LMS Silverstone 1000kms, Silverstone, UK
Always a difficult one that…………when the command gets posed as it usually does in December, show us your best shots of the year.
Best? I like them all, the 75,000 images or so that I have taken this year, so how do you sort that lot into a pecking order? You don't, you just pick a few at random that act as a wallpaper to illustrate the travels round the world that I make my living by. Here goes……………
A Felbermayr Porsche accelerates out of The Vale at Silverstone on the way to the LMS GT2 Championship, just great light, contre-jour, luckily caught with the trusty 500mm and converter.
Festival of Speed, Goodwood House, UK
Sir Stirling Moss at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, a must do event. Here he ascends the Hill in a Mercedes Benz W196, a Grand Prix car that swept all before it in 1954 and 1955. In the background is the spire of Chichester Cathedral.
The old boy was 80 this year and is as good a definition of "National Treasure" as I can think of.
LMS Nurburgring 1000kms, Nurburgring, Germany
Crazy Dutch Guy Alert!
Tom Coronel celebrates a podium at the LMS Nurburgring with his team mate Jarek Janis. Tom is one of best guys in the sport both as a man and a driver, he could have made it to the very top but the breaks did not come his way. He now dominates the Independents' Trophy class of the WTCC as well as racing for Spyker in Endurance events. he is the only privateer driver to win a round of the WTCC outright. Oh and I understand that he is the biggest flat screen dealer in the Netherlands.
Le Mans 24 hours, Le Mans, France
The transition between day and night at Le Mans on the race weekend always makes for strong images. Here a Lola Aston martin LMP1 threads its way throught the Ford Chicane before roaring up past the pits.
Bonneville Speed Week, Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA
Bonneville Speed Week made quite an impression on the gang of SpeedHunters who attended this year, all of left gob smacked by the scale of the place and culture that existed round the event…………..GO, it is like nothing else on earth for those who like automotive culture, the salt gets in your blood and soon you are hooked on sodium chloride……………
AMOC Autumn Concours, Mapledurham House, Reading, UK
The very agreeable lawns of Mapledurham House provided a perfect backdrop for the Autumn Concours for the Aston Martin Owners' Club. An almost perfect example of a 1957 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mkll attracted much admiration and so it should, automotive art and style.
Nurburgring 24 Hours, Nurburgring, Germany
Another must do event is the Nurburgring 24 Hours, though picking your year carefully is the trick. 2009 saw us in shorts and T-shirts, 2010 will probably require Arctic style clothing, the Eifel can give you all the seasons in one afternoon. Still wondering about amongst the 200,000 or so fans watching the 170+ cars was one of the highlights of the year.
Barcelona 1000kms, Montmelo, Spain
2008 saw the Le Mans Series acquire factory team competition between Peugeot and Audi, A year later they and their money were gone. Why? Credit crunch, lack of series' marketing, focusing on Le Mans? Maybe some, maybe none, maybe all. But they were gone and how would the series go forward? Pretty well as a matter of fact. Here at Barcelona the grid charges towards the first corner at the beginning of the race, you can hardly see the tarmac for prototypes let alone the GTs. It was a good season and the grids held up well. Any series that has icons like Lola, Aston Martin and Gulf Oil is generally going in the right direction.
Spyker Aileron Shoot, Iseo, Italy
Bit of a thin year for road car assignments but the Spyker Aileron at Iseo in June was cool……………more please…………
OK enough for episode 1.
John Brooks