Rallycross English Masters - Gales, Blizzards & Bitterly Cold

[Simon Harrison]

I think I need my head read . 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 .

#1 Junior Minicross - always good fun to watch and some very talented drivers.


#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!


#3 This Citroen Xsara was driven by 'Mad Mark' - the picture was taken by 'Crazy Simon'


#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.


#5 Another revival car, and one of my favourites to boot - a 1275 GT - best Mini ever IMHO


#6 The Super Nationals were dominated by Kevin Proctor in his Lotus Exige. I like this shot as it sums up that statement nicely.


#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.


#8 This left the way open for reigning Polish Champion Jacek Ptaszek to come through and take the Division 1 win.


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]

Originally Posted by Otta

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]

Originally Posted by despot

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]

Originally Posted by 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)

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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

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? You know the grass at Croft is supposed to be green and here you go with it all white!

Conditions look horrid, Simon but the photos are great. Well done for both the photography and your dedication (lunacy? ) 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.