As entry to these test days is generally free I was expecting a decent sized crowd, which equals a good atmosphere. On arrival I parked up at the back of Luffield where there was myself, one other photographer and the marshals. I know a few marshals so had a chat with them before the practice started. They were as clueless as me as to why there was so few people about. 

In passing, I commented to the marshals "not much happens at Luffield, you should have an easy day of it", I was so very wrong; they pulled several unfortunate souls out of the kitty litter. Over the course of the morning a few more spectators turned up, but they looked to be team members, friends and relations.

I was at the Vintage Motorcycle Club test day last week and there was probably a few thousand out to watch the Friday test day at Mallory Park, so why the poor attendance at the home of British motor sport for this event?

I know that the support races don't have the big name draws like the BSB practice day that was very well attended last year at Donington. Being held mid week doesn't help, but there are some very good riders on some excellent bikes in the support race class. 

When you have the likes of Richard Cooper and Michael Rutter, who is in his 30th year of competitive racing blasting round on 1000cc machines it has to generate some interest surely? I can only put the lack of numbers down to very little advertising and it being mid week.

I follow a lot of riders on twitter and as I've already stated, know a few marshals so was aware of the event some time ago. But even on the Silverstone web site you had to dig into it to find anything about this test day. On the up side myself and Craig had Silverstone to ourselves, so we had no excuses for not getting any top notch pictures.

The test day was run on the 1.64 mile Silverstone National circuit which is quite short for motorcycle racing but good for the spectator photographer. It only takes the top class riders less than one minute to complete the course so the action was fast and furious.

The pictures taken on the day were mainly shot through the safety wire, of which Silverstone has lots. This isn't a massive problem - use a long lens, wide aperture and get close to the wire and you will be fine.

You might have to clean up the images in post production as they can have a grey look to them. Shooting straight through the wire will negate this effect, shoot at an angle and they will look washed out.  

The best area for capturing the riders is the Luffield loop which has Brooklands and Woodcote corners as the entrance and exit to this complex. There are a few places at Luffield where you can shoot over the wire; a step will help here if you are on the short side. We have a comprehensive guide to taking photographs at Silverstone - check it out in the Circuit Guide section.

So what can you expect to see out on track? Superstock 1000cc, Superstock 600cc, Supersport, GP2, the Ducatis in the Tri-Options Cup and Junior Supersport were all represented. To maximize the day, bikes of a similar class ran together, for example Superstock 600 & Ducati Tri-Options Cup took to the track together. 

This can be slightly confusing as there will be motorcycles with the same number out on track at the same time. Not a problem for me as I know the difference between a Ducati and a Triumph. However, in the other races when you mix in the fact that most of the bikes, the riders' helmets and leathers are not in full race livery it can be difficult to work out who you have taken a picture of. 

So who are the riders to watch this year? Well that is quite a difficult question. The very nature of these classes dictate that the top riders tend to move on up to the next class, so most years it's wide open. Looking at the official timing sheets can give us a clue. However, they were testing not racing so I didn’t hold much stock in the results sheet. 

In the Dickies Junior Supersport, a race series for Britain’s top under 17-year-olds it was Harvey Claridge in top spot who only took part in three of the six sessions. He still managed to put in a fastest lap time of 1:04.494 which placed him ahead of Elliot Pinson by .289 sec.

Rob Guiver the Ducati Tri-Options Cup reigning champion has made a statement by putting the Premier Security Ducati Romford Racing Team machine at the top of the leader board during practice. Guiver and the rest of the riders will be racing the same 157hp 959 Panigales in this Ducati one-make series. 

Josh Day, on the Host-It Racing Ducati who will also be competing in the Ducati Tri-Options Cup was third fastest on the day. Josh also competes in club racing mainly the NG Road Racing’s series on a Yamaha R1. The first round of this series was held at Brands Hatch last weekend where Josh picked up two poles and five wins from six starts on the Dayo Racing Yamaha R1. 

Cameron Fraser will be racing in the BSB Pirelli Superstock 600 Championship on the Jones Dorling Racing Yamaha. Cameron joined the rest of the BSB paddock in the Spanish official winter testing at Cartagena and consolidated this testing at Oulton Park last weekend, racing in the British Motorcycle Racing Club event held there and taking two third places.

TJ Toms showing off his racing battle scars on the G&S Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R. After establishing himself last year in the Superstock 600 and finishing the season off with a podium in the final race at Brands Hatch, he will be looking to continue that success this year. 

Korie McGreevy was fastest in the Superstock 600. He will be riding the Century Racing Team Triumph Daytona 675R in this competitive class and will be hoping to convert the class leading test times he put down during the test day into podium finishes this year. 

In the Superstock 1000cc Richard Cooper on the BuildBase Suzuki, which was still in it's black livery for testing was in second place 0.125 behind Taylor Mackenzie. However, Coopes didn’t look to be pushing it to hard and was still under the Superstock lap record, as was Mackenzie. Gamesmanship or a more relaxed racing style? Time will tell.

Taylor Mackenzie on the Bathams Brewery Racing BMW S1000RR, which had one of the nicest liveries out on the track on the day. Using all of its 200bhp Mackenzie was .5 sec under the Silverstone National Circuit current lap record for Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship, taking first place on the day. 

I hope this article has sparked your interest in photographing the BSB Support Race Classes next year and given you an basic understanding of the different classes. All of the riders will be out again on the 9th April at Silverstone where they will be joined by the British Superbikes for the final test day. 

You can check out last year's coverage of the BSB test and media event that was held at Donington Park - it's in the 2018 Articles. Don’t forget it's free to get in on the 9th April. We like free so will be out track side to capture the action again.