A now regular feature on the calendar, and my 50th motorsport photography event of the year, was the breath of fresh air that is the Boxing Day Plum Pudding meeting at Mallory Park. 

Noting that the heaviest rain was due mid morning as the cars practiced, Andrew (my son and occasional PistonClick contributor) and I timed our journey to arrive in good time for the racing. 

It’s a popular overtaking spot at the end of the Stebbe Straight.

There’s also that sense of resignation when it is clear that you won’t make the chicane and have to take the escape road …

It’s then a short walk from Edwina’s to The Esses, again on the inside of the track. You are very close here with no fences to obstruct the view. Saloons were up next with the biggest grids of the day and some excellent mid-field battling. 

… and a Fiat 127 Sport to one of several Saxos. 

Andrew likes to get the shutter speed down – these two images are at 1/100th

Sports cars followed, a mix of Radicals, Caterhams, MX5s … the Radicals were quickest. Ash Hicklin in #16 was a double winner.

A regular Plum Pudding visitor is this Audi TT Spaceframe – also seen at Hillclimbs, Sprints and with what looks like small oval heritage.

Back to bikes before the lunch break, but still at The Esses. This is a great spot to shoot bikes with a slower shutter speed to get a really sense of speed. A wider angle lens could be useful but with the lowish light, I was grateful for the wide f2.8 aperture.

Of course, it not the usual place for dangling your leg, unless you really have to ! Another win for #117 Aaron Staniforth

The rain increased over the lunch break so we sought the cover of the car to eat turkey sandwiches and a left over pig in blanket (what else !). The Lakeside Diner in the Paddock does come highly recommended as well. 

Lee Brocklebank ended up with an early bath having come off exiting the Bus Stop chicane.

I had changed to the 24-120mm zoom lens to give the option of a wider angle. With an element of reverse grid, Rod Birley fought though the field in his Escort to his second victory of the day and career win #669. 

An interestingly liveried Jaguar XJS looked a handful in the conditions while spectators took photos of the excellent midfield battle.

One of the Saxos was looking a little tail happy earlier in the race and was finally caught out by the lack of rear grip … fortunately without serious damage.

Lines through Devil’s Elbow varied considerably.

The Sports Cars were the last race of the day – the soft focus by now enhanced by the light drizzle on the filter on the lens. Despite the smaller grid there were some good battles.

The right clothing was essential …

Eventually the rain and impending darkness brought reflected headlights.

There is a report of the car races on www.autosport.com I hadn’t realised that we were at the last circuit race meeting of the decade.