Rallycross English Masters - Gales, Blizzards & Bitterly Cold

[Simon Harrison]

I think I need my head read :confused: . Spent the day at Croft Circuit for the Rallycross English Masters meeting, the first round of the 2006 Rallycross Super Series. For once the weather forecast got it just about right, and we had gale force winds and snow all day, and it never got above -1 deg C :rolleyes: .

#1 Junior Minicross - always good fun to watch and some very talented drivers.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Masters05/12-03-06---082.jpg

#2 New for this year is the revival class - an attempt to bring some of the cars from yesteryear back into the sport. See what I mean about the weather!
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Masters05/12-03-06---192.jpg

#3 This Citroen Xsara was driven by 'Mad Mark' - the picture was taken by 'Crazy Simon' :lol:
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Masters05/12-03-06---145.jpg

#4 Some of the most entertaining racing came from the Division 1A Cars. Here they are getting up to a little mischief on the opening lap.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Masters05/12-03-06---288.jpg

#5 Another revival car, and one of my favourites to boot - a 1275 GT - best Mini ever IMHO
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Masters05/12-03-06---196.jpg

#6 The Super Nationals were dominated by Kevin Proctor in his Lotus Exige. I like this shot as it sums up that statement nicely.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Masters05/12-03-06---391.jpg

#7 Christopher Evans was the class of the Division 1 field. He won all of his heats, and looked on course for victory in the final until mechanical failure forced his retirement.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Masters05/12-03-06---414.jpg

#8 This left the way open for reigning Polish Champion Jacek Ptaszek to come through and take the Division 1 win.
http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Masters05/12-03-06---096.jpg

Hope you enjoy the pictures, and as always any comments or feedback are appreciated.

For those that are interested, all shot in RAW with manual metering using a 20D and 300 mm f4 L IS + 1.4 TC

Cheers,

Simon.

[Otta]

Well Simon , Looks really bleak but the shots are well worth getting cold and wet for .

Nice work

Roy

[despot]

Rather you than me Simon. ;) Nice work. I'm liking #2 & #3.
Andy

[dengli]

Nice one Simon. Great shots - it's a wonder you could hold the camera still in those temperatures. I had some family business today otherwise I'd have been there myself. Looking at the weather forecast (and the way it turned out) I'm glad in a way that I couldn't make it.

I'll just have to enjoy your efforts. Love the horizonal blur of the snow you've captured in #1 and #4 is a cracker.

Hope to see you during the season (weddings permitted)

[Dave_G]

fantastic given the toss weather! haha

but...rallycrossing a Mk1 MR2 :( nooooooooo

I loved mine to bits and would never abuse it in such a way! lol

[KennyG]

I decided the 150 mile round trip in a whiteout wasn't how I wanted to spend my day, so sorry I missed you at Croft. Nice shots, the snow adds to the atmosphere. I am surprised they even ran the meeting.

[Simon Harrison]

Well Simon , Looks really bleak but the shots are well worth getting cold and wet for .

Nice work

Roy

Thanks Roy. Bleak is definately a good word to describe how it was.

Cheers,

Simon.

[GSH]

Great shots indeed.

I was there for about an hour and didn't bother getting the camera out of the car. I must admit i thought they'd abandon the meet.

[Simon Harrison]

Rather you than me Simon. ;) Nice work. I'm liking #2 & #3.
Andy

Thanks Andy. #3 used to be the car of French champion Laurent Terroitin. Plenty of potential, once 'Mad Mark' gets to grip with it.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Simon Harrison]

Nice one Simon. Great shots - it's a wonder you could hold the camera still in those temperatures. I had some family business today otherwise I'd have been there myself. Looking at the weather forecast (and the way it turned out) I'm glad in a way that I couldn't make it.

I'll just have to enjoy your efforts. Love the horizonal blur of the snow you've captured in #1 and #4 is a cracker.

Hope to see you during the season (weddings permitted)

Thanks Dave. Well wrapped up and with my back to the wind and snow, it wasn't too bad - it was only my feet and fingers that felt the cold a little from time to time. Batteries were my biggest problem. I had my pockets stuffed full of them to try and keep them warm, and ended up changing them around at regular intervals.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Simon Harrison]

I decided the 150 mile round trip in a whiteout wasn't how I wanted to spend my day, so sorry I missed you at Croft. Nice shots, the snow adds to the atmosphere. I am surprised they even ran the meeting.

Thanks Ken. I expected to get up to a real covering of snow on Sunday morning, but there was none at all. As usual, Teesside seems to have it's own micro climate, and it wasn't until late morning when the weather really closed in for a while.

The organisers did cut the number of laps in the heats because of the weather. My brief for the day was the Division 1 Supercars (apart from one stock hatch), so I sat out most of heats 2 and 3 when the weather was at its worst with a big mug of tea in my car.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Simon Harrison]

fantastic given the toss weather! haha

but...rallycrossing a Mk1 MR2 :( nooooooooo

I loved mine to bits and would never abuse it in such a way! lol

Cheers Dave. Don't worry he kept out of trouble, and didn't 're-model' any of the panels!

Simon.

[Cadwell]

What have I told you about colour balance? :rolleyes: You know the grass at Croft is supposed to be green and here you go with it all white! :p ;)

Conditions look horrid, Simon but the photos are great. Well done for both the photography and your dedication (lunacy? :p ;) ) I too like the shot of the 1275GT.

I thought I was heading for something similar yesterday when I went to Pembrey for the Rali Cwm Gwendraeth (see, I can cut and paste Welsh - is there no end to my talents?) as there was some pretty significant snow around Cardiff but it cleared as I went further West and all I had to cope with in the end was driving rain.

[NordieBoy]

So where are the open wheelers?

Excellent pics.

Still think you're mad though ;)

[::John::]

I used to grizzle when it rained during a meet - you are nuts! :)

Fantastic pics - showing dedication of both 'teams' - the drivers and the photographer. Well done.

[Simon Harrison]

Great shots indeed.

I was there for about an hour and didn't bother getting the camera out of the car. I must admit i thought they'd abandon the meet.

Thanks Geoff. Like I said in an earlier post, once you had your back to the wind it wasn't too bad for picture taking.

Cheers,

Simon.

[stoneylonesome]

Wonderful series of photos. It really looks nasty and cold. Course the drivers were inside, not like the photographer. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[irv]

when I got there at 9 it wasn't too bad but by 11 i was having such a hard time keeping the snow out of the lens hood and my fingers were starting to hurt really badly so my friend and I decided to retreat and watch the f1 infront of the fire instead. we were down by tyre chicane where every single one of the minis spun :)
i was expecting a small crowd with the weather like it was but everyone was in good spirits. my friend was up on the embankment with his 100-400L practicing his panning shots etc, i was shooting through the fence with my crappy 75-300 (i'm gonna get the 100-400L myself!).
i know people go on and on about the cold affecting the batteries but it took me completely by surprise, my canon battery just died half way through opening the shutter, and it was about half charged when i checked during the break between heats 5 mins before. had to take my hands out of my gloves to change the bloody thing too!

[Simon Harrison]

What have I told you about colour balance? :rolleyes: You know the grass at Croft is supposed to be green and here you go with it all white! :p ;)

Conditions look horrid, Simon but the photos are great. Well done for both the photography and your dedication (lunacy? :p ;) ) I too like the shot of the 1275GT.

I thought I was heading for something similar yesterday when I went to Pembrey for the Rali Cwm Gwendraeth (see, I can cut and paste Welsh - is there no end to my talents?) as there was some pretty significant snow around Cardiff but it cleared as I went further West and all I had to cope with in the end was driving rain.

Do you know, I knew this custom white balance mallarky was a bad idea:lol: ;) .

Thanks for the feedback on the pictures. To be honest after the practice and the first heats, I really only shot what I needed to and sheltered in the car to keep myself and my batteries as warm as possible. Quite how the marshalls coped I'll never know, and as for the grid girls they brought out for the finals - short skirts and T shirts in a blizzard now that's lunacy:rolleyes: :confused: .

The weather seems to have been very localised yesterday. First thing, we had nothing yet I know some who came down from County Durham who had to be dug out of their street.

Had a look at your gallery from Pembrey. Like the shots of the yellow Manta - top stuff.

Cheers,

Simon.

[GSH]

as for the grid girls they brought out for the finals - short skirts and T shirts in a blizzard now that's lunacy:rolleyes: :confused: .




It's sheer genius, perfect weather (cue "nip" in the air gag ;) )

And i missed it ! :(

Seriously though, huge credit to you for sticking it out in that weather. I guess pointing the camera at cars for just a hobby has it's advantages after all.

[RadAL]

very nice pictures!

[Brands]

Great shots Simon :cool::cool: well worth the suffering ;)

[Simon Harrison]

So where are the open wheelers?

They'd forgotten to pack the snow chains I'm afraid;) .

Glad you like the shots.

Cheers,

Simon.

[KennyG]

Looks like my first Croft visit will be for the Derby Phoenix by which time it may be a tad warmer. I'll miss the NEMCRC meeting as I have Anglesey and Oulton Park that weekend (got to get paid you know). Just hope the weather for Anglesey is OK as it can be worse than Croft in poor conditions.

[Simon Harrison]

I used to grizzle when it rained during a meet - you are nuts! :)

Fantastic pics - showing dedication of both 'teams' - the drivers and the photographer. Well done.

Thanks Kiwibloke.

Simon.

[Simon Harrison]

when I got there at 9 it wasn't too bad but by 11 i was having such a hard time keeping the snow out of the lens hood and my fingers were starting to hurt really badly so my friend and I decided to retreat and watch the f1 infront of the fire instead. we were down by tyre chicane where every single one of the minis spun :)
i was expecting a small crowd with the weather like it was but everyone was in good spirits. my friend was up on the embankment with his 100-400L practicing his panning shots etc, i was shooting through the fence with my crappy 75-300 (i'm gonna get the 100-400L myself!).
i know people go on and on about the cold affecting the batteries but it took me completely by surprise, my canon battery just died half way through opening the shutter, and it was about half charged when i checked during the break between heats 5 mins before. had to take my hands out of my gloves to change the bloody thing too!

I kept my back to the wind the whole time. It limited my shooting positions, but meant that I didn't have to keep clearing snow and water off the front of the lens.

I had a similar problem with batteries, but just kept cycling two sets throughout the day, shoving the spare set in to a trouser pocket to keep warm (I was wearing a pair of thin thermal trousers, quilted walking trousers and then waterproof trousers on top of that), and that worked okay.

Get yourself down to a fishing tackle shop as well. I have a pair of neoprene fly fishing gloves that are totally wind and water proof, that allow you to expose the tips of your thumb and first two fingers - perfect for operating the camera while keeping the rest of your hand covered up.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Simon Harrison]

Looks like my first Croft visit will be for the Derby Phoenix by which time it may be a tad warmer. I'll miss the NEMCRC meeting as I have Anglesey and Oulton Park that weekend (got to get paid you know). Just hope the weather for Anglesey is OK as it can be worse than Croft in poor conditions.

I'll more than likely be at the NEMCRC meeting, unless I'm asked to go down to the North Humberside Rally. Unfortunately, I've already got an assignment for the 9 April so I probably won't get to the Derby Pheonix meeting. That said, the event I'm going to on 9 April is 'weather dependant' so you never know.

At least at Croft the weather doesn't come in straight off the sea like it can at Anglesey!

I'll be at Croft for the Sprint on Easter Monday if you're around then.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Simon Harrison]

Great shots Simon :cool::cool: well worth the suffering ;)

Thanks Brands. Have to admit that I did enjoy my day out!

Cheers,

Simon.

[Stav_98]

WOW there's dedication for you! Hoping the conditions will be a little better at Snetterton this weekend....or my Mrs is going to kill me.

Love the shots. It's great to see some taken in far from perfect conditions. I'm sum e there are some fold around that think cars only hit the track when the sun's out.