fun' it was!

The Guernsey Kart & Motor Club organise a fun Kart meeting each year and the aim is to offer a variety of unusual race formats which include Pit Stops, Handicap Races, a Ballot Race and a few Team Races.

The day is meant to be a relaxed affair (well, fun really)! Of course, have you ever seen a racer NOT want to win a race? So there was plenty of action... and I spent a short time capturing a bit of it.

The next time the Karts hit the track it will be for Championship points - and that gets back to the serious business :-)
PICS OF THE KART FUN MEETING

If you want to see some offshore Powerboat Racing in a spectacular setting... that'll be Guernsey,then!

Race eleven of the Guernsey Powerboat Association's 2013 Championship showcased the impressive waters that this small Channel Island can offer the sport. It was as if everything had been planned to be 'just right'.

The Little Russel (that's the name of these waters if you aren't local) were slightly choppy, so that was the first thing that was going to help make action pics. Then the light was perfect, nice and bright to make the colours sing.

But the best part of all for me (talking as a photog) was that there were two visiting Cruise ships anchored in the background whilst their passengers enjoyed a few hours onshore.

So it was a simple task for me to consider the best viewpoint to take advantage of the superb backdrop. When that was sorted I couldn't fail :-)

My efforts are now online. I hope you also get a feel for the beautiful place that I'm so lucky to live in.
VIEW PICS OF THE SPECTACULAR SETTING FOR RACE-11 OF THE POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP

This Blog is brief and to the point... like the last one :-)

The word is that I have now added a new picture gallery featuring the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club's recent 2-Day Motocross meeting at Rue de la Trigale, Pleinmont.

That's it. Please take a look if you have been waiting for the update - and don't forget that you can use the 'Like' buttons beneath any of your favourite pics to share it with friends.
VIEW PICS OF THE 2-DAY MOTOCROSS MEETING

The back-log of work is getting smaller :-)

Today sees another Gallery completed after more than two weeks wait. I really am that much behind. I guess that is what happens when so many events and sports use the summer months. Of course this years long sunny period has proven why that choice is made.

I'm not making anything special of this blog. It is simply going to do 'what it says on the tin'. That is, it announces that Race-10 of the Guernsey Powerboat Associations racing is online.

Next up will be the 2-Day Motocross action then Race-11 of the Powerboat Championship.

Hang in there with me... it'll get there!
VIEW RACE-10 OF THE POWERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP

Today has been another busy one. I'm not complaining, you understand. In fact I would be quite bored if there wasn't always something to do!

It seems that my nature is 'programmed' to always load myself with work... I hate doing little or nothing. That's probably why I very rarely take a holiday. In fact when I do, it is usually to go somewhere to take pics ;-)

The problem this sometimes causes is that I am forever catching up with work. So it is a pleasure today to tick the box against another new Gallery update.

This time it is for one of the recent Hill Climbs. This was the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club Hill on 26th August (you see what I mean about having to catch up)!

But the Gallery is now on-line if you want to check it out....

I have also made a few improvements to the visuals on this web site. I hope you like them.
VIEW PICS OF THE 26th AUGUST HILL CLIMB

I only ask the question 'Do you have the Jersey Live 2013 T-Shirt yet?' as it has one of my pictures is on it :-)

Once again I am just off to our sister island to shoot all the bands for the Festival. It is an incredibly tiring weekend... but what fun! Last weekends Vale Earth Fair was a really good warm-up and I'm lucky that I get to call this work! CHECK-OUT MY PREVIOUS JERSEY LIVE PICTURE GALLERIES HERE

What this means though is that the massive updates from the last weeks assignments are going to be delayed on arriving in the picture galleries. Sorry, but I just don't have available time until I'm back from Jersey Live 2013.

However I can promise lots to come. The pictures waiting to be processed include:

Guernsey Kart & Motor Club 2-Day Motocross
Guernsey Powerboat Association racing (Two races)
Vale Earth Fair 2013 (A huge Gallery will follow)
Guernsey Motorcycle & Car Club Hill Climb

This list amounts to several hundred shots that will take a while to develop... and then I will have the Jersey Live pics to follow.
I've a feeling that time for sleep will be hard to find. But then, who wants to sleep when you can party through the night with the security crew at Jersey Live. I love my job :-)

Keep a look-out on this News page for updates when the new Galleries are on-line.

Bye for now 'cause I've got some serious partying to do....

If you want to keep me happy there is one easy way.

Let me bring my 'big guns' out and present me with a couple of days of fast Motor Sport action.

I'm not even too fussy what it is... as long as it is noisy, a bit dangerous - and fast.

So last weekend ticked all the boxes for me. Even the sun shone most of the time!

A couple of my 'big guns' made an appearance too. One of my most used lenses is the versatile Nikon 200-400mm f.4 zoom. This is a great lens for action photography as somehow you can never get close enough. This is especially the case when photographing Powerboat racing.

However it was the powerboat racing that gave me the excuse to mount my biggest gun - the amazing Nikon 400mm f2.8 - on to the Nikon D4. But even this didn't do the job when shooting full frame from the shore so I added a 1.7 times extender... 680mm, that'll do nicely ;-)

Using the bigger lenses has made my new years resolution of joining a gym well justified as it is quite a work-out swinging those monsters around. I reckon I can miss next weeks sessions after the last two days work-out :-)

Saturday saw a near perfect mix of Motor Sport with the Guernsey Kart & Motor Club running a Hill Climb at Le Val des Terres. Perfect conditions produced a hand-full of new records and my MSA Accreditation allowed me to get really close to the action... almost a bit too close when Ian Shorto clouted the bank on the last corner and headed my way... I got the shot though! I popped away from the hill for an hour or so to photograph the Powerboats and 'drink in' the beautiful drone of Dave Corbet's V8 Diablo's engine... mmmm.

I've been busy editing the two days pics and they are now on-line:
VIEW PICS OF THE GK&MC HILL CLIMB

VIEW THE GUERNSEY POWERBOAT ASSOCIATION'S RACING

I've just had a really good month when judged by the number of my pictures published in National Magazines.

It is always a nice accolade to have a major publication accept your work for print. It is also an encouragement when the genre of the pics are so varied. So last months distributions will keep me happy for a little while :-)

My National Hill Climb racing pics were reproduced in two of the leading Motor sport mags, Motor Sport News and also Autosport.

Then it was Powerboat & Rib Magazine that featured a double page spread of the Guernsey Powerboat Associations racing.

Evo Magazine also featured a pic of John Dunne racing at the Guernsey Hill Climb.

And to keep things nicely varied my Commercial photography featured in Country Life Magazine.

To add to that mix I have had numerous pictures published in the Channel Island Newspapers, Magazines and Business publications. My pics have also been used by a number of Bands both local and as far afield as New York... today Guernsey, tomorrow the world, ha,ha?

I am often pondering whether my chosen profession is a sensible one... at least as a means of making a decent living. It seems that every week there is a 'new kid on the block' who has bought a digital camera, created a web site (or simply a Facebook page) and decided to to call themselves a 'Pro' photographer... wedding day bookings made at your own risk ;-)
This new competition often has a 'proper' day job and can afford to play at fulfilling their ambitions to be a photog. Don't misunderstand me, I accept it is everyone's free choice to do this.

But what this does do is add pressure on to those of us who only have our photography as a means of buying the real ale (oh yes, and the food)! So when National publications consider your work as being worthy of printing you get a little boost and encouragement to keep the nose to the grindstone... or should that be the back of the camera?

The long hot summer of '13 is proving to be a successful one for me so far. This web site might even break the 3,000,000 views during this twelve months, so maybe I'll keep this up for a bit longer yet?

As I say, 'it definitely beats a proper job, eh'.
VIEW MY PICTURE GALLERIES

Guernsey entertained the British Hill Climb racers at Le Val des Terres on Saturday. The conditions were near perfect and after seeing the quality of the racing in Jersey a couple of days before I was expecting some serious action.... and that is what we got.

Records dropped in several Classes with special mention needed for Sarah Gaudion's all-time women's record. However it was the battle of the big boys which resulted in the outright hill record being lowered by Scott Moran during the first Championship run-off. His time of 27.19 looked impressive enough to stay as a long term record for Le Val des Terres.

But that was soon proved wrong.

It was during the first dramatic and tense run-off that every local motor sport fan had their fingers crossed as Darren Warwick's time placed him in the top spot with only Scott Moran to run.

The real possibility that a local driver could win a round of the National Championship had the crowd ready to release their emotions... but had we forgotten that Scott was a previous outright record holder for the hill?

Maybe we were all a bit too hopeful because as Scott finished his run the clock stopped at a quite amazing 27.19 beating Darren by seven tenths. He had re-taken the all-time record for the 'Terres'.

In qualifying for the second round of Championship run-offs Darren clocked almost exactly the same time as his earlier runs, perhaps suggesting he was at the limit.

So it was the second of the National Championship run-offs that provided a fitting climax to the day as Scott Moran produced a time that took him to the top with only Jos Goodyear to run. Jos raised his game by re-taking his outright hill record by the smallest margin of two hundreths and at the same time he asked the question - is a 26 second run going to be seen sometime in the future?

The brilliant time that Jos returned mustn't overshadow the standard of Darren Warwick's racing. He really stood toe-to-toe with the big boys with their powerful high-tech kit and got very close to beating them all... bar one.

There should also be a mention in despatches for the notable inclusion of two other locals in the run-offs. As a regular qualifier, Nick Saunders qualified for both run-offs and was joined by Paul Le Messurier for one of the runs. Once again they pushed their underpowered and lower tech cars as hard as was possible and split the visitors for run-off places.

The Championship provided a memorable days racing. We now have to wait twelve months to find out if that 26 second time really is possible.

The 40th time that the Championship has been run at Le Val des Terres was celebrated by the unveiling of an impressive Banner Hoarding at the bottom of the hill. This has been sponsored by Comprop who are about to re-develop the old brewery site.

Comprop have become major sponsors of the GMC&CC and together with Dowding Signs produced the superb display. Of course I might be a bit biased as the hoarding features many of my pictures ;-) Make sure you stop and take a close look next time you are in the area.
VIEW PICS OF THE GUERNSEY ROUNDS OF THE NATIONAL HILL CLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP

The local rounds of the British National Hill Climb Championship were always going to be a highlight in the Channel Islands Motor Sport calendar..... but we didn't anticipate just how special things were going to be in 2013!

For Rounds 19 and 20 the Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club had planned a special celebration of the 40 years that they have hosted British Championship rounds. A well attended, lively and interesting gathering and barbecue was held at the Marina restaurant after the Saturdays racing and this was the perfect end to the two days racing.

But it was on the hills that the spectacular was so special!

The soon to be legendary 'summer of 2013' produced the hottest conditions for years, particularly in Jersey on thursday where there was no breeze. The sun always raises people's spirits and they were running on turbo boost as the racing started. We knew we were in for a treat!

Guernseymen ruled the hill when it came to top performances in Jersey with Darren Warwick being the only Channel Islander to feature in both Top twelve National Championship Run-offs. This was a stunning performance when you consider the far higher power and technological specifications of the visiting National drivers cars. Well done Darren on an astounding result.

Other records were also taken by the small contingent of Guernsey drivers. We showed the Crapo's, eh ;-)

Then we moved on to the Guernsey rounds which were even more special for Guernsey fans... more on this to follow.

For now though, I have added a new picture gallery featuring the 2013 Jersey rounds of the British National Hill Climb Championships at Bouley Bay. Enjoy.
VIEW PICTURES OF THE JERSEY ROUNDS OF THE BRITISH NATIONAL HILL CLIMB