Minis, Minis and yet more Minis!!

[Simon Harrison]

The first car I can ever remember being in was my Dad's 1000cc mini when I was a toddler. Aparently a quick spin around the block was the best way to get me to sleep at night:oops: . When I met my wife to be, she was the proud owner of another 1000cc Mini that here Dad had restored to showroom condition. I therefore have a bit of a soft spot for Minis.

Croft Circuit played host to the Dunlop Great & British Festival this weekend, and a large part of the racing action was taken up by Minis of one form or another. I thought I would share some pictures of these fantastic motors, both old and new.

#1 We'll start with a Mini in name only ;) . Here Andrew Bailey lifts a wheel on the exit of Chicane in his supercharged Cooper S

http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Minis/09-09-06---101.jpg

#2 A proper Mini, racing in the Mini Se7en races. There's nothing sounds like a straight cut gearbox whining away on one of these things. A lot of the steering is done with the throttle on these cars. You can tell when the drivers are doing it by the change in pitch in the gearbox whine. This guy should have lifted just a little more.

http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Minis/09-09-06---401.jpg

#3 More modern Minis, this time normally aspirated Mini One's charging down into Tower Bend.

http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Minis/09-09-06---1196.jpg

#4 We also had the Mini Miglia's, and it's been a long time since I saw these guys in action. Here Phil Dale tries to give me a scare as he runs wide at Sunny Out.

http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Minis/10-09-06---679.jpg

#5 Local(ish) driver and current Mini Challenge Champion Arthur Forster on his way to victory in the first of the two races for this series over the weekend.

http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Minis/09-09-06---1219.jpg

#6 The second Mini Challenge race was won by Carl Bradley. Here he is on the brakes for Sunny In.

http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Minis/10-09-06---544.jpg

#7 Back to the proper Minis, and some lovely dappled late afternoon sunshine.

http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Minis/09-09-06---754.jpg

#8 Finally, back to the Mini Miglias, and propably the best race of the weekend. These cars circulated like this for the duration of the race. Really good close racing at its best.

http://www.srh-motorsport-photography.com/Galleries/forum/Minis/10-09-06---707.jpg

I hope you enjoy the pictures. As usual, any comments or feedback is appreciated.

Cheers,

Simon.

[alww]

Very well done, nice action on the track and great subjects.
I'm not really objective on the subjects as I am a MINI owner also.

[Jamie Holladay]

Nice set. The first one is a nice capture. Some seem a bit busy to me though. You have a nice sense of motion in them as well. Nicely done.

[Cadwell]

Nicely shot Simon. The classic minis still look a lot nicer and more dynamic on track than the modern rubbish. Out of interest, what were the lap times like? The Miglias were about 3 seconds a lap faster than the Works Coopers last time I saw them at Combe.

[Trung_EP3CTR]

Excellent shots.
Like the 3rd shot the most as it show the racing line.

[Simon Harrison]

Very well done, nice action on the track and great subjects.
I'm not really objective on the subjects as I am a MINI owner also.

Thanks Al!

Cheers,

Simon.

[KevB]

Great shots Simon :D

[petrolhead]

Great shots. Were you there both days then?

I assume you used your 300 f/4?

[Simon Harrison]

Nicely shot Simon. The classic minis still look a lot nicer and more dynamic on track than the modern rubbish. Out of interest, what were the lap times like? The Miglias were about 3 seconds a lap faster than the Works Coopers last time I saw them at Combe.

Thanks Glenn. Have to agree that the classic minis are just great to watch. Interestingly enough, the lap times for the Works Coopers and the Mini Miglias were identical to the nearest second.

For those that are interested, there's now a full gallery on my website from the event (link in my signature).

Cheers,

Simon.

[Ian_H]

Nice selection Simon, the lard arsed Minis are certainly good for some 'close' racing ;) Were you any where near the Radical that caught fire? There was quite a bit of smoke and they said on the radio that there wasn't much of it left:cry: Glad the driver got out OK. I take it that it was his oil that caused the massive slick around most of the circuit.

Out of interest, what were the lap times like? The Miglias were about 3 seconds a lap faster than the Works Coopers last time I saw them at Combe.


Glenn
Fastest lap for the lard arse was 1:37.443
Miglia was 1:37.055
and the Se7en was 1:45.185

Cheers
Ian

[Simon Harrison]

Nice set. The first one is a nice capture. Some seem a bit busy to me though. You have a nice sense of motion in them as well. Nicely done.

Thanks Jamie, I appreciate your comments and feedback.

I always try and take a selection of different shots from different parts of the circuit. I have loads and loads of individual cars like #1, but I find these shots a little boring after a while. A lot of my shots are therefore taken to show the racing within the context of the circuit, with groups of cars fighting for position on the track. I find these shots more interesting, more challenging to get right and also more in demand from a wide variety of clients.

A couple of examples. #5 was deliberately composed in that way to illustrate the fact that Arthur Forster (car 1 in the foreground) was leading by the proverbial country mile, but that the battle for 2nd, 3rd and 4th was quite close behind him. #8 shows how those cars circulated for the full 10 laps of the race, and as this was the battle for first place, was taken to illustrate the closeness of the battle for victory.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Cadwell]

Mmm interesting - thanks for that both of you. Sounds like Croft suits the Maxi more than Combe then. At Combe the Maxi looked really unstable through fast corners in comparison to the Miglias. It was quite comical watching them try to negotiate "Camp". They were all over the place.

[Simon Harrison]

Nice selection Simon, the lard arsed Minis are certainly good for some 'close' racing ;) Were you any where near the Radical that caught fire? There was quite a bit of smoke and they said on the radio that there wasn't much of it left:cry: Glad the driver got out OK. I take it that it was his oil that caused the massive slick around most of the circuit.

Cheers
Ian

Thanks Ian. The Radical caught fire between Complex 1 and Complex 2. I was at Tower, so could see the smoke and plenty of marshalls running about, but not much else I'm afraid. I had a look at the car in the pits on Sunday morning. I guess a lot of the wiring around the engine would've been trashed, but the fibre glass cowl over the engine bay looked fairly intact, apart from needing a fresh coat of paint. I have to say that the marshalls reacted extremely quickly and had the fire extinguished in no time at all. Bet it seemed like a long time to the driver as he watched the fire start to get a hold.

Cheers,

Simon.

[Simon Harrison]

Mmm interesting - thanks for that both of you. Sounds like Croft suits the Maxi more than Combe then. At Combe the Maxi looked really unstable through fast corners in comparison to the Miglias. It was quite comical watching them try to negotiate "Camp". They were all over the place.

I watched the Mini Ones from Tower Bend and at Sunny In, probably the two biggest stops at Croft. From Sunny In, you can see the cars through the fast right hand kink at Barcroft. They didn't look too bad through there, but they looked a massive handful under breaking. They were really loose at the backend.

Cheers,

Simon.

[GSH]

Nice work Simon and they show the clear difference between a real Mini and a BMW 0.5 Series :lol:

[MDJAK]

Nice shots, and very informative captions too.

This past Father's Day weekend, there was a Mini rally up at Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. At one point, there must have been over 200 Minis in a parking lot at the mountain's base at the same time. That was a sight to see. I regret not pulling over and taking a picture.

mark

[Simon Harrison]

Great shots Simon :D

Thanks Kev.:D

Simon.

[Simon Harrison]

Great shots. Were you there both days then?

I assume you used your 300 f/4?

Yeah, both days.

You assume right with the lens as well.

Cheers,

Simon.