This year that honour has gone to Silverstone, and this is where the PistonClick team headed on a cold and damp Tuesday in April to photograph the 2019 Superbikes, Superstock 1000, Supersport and GP2.

Test and Media days are not really held for the general public's viewing pleasure, they are exactly what the title says, test the bikes and let the media publicise the upcoming season and get some stock imagery. 

On arrival, the usual baffling administration that Silverstone excels in started at the main gate. A get in free ticket was issued by a jolly chap and then I handed it over to an equally jolly lady 50m up the road. Not really sure what that was about.

Parking up I had arranged to meet my fellow shooter for this event at the Luffield complex. This set of corners allows the spectator photographer to get good selection of images and is a great place to start the days photography. 

Keith Adcock was tracked down and we headed off to Brookland chatting over the days shot and what we wanted to achieve form this event. Our main priority was to help out other photographers who might want to come to the events we shoot at a later date and get a head start on where to take that killer shot from.

I keep getting told by a few of my photographer friends that I'm giving all of our secrets away. To a certain extent I am, but - and it’s a big but, you can put 20 photographers in a line and the photographs taken will range from great to terrible.   

Put it like this, the average club golfer with a bit of disposable income will use the same sticks and balls as Rory McIlroy but won't be playing at the Masters this week. This is the same for photography, better kit will get you a better image but it's down to the skill of the person behind the lens to capture that killer shot.

Talking of killer shots, Keith has produced some great imagery for the site and I was intrigued to see what kit he was using and how he setting up for the day. A Nikon D850 and 200-400mm F4 attached to a monopod for long range work or a hand held 70-200mm for close up action are Keith's weapons of choice. 

One aspect of his kit I really liked was the rolling tool box he had adapted to pull his kit round rather than carry it. Not only does it take the weight off your back but you can also stand on it to get a bit of extra height over the fences. I have filed this gem away for further investigation.

You will have noticed by now that we didn’t get many pictures from the inside of Brooklands. The Silverstone event staff moved us on. They couldn’t explain why or give a reason. This has been a popular spot for spectators and photographers for a long time so it couldn’t have been on safety grounds.

We never did get to the bottom of it. I kept an eye on the area all day and nothing happened there. Baffling and frustrating, but when attending motorsports events it is highly advisable to listen to and comply with the staff.

Before we got moved on we were having a chat and a laugh with the pro photographers on the other side of the wire. However, they were not laughing for long. The armco had just been painted that morning and they and their kit got covered in white paint! We moved off to Luffield leaving the professional photographers, who now looked more like interior decorators than togs what with the paint going everywhere.

The BSB teams have been winter testing both individually and as a group in Spain. This gave us the first indications of which teams would be challenging for the title this year. However, testing in warm dry Spain is not the same as cold damp Britain. And boy was it cold and damp at Silverstone, but being the UK the weather changed in the afternoon and was bit warmer and brighter. 

You will see from the photos that the track was wet, cold and the light was not good. This equates to some dull images in more than one sense of the word. The images will be low contrast and dull which can be mitigated by using a high ISO to get the "pop" back into the shot. However, a higher ISO will generate more noise in your picture. This can't be helped, sometimes you just have to go with the cards you have been dealt.

Also the content was dull in the sense that the riders were taking it easy. I totally get it ,as a biker myself, that tipping a 200bhp superbike at 60 degrees into a corner in the cold and wet is not a good idea. 

Even with the god - like riding skill the top BSB riders have, the conditions caught a few riders out in the morning sessions. Xavi Fores dropped his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 while entering Luffield. It was a low speed crash and he wasn’t injured and back on track for the next timed run. 

The first racers out at 9 o'clock were the Superstock 1000, Supersport and GP2. They had four sessions during the day as did the Super Bikes, giving us plenty of opportunities to capture the riders. During lunch there was a pit walk and team photograph, with the public given access to take a look in the garages and meet the stars. 

One thing you will notice by their absence in this article was the BMWs. Smiths Racing BMW with the fastest road racer in the world Peter Hickman on board and Tyco BMW with Keith Farmer, both bikes weren't ready for the test day. They didn’t turn up at the Spanish winter testing either so what are the problems with the BMW?

A little bird told me it was to do with the engine management system. However, they didn’t make the test on Tuesday the 9th but the Smiths Racing team's S1000RR BMW was hammering the gorgeous looking Beemer around Cadwell Park the next day - odd.

As for Tyco BMW, they were testing at Bishopscourt on the 10th according to team manager Philip Neill's twitter account. Hickman and Farmer have always taken time out to chat to the fans and both were at Silverstone to meet the fans and take part in the Media day pit walk. Keith Farmer said "the Tyco BMW bike handles amazingly, we tested the old bike then jumped on the new one and it’s something special".

Scott Redding was as gregarious as ever and was getting mobbed during the pit walk. Again, a top man who takes time out for the fans and only had to move into the pit garage as he had an appointment with a rapid Be Wiser Ducati Racing Panigale V4 R in the next session.

After lunch the riders were out again with the afternoon session being just about dry. The lap times started to fall and the lean angles increased as the rides took advantage of the improved conditions. 

Jason O'Halloran on the McAMS Yamaha was putting in some fast lap times and eventually came out as overall fastest rider on the day. His best lap of the National circuit was 54:372s.

Number 4 Dan Linfoot on the Santander Salt TAG Yamaha chasing down Jason O'Halloran on the McAMS Yamaha. Linfoot was to finish overall second fastest only 0.044 of a second behind O'Halloran.  

Tarran Mackenzie, O'Halloran team mate for this year in the McAMS Yamaha team could not replicate his performance in the Monteblanco winter testing where he was just behind O'Halloran. He was to end up 8th overall.  

Fraser Rodgers on the Gearlink Kawasaki court my eye with his riding style. It's interesting to look back at your images and see who is constantly hitting the apex and the different body positions used to get the bike round the corner. 

So what can we take away from the winter testing in Spain and the Silverstone test day? Jason O'Halloran on the McAMS Yamaha was consistently fast on all the tests, 2nd in Monteblanco and 1st at Portimao and Silverstone. 

Luke Mossey was the opposite, ok in the dry but fast in the wet. I wouldn’t dismiss his Spanish testing, he is a quality racer and could be one to watch this year.

Ryan Vickers on the RAF Regular and Reserves Kawasaki made the jump from National Super Stock 600 after winning that Championship last year, so has a lot to learn. He was going well until he walked away from a 150mph get off in the final session, footballers take note!

He is another that impressed me, he gets everything down on the deck and looked fast. Time will tell if he can turn his extreme riding style into podiums.

Overall, the Silverstone BSB Test Day is a great experience for the motorcycle enthusiast whether carrying a camera or not. You get to meet the stars of BSB and watch them in action for free - you can't argue with that. The first race of the championship will be held at Silverstone on the National Circuit 19-21 April 2019. If you can't make it to Silverstone the races will be shown on Eurosport live.

If you hang around race circuits most weekends and would like to get involved in one of our projects, get in touch. The only stipulation to be part of the team is you must be called Keith.