Speed Machine at Silverstone is a new event for me, so this inaugural event should be an interesting one. The main attraction will be the Rallycross (RX). This is a head-to-head event on dirt and tarmac held in a purpose built arena.  

As this is a FIA World Rallycross Championship there are lots of high performance cars on display driven by the best the world has to offer at this time, which means we have the potential for some great action photography. 

The RX machines look like your standard hot hatches with a bit of body work but that’s where the similarity ends. Renault Megane RS, Peugeot 208, Hyundai i20, Ford Fiesta, Audi S1 will be doing battle with lasts year's dominant Volkswagen Polo R. These are 600bhp fire breathing monsters accelerating to 60 in 2 seconds so it's going to test my panning abilities to the extreme. 

Credit CRT Motorsport Photography.

This is a truly international event with drivers from all over the world. The Scandinavians are dominant in RX with the likes of Johan Kristoffersson in the PSRX Volkswagen the current RX champion. But it's Sebastien Loeb from France who is the world’s most successful rally driver having amassed a staggering nine consecutive WRC titles in his Peugeot 208 who will be pushing Kristoffersson all the way.

Also making his first of three appearances and adding to the mix in World RX this year is Britain’s Andrew Jordan, the 2013 British Touring Car Champion driving a MJP Racing Team Austria Ford Fiesta.

So onto the photography. Silverstone has 4 circuits it can call on depending on the event. For Speed Machine they have built a track inside of the Stowe circuit incorporating dirt and tarmac. This will be the area where we will get all of the action pictures. 

This area has few spectators and you will be able to get some long range shots of the action. You will need a long lens for 90% of the time at Speed Machine; a super zoom or 300mm with a x2 convertor will do nicely but you can get some great pictures with a 200mm from the right areas. 

Moving round to area 5 you will pass what was billed as the drift area but it's not. The small area put aside for this is a skid pan with water jets, so not much to capture here. This is where we will start to get some more interesting images of the RX again from long range. 

Area 4 has some great angles of the jump but you will need a lens that will go to 500mm to capture anything useful. The jump leads down to a sharp right hand bend this is one of two locations where all hell can break loose, the other being the first bend after the start. However, good luck catching anything usable at the first bend as the catch fencing is super heavy duty and quite rightly so having witnessed the carnage that can ensue as six RX machines try take the lead on the first corner.  

Credit CRT Motorsport Photography.

Area 3 is up on the banking next to the Total Quartz Stowe Complex. Here you can get a bit of perspective on the subject by capturing the crowd in the foreground as the banking gives you the height to look over the masses. 

Only one problem here - the earth moving equipment and dust suppression tractors are parked in line of sight of the jump. Silverstone management, if you read this, walk the circuit and think of the paying customers before an event. Moving the vehicles behind the Stowe complex would be helpful. 

Not many photographers used spot 3 as they all crowded into area 2 and quite rightly so as it is the best spot. A lens up to 200mm will work here and you can capture great images all day long. However, it is crowded and as always at these events people will get there early and stake a claim with folding chairs. If you are patient you will get a good spot but as soon as the action starts up come the iPhones so be prepared to capture image of people's phones and not cars.   

Area one is the best place to view the action as you can see all of the track and there is a massive TV opposite that shows live action and replays. However, it's the worst for photography as you are some way from the action and there is a lot of catch fencing. You can get some interesting images if you think outside of the box.

Leaving the track at the lunch break and heading for the retail village there are some great if pricey food selections for you to devour. Located here are the team garages where you can get some pit photography and static shots of the cars from yesteryear, the best being the crazy and iconic 1980s Group B rally and rallycross cars. These were some of the most extreme off road cars ever built so it was great to get up close a personal with the icons of time where the health and safety of fans and drivers was not a priority of the organizers. 

During lunch I always review my images and am hyper critical of what I've done. It's always a balance between a sharp image and a blurred background in automotive sport photography. My go to settings are ISO 100 depending on the weather and 320 of a second at f8. These will guarantee blurred wheels and background even with a large lens capturing the speed of the machines. However, they aren't the best settings but you will get something that you will be kind of happy with. 

After lunch it's time to get back out on the track safe in the knowledge that I have some good pictures in the bag and know where to go to get some great pictures. Once I've dropped that shutter speed and reduced and the f-stop to balance the exposure tringle I'm good to go. 

When the racing is done head back to the retail village via Parc fermé for the driver presentations to capture the champagne moment. 

 I hope you have enjoyed this write up and photographs of Speed Machine 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 and hopefully I will inspire some of you to get out there and take some great images.