I finally got round to looking at my shots from the Britcar 500 at the beginning of October. Scaled down from the 24 hour event of last year, this was a 6 hour race, from 14:00 to 22:00. We went down on Friday morning for the qualifying sessions and support races, camped behind the main stands and enjoyed the full day of racing on Saturday.
Formula Palmer Audis were, as ever, great entertainment. This is the exit of Copse.
The paddock was open access all weekend. Here an Audi returns from scrutineering.
Number 13.
Slight modifications ahead of the next race!
No, not
that Spaniard named Alonso.
A neat solution to get some fresh air in to one of the Aston Martins.
The pitlane was open as dusk fell ahead of night qualifying on Friday afternoon. Most of the drivers and mechanics were very friendly and happy to allow very close access.
The car I followed last year returned with a new yellow paint job. Apparently it's poor showing in 2008 was due to the 'anti-slosh' foam in the fuel tank breaking down and being ingested by the engine.
Mosler in the sunset.
Marcos garage.
Quite a busy cockpit on the Mosler. Seeing us struggle to shoot through the windows a driver broke off from his conversation with his colleagues and told us to open the door for a better view. Not 'stand back, I'll open the door if you promise not to get too close' but a casual 'open it up mate' before rejoining his conversation. Excellent!
Some night shots at Bridge.
Big Mustang.
To the victor, the spoils.
"I'm telling you, right click 'repair damage' and select 'all'"
Mosler.
Aston in the sunset.
Marcos.
As the sun sets and the track cools, this Marcos has trouble getting the power down in the Abbey chicane.
Ferrari.
Night falls at Club.
Mosler under the sunset.
Rain swept in not long after this, curtailing the photography, but the race had a thrilling chase to the line, which we watched from the dry in the stands. Like last year, a simply superb event, and hopefully back up to 24 hours for 2010.
Thanks for looking,
Gareth