British GT at Snetterton – race day !
A report by David Harbey
4 October 2020
Regular readers will know that British GT is both a PistonClick and personal favourite as far as domestic four-wheel motorsport is concerned. With BTCC running behind closed doors and, for this purist writer at least, a little bit too much like fairground bumper cars, British GT is currently top billing.
PistonClick has reported on qualifying on Saturday when it rained (England in October – quel surpris !) - Saturday qualifying - and I headed to East Anglia on Sunday for the race. It was wet as I set out with a prospect of more during the day. The first race action was for British F3 - photographed from the outside of Coram.
As you will see above, there was little visibility beyond the front row at the start, but as the race progressed the surface water was dissipated to a degree although the spray did hang in the air giving a misty, almost eerie, feel.
With the first of two one hour GT races set for 10.15, the amount of surface water required a safety car start. The Think Tank rain cover was going to get used.
All the morning shots are using my Nikon D850 and Nikkor 200-500mm zoom around Coram. There’s a wide ISO range available (late on at Brands Hatch the previous day I had been at ISO 5000).
Tony described his approach to ISO in the qualifying report; I tend to change ISO in response to the conditions to get the shutter speed that I want.
Coram has a wide range of shots and I do like the rear view of the cars exiting the corner. Of course, as we all know (!), when it is wet, you take the wider line where the grip is. That meant that I had to adjust where I was expecting to see the cars in the viewfinder ….
I do like the atmospheric shots that the mist and spray give; although as Tony notes, remember to keep the lens clean or your soft focus will get softer and softer as it keeps raining !
Murrays is a popular spot for the faster GT3 cars to slip by the GT4 cars.
With a lowish entry, for understandable reasons in the current climate, of just over twenty cars, it was time to experiment. “How low can you go ?” was the question. Stepping back a little from the fence line midway round Coram and setting the focal length at 200mm, I did some slow shutter speed panning.
The monopod was a definite advantage and whilst the number of “keepers” was reduced considerably, I was pleased with the results. The red Lamborghini is at 1/60th, the BMW 1/10th and the blue McLaren 1/15th.
Over the lunch break, I headed back to the Brundle, Nelson, Bombhole complex. This area gives a wide range of shots using either the 200-500mm zoom or, for the closer shots, the 70-200mm zoom.
It remained damp with the drizzle coming and going. The final F3 race of the weekend was first up.
For those with longer memories, these are not F3 cars in the true sense of the word, but are actually photogenic and produced close racing in midfield.
For the Radicals, I was standing next to the grandstand at the Bombhole where there’s an interesting rear shot of the cars exiting the corner. A little post production work can get another of those colour helmet in the mirror shots.
Alternatively, there is a front three quarter shot – perhaps with marshals. Thanks, of course, go to those dedicated volunteers who ensure that we can enjoy our motor racing and can’t slope off before the end of the day (errm, no, I didn’t get any of the Ginettas in the last race …).
And so to the second GT race of the day. A more conventional start with no need for safety car laps was a welcome change and the distinctive day glo green Lamborghini of Phil Keen and Adam Balon took full advantage. The Mustang headed GT4.
With care, you can leave viewers in no doubt as to where you are -
The rear shot through the Bombhole allows for a view of the glowing tail lights of the McLarens, who were battling hard. Sadly, there were no flames from the side exhausts of the Mercedes.
The McLarens continued to battle, at one point leaving carbon fibre on the track at Nelson.
There’s a good panning shot at Nelson – the kerbs were being respected in a way that the touring cars would certainly not have done.
British GT is a two driver format with pitstops arranged around the mid-point of the race. This, and the variance in speed between the GT3 and GT4 cars, mean that there is constant overtaking.
A favourite spot at Snetterton is Brundle, the left hand corner after the Bentley Straight. The painted track provides an interesting background and depending on the cars and conditions there is often some riding the kerbs here.
At the exit of Brundle, there is definitely some riding the kerbs …
The final shot is of the glowing tail light and rain light reflecting in the damp track at Nelson.
All in all, a good day. I do like shooting in the rain – although the right clothing and equipment are important – so long as we don’t have too many days like that !
The final race in the 2020 British GT season will, sadly, be behind closed doors at Silverstone on November 8th. It will be streamed online and I intend to watch all being well.
The Snetterton races can be seen on YouTube here
The British GT website is here – British GT.com
Timing and scoring can be found here - TSL Timing
More photos of the day are available on my Flickr account.
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