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Its been a long time since I got to play on the Grand Prix layout at Brands. Due to work I missed the GT round last year so its been almost two years since I could head out beyond Surtees and take a gander. I opted for the British GT side of the annual three way clash between BGT, WEC and the Taxis at Donington, loaded up with all of my nice new gear, which now includes a 300mm f2.8 L and a fireproof onesie, headed down to Kent and looked to raise my game.
My first thoughts: Bloody hell does the 300mm weigh a bit when you carry it for a full lap of the track!
Here are quite a few of my favorites from the weekend, including one Ginetta shot, (because who doesn't like a crash with no injuries) and a single shot of the F4s. (I do not like calling it F3, because it bloody well isn't!!!)
1) Thomas Randle in the assembly area ahead of a BRDC F4 race. I was shooting three championships for a website so I had a busy schedule. The important one was the GTs so I opted to do assembly and podium for the last F4 and Ginetta races, which let me deliver GT images faster.
Thomas Randle by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
2) A rare shot of the Optimum Motorsport Audi R8 LMS on the tarmac rather than in the gravel. By my count there are eight gravel traps at Brands on the full layout. Will Moore put this machine into at least five of them over the course of the weekend.The other car is the TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 which carried Derek Johnston and Jonny Adam to victory.
Hillclimb by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
3) Pirelli have dislodged Avon as sole tyre suppliers to the British GT Championship this year. I thought I should mark the occasion photographically.
Ridin' Zeros by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
4) The University of Bolton Ginetta is now being run by Century Motorsport which put it on a good footing for success. Anna Walewska and Nathan Freke took pole in GT4 but could only take second in class during the race.
Bolton outta the Gate by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
5) McLaren have had mixed success in GT racing. The MP4-12C didn't do very well but the 650S now holds the lap record at Bathurst. The next challenge for Woking is GT4, so this year they have given Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse the job of testing and developing the new 570S GT4 in race conditions. I loved the car, it looks great and sounds very impressive for a GT4.
New Toys by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
6) I also love the detailing in the headlamps on the newest GT4:
New Light by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
7) While we are looking at detail shots; I said in my Britcar set last month that I am falling in love with this angle but the shot I put up wasn't great. I did a bit of practicing this weekend and quite like this one of the defending champion in GT3, the Beechdean AMR Vantage GT3.
Birdseye View by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
8) I promised you a crash shot, and a crash shot you shall have. Utter carnage was the order of both days of the meeting. I don't think we had a single session which didn't see a red flag. If we did manage that though, there were yellows all over the place as cars found kitty litter with alarming regularity.
Ginetta Crash Brands Hatch by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
My first thoughts: Bloody hell does the 300mm weigh a bit when you carry it for a full lap of the track!
Here are quite a few of my favorites from the weekend, including one Ginetta shot, (because who doesn't like a crash with no injuries) and a single shot of the F4s. (I do not like calling it F3, because it bloody well isn't!!!)
1) Thomas Randle in the assembly area ahead of a BRDC F4 race. I was shooting three championships for a website so I had a busy schedule. The important one was the GTs so I opted to do assembly and podium for the last F4 and Ginetta races, which let me deliver GT images faster.
Thomas Randle by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
2) A rare shot of the Optimum Motorsport Audi R8 LMS on the tarmac rather than in the gravel. By my count there are eight gravel traps at Brands on the full layout. Will Moore put this machine into at least five of them over the course of the weekend.The other car is the TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 which carried Derek Johnston and Jonny Adam to victory.
Hillclimb by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
3) Pirelli have dislodged Avon as sole tyre suppliers to the British GT Championship this year. I thought I should mark the occasion photographically.
Ridin' Zeros by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
4) The University of Bolton Ginetta is now being run by Century Motorsport which put it on a good footing for success. Anna Walewska and Nathan Freke took pole in GT4 but could only take second in class during the race.
Bolton outta the Gate by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
5) McLaren have had mixed success in GT racing. The MP4-12C didn't do very well but the 650S now holds the lap record at Bathurst. The next challenge for Woking is GT4, so this year they have given Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse the job of testing and developing the new 570S GT4 in race conditions. I loved the car, it looks great and sounds very impressive for a GT4.
New Toys by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
6) I also love the detailing in the headlamps on the newest GT4:
New Light by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
7) While we are looking at detail shots; I said in my Britcar set last month that I am falling in love with this angle but the shot I put up wasn't great. I did a bit of practicing this weekend and quite like this one of the defending champion in GT3, the Beechdean AMR Vantage GT3.
Birdseye View by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr
8) I promised you a crash shot, and a crash shot you shall have. Utter carnage was the order of both days of the meeting. I don't think we had a single session which didn't see a red flag. If we did manage that though, there were yellows all over the place as cars found kitty litter with alarming regularity.
Ginetta Crash Brands Hatch by Nicholas Smith, on Flickr