Motorsport lens for Nikon D80

[harvmate]

Hi all, I'm relatively new to this site. Been a member a good few months but have just been reading and not posting!

I am a keen motorsport enthusiast and take part in various racing series and track days. I currently have a Nikon D80 with a Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 however I'm looking to upgrade!

I have been looking at the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX DG Macro II which seems to get very good reviews on a number of sites. What other lenses would you recommend for motorsport use. I tend to photograph close circuits such as Oulton park, Anglesey and forest rallies rather than the bigger circuits like Silverstone etc.

Also, do you lot use flash for motorsport? I usually have to up the saturation a little on lightroom if I don't use one as the colours look very faded or bland. Any help would be much appreciated. I have searched and stuff but I want a more tailored answer to what I may need/purchase.

Many thanks

 

[andrewc]

I would recommend something that goes up to 300mm for circuit racing in the UK. 200 would be limiting for circuit work but fine for rallying.

Tend not to use flash except for night racing and for portraits.

The Sigma 100-300 f/4 is a good candidate for consideration.

 

[harvmate]

I would recommend something that goes up to 300mm for circuit racing in the UK. 200 would be limiting for circuit work but fine for rallying.

Tend not to use flash except for night racing and for portraits.

The Sigma 100-300 f/4 is a good candidate for consideration.

Would I be able to use a Kenko 1.4x teleconverter to get to beyond 300mm with the 70-200 f2.8 though? I know a lot of the bigger circuits such as Silverstone - you are miles away from the action and need at least 400mm to get any decent pictures. With Oulton though - I tend to go to track days/test days rather than the big race meetings such as the BTCC.

Having currently using a Sigma 18-200 I got these from Oulton (image quality may be reduced slightly as they've been hosted with photobucket):

Thanks for recommending the Sigma 100-300 f4. I'll look into that now . Thank you!