The weather all weekend had been changeable, but on Sunday the heavens opened and the newly resurfaced Silverstone track could not drain the water away fast enough for racing to commence, according to race director Mike Webb.

Webb cancelling the event probably had in mind the previous day's free practice. During a downpour a number of nasty crashes were caused by the bikes aquaplaning. 

53 Tito Rabat riding his Avintia Ducati came off at Stowe and was then hit by Italian Franco Morbidelli's bike who had also come off in the wet. Rabat needed surgery due to fractures of the right femur, tibia and fibula.

Cal Crutchlow said "I’m devastated not to be able to race at my home Grand Prix, it was very disappointing that today went how it did with regards to the weather situation. The safety commission decided that we delayed and delayed all day and then decided finally that the track condition was not safe to ride due to standing water on the asphalt".

So in hindsight turning up for the Friday practice day only now looks like a good idea. The smaller crowds than race day allows you to get to the best locations to grab those photos of the GP stars. 

When I say smaller crowds, that is relative to the crowds on Sunday. There were still a lot of people but Silverstone is massive and can accommodate large numbers of people, allowing them to spread out.

The Friday practice is the best day for photography; the inner circuit is open giving you a few more locations. During previous years' race days you are restricted to the grandstands and the outer part of the track.

The first area we went to was between the Loop and Aintree. All of this side of the track has thick safety fencing looking onto a short straight between the two corners. 

Why here? I hear you ask. Three reasons - as the riders come out of the Loop they can get crossed up and jump the curb. Shooting from Aintree to the Loop can get you that dramatic action shot. 

The second is you can pan through the wire at 90 degrees to the rider. As long as your aperture is wide the wire will disappear, as it will do for your long range shot. 

If you are not at 90 degrees to the rider when panning, expect to pick up a the fence in you pictures. These will appear as light grey foggy lines as you can see in the photo above. You can get rid of them in Photoshop. Other manipulation software is available, I personally use Affinity Photo. 

The third and main reason is this is the area the riders do practice starts. If you are lucky they will do a stoppie, rev the bike up and scream off into the distance. They didn’t do one stoppie for us this year, maybe next year.

The best area on the infield is Brookland's and Luffield. The fencing at Brooklands is the same thick wire as everywhere else but if you get up close to the fence and keep that wide aperture you will be fine. 

Moving around the corner will give you a few slightly different view points. A 200mm lens is the minimum you will need here, ideally a 300mm is what you want to fill the frame. 

This is a popular location for photographers and spectators so it does get packed . However, you can shoot through the gaps in the crowd. A small portable step can give you that extra few inches to give you a clear view.

There are loads of angles here so you can get a variety of shots. Think about upping the shutter speed for those head on shots in the corners to get that pin sharp picture.

There are only two free MotoGP practices of about 45 minuets on the Friday so you could finish the day off and head to the car park. Don’t! Most people do this and will just end up sitting in their car in the queue to get out. Use the time productively and shoot the Moto2 and Moto3 bikes.

This year the Moto2 free practice was delayed by rain, a sign of things to come. 

I hope you have enjoyed this write up and photographs of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone 2018. As always I don’t claim to be an expert on this subject, it's just my observations of a day out with some friends carrying a camera. I would like to thank Rob Watkinson Photography for helping out on this project.