Autosport International 2024 - NEC Birmingham

11 - 14 January 2024

The Autosport International hosted at the National Exhibition Centre Birmingham is billed as Europe’s biggest car show with something for everyone. This statement is true, there is plenty to see at the show and although it is not as big as it used to be it is still the event I go to every year to kick off my motorsport season.

The show is actually four shows in one, there is a Performance Hall for car clubs, an Engineering Hall, Motorsport Hall and the Live Action Arena, all of which give you, the spectator photographer, plenty of opportunities to capture interesting motorsport related images.

It is held over four days with the first two days being for the motorsport industry alone. The last two days on Saturday and Sunday are for the general public. 

Last year I had a bit of a moan about the ticket prices and the relatively small show that was put on which was lacking in the wow factor. This year the organisers declared that Autosport International 2024, or as it has been rebadged, AS24 has been revamped and would be a bigger and better show, so let’s take a look.

The layout is a little better with more room to get around the exhibits, but there weren’t the big changes I was expecting. It is still just a bunch of halls connected together. It’s the NEC so there isn’t much you can do with it except park some vehicles in it, admittedly some quite interesting ones.

One thing that has changed is the heating. There are now random hot spots from suspended heaters. These were so hot that even in the depths of winter you could walk round in a t-shirt, something you couldn’t do last year at the NEC.

I lost count of the number of people with coats tied round their waists and it was then amusing to watch them pop their coats back on when entering a cold spot, then take them off after a few metres while chatting to exhibiters under a billon kWh heater.

New for this year was the main stage. They have always had a stage where interviews are conducted, but for this year space had been made in front of it for vehicles to be parked. It was a nice touch and worked well as we conducted some of the interviews while walking round the cars. We didn’t hang around the stage much.

There was a programme of events with some interesting interviews, but I have learnt over the years that you can usually find these on social media later. We concentrated on the exhibits in the halls and even though the show is smaller than previous years it will still take you all day to get round and see everything.

Last year I have bumped into racers, motorsport enthusiasts and owners that I know and had a chat over a coffee, usually getting some inside information to use on the site. Nothing like that happened this year - the cost of visiting and the stand prices have put some people off going to this event. There are still plenty of opportunities to meet the racers who did turn up.

To be fair to the organisers they have dropped the price per square metre for a stand if you book early, but even with this incentive and with money being tight some gave it a miss, which is a shame as networking is one of the many aspects of the show. So let’s take a look at the different halls in detail.

Performance Hall

The Performance Hall is for the street car enthusiast. Here you will find car clubs, event organisers like the Cannon run and influencers.

The one social media star that stood out was Mat Armstrong. A professional BMX rider with nothing to do over the pandemic he decided to rebuild his girlfriend’s crashed car and showcase his journey on YouTube. As his subscribers started to rise he took on a load of written-off exotic cars producing more amusing videos, with his followers growing to over two million!

His stand at the NEC was very popular, drawing a large crowd for his latest revival - a rather second hand looking BMW which he plans to restore next.

Engineering Hall

The Engineering Hall does exactly what it says on the tin. Not much here for the average punter, but if you want to see the latest innovations in motorsport this is the hall for you. There are opportunities for the spectator photographer to grab some arty shots and close ups of motorsport hardware. 

Motorsport Hall

The Motorsport Hall was a little disappointing. As the largest show in Europe you would expect more top of the range race cars to be displayed. There are a lot of cars and some motorbikes, but more in the club classes than the international class.

Last year there was a great display of F1, Endurance and GT cars, and they were still here this year but in much-reduced numbers.

However, there are probably more people at AS24 in the market for a new Kart or Auto Grass chassis than an F1 car so I get it. But, isn’t getting close up to race exotica meant to be part of any “show” experience?

I did enjoy looking a some of the more obscure vehicles in this hall. The totally bonkers tractors were impressive. With two Merlin (Meteor) engines these behemoths are used in the sport of Tractor Pulling, dragging an ever increasing weight over a measured distance, usually 100m.

I have looked at spectating at one of these events but they are held in the North West and Scotland, a long way to go for a sport I only have a passing interest in. One to add to the bucket list maybe?

Also in hall 3 was The Black Dub Garage from the Isle of Man, which seemed at first glance an odd place for a stand flogging merchandise.

I’m well known for not walking around in branded motorsport gear, but I do make an exception for Black Dub by Uggly&Co Clothing. They, with support from Carl Cox MotorSport, sponsor a lot of up and coming riders at the IoM TT and other road races so I make an exception.

Also, their gear doesn’t look like your run of the mill motorsport clothing. To the casual observer it has a cool 50s and 60s vibe, and only people in the know will know what you are wearing and what it represents.

Live Action Arena

The 5000 seater arena hosts the live element at AS24. The show has a few interviews and mainly it appeared to allow different elements of the show to be assembled and organised between runs.

There were a few demonstration races of small high powered cars, but mostly it was stunts and wheelies, with Terry Grant and his team taking centre stage with some well choreographed stunts. I enjoyed the 45 minute show but didn’t think it was as good as last year but still entertaining nonetheless.

I was pleased with the images I managed to capture. I was able to pick my seats from the four shows that are run during the day, so with a little prior knowledge I was able to get seats that gave me a very good view of the track. 

So there you have it, the four shows in one that make up AS24 done for another year. £40 and an extra £12 prepaid parking, it’s not a cheap event to attend but nonetheless still just about holds enough interest for me to consider returning next year.

The show seemed to be bigger than last year but could still do with more headline cars and reveals - we always want more!

Photographic Post Script

For this event I like to travel light with just a small backpack due to the number of visitors at the show and that I will be on my feet for most of the day. I generally use a crop frame (DX) camera these days for this type of event as they are lighter than a full frame model.

The Nikon D500 is good in low light and is lightweight so that’s what I took to the NEC. As for lenses, I would usually take a heavyweight f2.8 small zoom like the 17-55mm but opted for the much misunderstood lightweight AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR kit lens.

My shooting buddy, without any consultation, had gone for the same combination!

This lens is now super cheap to buy second hand and is still a great performer. As you can see from the images, it is very sharp and with the vibration reduction you are able to hand hold it at very slow shutter speeds. Dismissed as a kit lens as it was generally sold as part of a kit, it has been overlooked by many.

I would recommend you trying it out if you shoot with a DX camera, you will be pleasantly surprised.

For the Live Action Arena I used the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR as I needed the extra light that a f2.8 lens gives you. Shooting mostly wide open with auto ISO I was happy with the results I got, with more than enough keepers. The D500 appears to be able to focus in very dark situations and deals with the variations that a light show throws up well. 

To conclude AS24 allowed me to add a good set of images to my portfolio, but mostly has reinvigorated me to look forward to the many different motorsports events that 2024 will offer.