Castle Combe Race Circuit
Castle Combe Race Circuit
Address: Castle Combe, Chippenham SN14 7EY
Telephone: 01249 782417
Website: https://castlecombecircuit.co.uk
Photographer’s Guide to Castle Combe Race Circuit
Report and images by Chris Pearson of CPe FOTO
Situated in the picturesque Wiltshire countryside, Castle Combe Race Circuit was originally an airfield opened in May 1941 which was operated by the Royal Air Force as fighter base for Polish airmen. It was decommissioned in 1948 and reopened as Castle Combe Race Circuit in 1950. During it’s time as a Race Circuit, Castle Combe has had some racing royalty grace the track such as Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Ayrton Senna, Tiff Needell and has been featured on various motoring shows such as Top Gear and Fifth Gear.
CCRC is a great location for photography as the entire 1.85 mile circuit has spectator access. A lot of the track has unfenced areas and the track is pretty close to all viewing spots which makes for some awesome images.
There are some preferred areas for ‘getting the shot’ but it can be interesting finding angles that appeal to you anywhere around the circuit.
Looking at the Events page on the Castle Combe website while planning your visit is helpful to get the best day to suit you. Race days are normally around £15 per person with a Paddock Pass included for advance tickets or an extra £2.50 on the day.
If you are just looking to practice your Motorsport Photography, you can attend many of their track days and practice days free of charge and usually have most of the spectator space to yourself! You can view what events are on with this link.
Once you have parked up in one of the various car parks (hardstanding or grass) around the circuit, you have quick access to the track which will either be directly in front if you or via steps that go over the raised bank.
There is food and drinks available at multiple vendors and plenty of toilet facilities around the circuit. Most the site is wheelchair/mobility scooter friendly (best to call Castle Combe direct for more detail).
On a normal race day the sun is behind you at Quarry Corner in the morning and Camp Corner in the afternoon so this is my favoured start and finish points.
Following the track round from start to finish, the various shooting locations of choice are as follows…
Folly Bank.
From this location you can get some great shots of the action coming towards you down the start/finish straight. Also some great panning shots from an elevated position can be fun from here.
Quarry Corner.
Loads of angles and opportunities from here. This is quite a popular spectator location as this is the first major corner and is a hotspot for things getting a little wiggly!
You can get some great photos of the cars coming over Avon Rise, down to the apex of Quarry Corner, along the next straight and even to the entry of The Esses.
The Esses Bank.
There is a raised walkway down to The Esses and a great platform for getting shots of the entry to the chicane.
From here you cross a small bridge and down some steps to walk along past Old Paddock Bend and onto Tower Corner. The fences are a little restrictive from here but if you situate yourself of the bank at the exit of Tower, some interesting shots can be made from here of the approach to Tower Corner all the way through to Bobbies.
Bobbies Bank.
Some of my favourite shots have been made from here. You get to show different aspects as you have the squatted shot on the entry to Bobbies and the more stretched out images as the exit of Bobbies allows heavy acceleration.
Camp Corner.
There is quite a high bank along the straight to Camp Corner with only a waist high fence so you can get some interesting high angle shots along the straight.
If you get to the actual corner you can get some good shots of the apex and also the action going away from you towards the Finish Line especially when the chequered flag is waving!
Paddock.
From Camp Corner, head over the iconic Avon Bridge and you will find your way towards the Paddock area. Ensuring you have your Paddock Pass to show the marshall, take a left just after the Race Shop which has a selection of Castle Combe souvenirs and racing memorabilia.
You are allowed to walk around the Paddock and get some interesting ‘story telling’ shots of people working on their machines between races. Just be aware that there will be race cars making their way to the formation area so keep your eyes peeled as you wander around!
Camera and lens settings.
Personally, I shoot with Micro Four Thirds (MFT) Olympus Mirrorless and Panasonic gear.
As such my lens choices will have a full frame equivalent in brackets to work out where you will want to be depending on your cameras crop factor.
Mostly I have shot with either an Olympus OM-D E-M10ii or OM-D E-M1i which have built in image stabilisation. My go-to lens choices are 100-300mm f4-5.6 (200-600mm), 40-150mm f4-5.6 (80-300mm) and 12-40mm f2.8 (24-80mm).
For panning shots, I try to get my Shutter Speed down to below 1/125th second and sometimes as low as 1/10th second. When doing head on shots I will try to get the shutter speed to at least 1/1000th second to freeze the motion.
My general rule of thumb is if the wheels are visible, slow down the shutter to show the motion or it will just look like the car is sat parked on the track!
Chris Pearson of CPe FOTO has been published in motorsport magazines, newspapers and been front cover featured in the Official Olympus Magazine.
He has worked with drivers and teams to promote their campaign and secure sponsorship deals. One of the highlights was shooting the BTCC at Thruxton as a VIP guest with Olympus Cameras and Power Maxed Racing. You can contact him via his website or social media.
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