Events - DTM 2012, Brands Hatch

You'd be hard pushed to describe DTM cars using words alone. The 2012 season is well underway, and this weekend sees the British round take place at Brands Hatch Race Circuit in Kent.

It's great to see BMW making a comeback in the series with their devastatingly good looking BMW M3 DTM. The 4 Litre Naturally Aspirated V8 engine makes a brutal noise as it thunders round the 1.1mile circuit, throwing flames from the side-exit exhaust:

Seeming to deny the laws of physics and navigate corners at impossible speeds, this is one motorsport event I look forward to each year.

With this being Brands Hatch, and one of my favourite 'spectator' circuits to photograph from, the obligatory 'Druids' shot was repeated on the impressive looking BMW M3 DTM of Augusto Farfus, lights ablaze...

This years coupes look fantastic, and interesting liveries/aerodynamic packages make it my favourite motorsport event to photograph. Gary Paffett placed his AMG Mercedes C-Coupé on pole, with home crowds having high hopes for the Englishman to take victory on home turf tomorrow.

Events - BTCC and Support Races at Brands Hatch Grand Prix

This weekend Brands Hatch threw us a new challenge, the Grand Prix layout. With Honda Racing very kindly granting us VIP Hospitality for the weekend, we relished the challenge of a new circuit layout and utilising different vantage points. Extending the circuit by a further 1.5 miles, the Grand Prix layout provides plenty of opportunities for the photographer as the fencing around this part of the circuit is less intrusive when compared to that of the Indy. With the walk to further parts of the Grand Prix circuit being a little bit of a trek (especially in 25-30 degree heat) you'll find that less people watch from these areas. Ideal if your after some good positions to shoot from.

Although you can't get parallel with Stirlings Bend (unfortunate as it has a very wide run off kerb and would give a great dramatic shot going down towards Clearways) there are viewing points before and after the bend. A record-equalling 29 cars started on today's grid, including new face Ollie Jackson. Ollie is the reigning Porsche Carrera Cup GB Pro-Am1 champion and looked consistently strong for a debut drive in the great looking Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectra:

Support races provided plenty of action and the below shots really shows off how great Brands looks during the current Indian Summer...

Jason Plato had a great weekend which put him back into contention for winning the title, taking victory in both Race 1 and 2:

Team Parker Racing's driver Stephen Jelley also made sure that his chances of winning this year's Porsche Carrera Cup GB title are still well within reach as he stormed to victory, huge congratulations to the team and fingers crossed for the last couple of rounds!

Only 5 championship points separates the top three drivers of the BTCC, which means it's down to the last three races at Silverstone. Again the BTCC provides nail-bitingly close action as Jason Plato, Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden all head to Silverstone with a chance at the title. If that's not entertainment, i'm not sure what is?!

Events - DTM, Brands Hatch

DTM or Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is the fastest touring car series in the world with 470bhp rwd fire breathing machines tackling various circuits across the globe. It's this weekend that sees the British round of the DTM series and Brands Hatch plays host to these dramatic cars. For as long as I can remember i've been interested in the DTM series, having owned various models of the cars as a child. With my thirst for motorsport photography being greater than ever I headed to the Kent based circuit for 8:30am, ready for the 9:00am practice session. From a photography point of view the qualifying and practice days are fantastic not only because of the lower ticket price, but the ability to freely wander between vantage points without too much hassle or overcrowding. Brands still remains to be one of my favourite circuits to photograph at, and once I heard the rumble of these V8 monsters fire up in the pit lane I felt all giddy!

These cars certainly don't disappoint, from shredding sparks to breathing fire and the immense noise they produce as they thunder around this 1.2 mile indy circuit it's a spectacle to witness:

With free practice one lasting 90 minutes it gave me plenty of opportunity to use different vantage points around the circuit (much to my foot's discomfort!):

I'll have to admit that I immediately took a shine to the Red Bull liveried Audi's, a fantastic looking car but as the day went on I grew increasingly fond of Green's chromed Mercedes:

This round of the DTM was certainly no stranger to famous names, having David Coulthard racing in the actual series itself and various support races (such as the Scirocco R Cup) boasting legends like Tiff Needell and Mark Blundell. You'll be able to see a full gallery of saturday's DTM and Support Race action at the end of this blog post. Earlier I mentioned that Brands is a fantastic circuit to photograph, especially when you can incorporate elements such as elevation. All of my photographs are shot from a spectators point of view, perhaps one day i'll be able to get media accreditation! Below is a triptych showing a few different vantage points you can obtain:

There seems to be a greater element of spectator involvement with DTM, and although i'm still not sure what you have to do to be lucky enough to find yourself in the passenger seat of one of the DTM cars for a few taxi laps it's now a dream of mine!

I think this blog post contains more images than any previous posts of mine, but I had such a great time shooting the DTM today i'll be certain to return to next years hoping for that passenger ride! ;-) For a 200picture+ gallery from today's races/qualifying/practice sessions and various support races, please feel free to click this link. If you have any specific request for shots, or would like to use any of my images please contact me here.

Events - BTCC Brands Hatch Season Opener

This weekend Brands Hatch marked the start of the 2011 British Touring Car Championship, and with spring finally here is there a better way to start the season off?! This years record breaking line up took on the indy circuit in it's first three rounds, and gave a thrilling day's racing.

The British Touring Car Championship event is always a great day out, as not only do you get all the hype which comes with the BTCC, but the support races provide nail-bitingly close action all day long. Today we had the pleasure of watching the ever manic and crazy Renault Clio Cup, the stunning Ginetta G50's, the fast-paced Formula Renault and not to mention the Porsche 911 Carrera Cup which look and sound phenomenal!

Taking interesting photographs of the fast-paced action from a spectators position is never easy, and is why this year my partner and I wanted to do a slightly different take on the day's racing. Trying to find interesting viewpoints (albeit hard with thousands of visitors, chain link fences and various scaffolding for the TV cameras obscuring your view) all in order to frame the photographs differently, yet still capture the motion proved a challenge.

For a full gallery, please click here, and if you are interested in any of the photographs featured in the gallery (or have requests for specific cars) please do not hesitate to contact me. I am very interested in working with race teams for editorial or commerical work, so if anyone is interested, get in touch! Edit: Hannah's blog is now live and updated with photographs from Brands Hatch so be sure to check it out.

For part of 2011, I want to blog more about behind the scenes and how I work. The photograph below is taken of me at Brands Hatch by my wonderful other half, Hannah Couzens. Being a spectator on the day, it meant alot of walking around the circuit trying to find different vantage points/angles to capture something different from the norm. The Domke Little Bit Bigger bag is my on-location bag of choice for this type of work, allowing me to literally throw lenses in and out of the bag, quickly changing to ensure nothing is missed. It's rugged exterior means I can drop it at an instant, and not worry about my gear.

One thing which is often overlooked is the Domke range of accessories, and although I first turned my nose up at the thought of it, their Shoulder Pad which can be attached to any manufacture shoulder bag (contoured shape to sit comfortably on the shoulder) means it is incredibly comfortable even to lug the heavy bag around all day. Highly recommended!

Event - BTCC Brands Hatch

I'm guessing the torrential rain on the M25 whilst heading to Brands Hatch was an indication as to how the day may pan out. Never the less my brother and I made it to the circuit to brave the inevitable downpour. Realising we had taken two umbrellas which didn't work (?!) and underestimating just how drenched we would become, I managed to shoot 5-6 frames of the Porsche Carerra GB Cup before stowing it safely back in my bag. Utterly soaked and frozen, we retreated home to watch the remaining events in the warm infront of the TV! Heres Michael Meadows on a charge up to Druids Bend :