Features editor Simon Arron picks his top 16 photographs from a year on the road

Simon Arron has covered more than 50 events (and counting) for Motor Sport in 2017. Here’s a selection of the things he’s seen at 16 of them: they stick in mind for reasons of quirk, circumstance or else simply because it was time very well spent.

1 Bubba Park Raceway, Florida, January 26

I’d never previously attended a Late Model Dirt Series event and attempts to secure accreditation faltered, largely because I’d contacted the wrong bloke. Within five minutes of arriving I was approached in the paddock – by the track’s official photographer, Trace Crisp – and told I couldn’t use professional equipment in that area without being accredited. I explained my background, directed him to the Motor Sport website (via his phone) and he agreed to let me carry on, but apologised that he wouldn’t be able to allow me trackside. Half an hour later, he changed his mind. Did I need a tabard, or to sign any paperwork? “No, sir, just stick with me.” I did, and my first experience of a Late Model Dirt racer was watching it slide past from a distance of about two metres. Much appreciated, Trace.

2 Daytona Speedway, January 28

Le Mans is the endurance temple of choice for many Brits, but Daytona might be more accessible than you think. Book early, and you should be able to secure a return flight from the UK to Orlando for £350-380 (NB the ‘early’ bit). Yes, you’ll need a hotel, hire car and food, but petrol is more or less free in the States and with careful planning the money you spend will come to represent fine value. The worst part of the Rolex 24 is having to write captions when there are four or five drivers per car: this is the Grasser Racing Lamborghini Huracán of Christian Engelhart, Rolf Ineichen, Roberto Pampanini, Michele Beretta and Miloš Pavlović. Winners Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons managed perfectly well as a duo in 1969, and that was in a brutish Lola T70…

3 Blyton Park, March 12

The UK’s grass roots at their most lush. If you think the world has gone mad, with 12-year-old kart racers having managers, fitness coaches and six-figure budgets, go and watch a round of the BTRDA Rallycross Championship, where everything is very 1976. Minis, Ford Escorts, cars arriving on Transit-drawn trailers… what’s not to like? The spectacularly driven Porsche Boxster belongs to Rob Scott.

4 Wimbledon Stadium, March 26

Not many people are likely to have abandoned the 75th Goodwood Members’ Meeting in order to hurry to south-west London, but on this of all days, such a diversion seemed essential. A home to stock car racing in the capital since 1962, Wimbledon hosted its final meeting before the demolition crews moved in. It will in time be redeveloped as a new football stadium for AFC Wimbledon, with some plush new apartments around the fringe. There will no longer be a place for bangers, superstox or, indeed, greyhounds. Where once London had such as Harringay, New Cross, West Ham, Wembley, Walthamstow, White City and Wimbledon, it has been left with a forlorn silence.

5 Thruxton, April 23

There are many who complain that single-make racing has diluted our sport’s appeal, but it rather depends where you look… This is from one of the Classic Sports Car Club’s dependably effervescent meetings. Pretty much anything goes in the Meteor Suspension Open Series – as underlined here: Nick Maton’s MG Magnette on the cusp of being devoured by Matthew Evans’ BMW M3.

6 Castle Mill Farm, Ashley, April 30

I’ve always thought myself fortunate to have grown up where I did, with Manchester a few miles in one direction and open Cheshire countryside on the doorstep. Three racing circuits were within easy reach (Oulton Park, Aintree, Longridge), and Manchester’s White City stock car stadium was but a short bus ride away. Oulton thrives still and motorcycle racing continues at Aintree (ditto sprints), but Longridge is now a caravan park and some twit decided to convert White City into a shopping mall. The good news? Once home to an open-air swimming pool, Castle Mill Farm has become a regular venue for autograss promoter the Leewood Motor Club – and my native Altrincham remains a vibrant motor sport hub. To my eyes, at least…

7 Cadwell Park, May 14

Anything with wheels lends itself well to Cadwell. The annual HSCC and VSCC meetings are always postcard-perfect, but the same applies equally to Citroën 2CVs: wallowing French antiquity amid the The Wolds’ rolling contours. Matt Hollis leads rivals towards The Hairpin (which, despite its name, is pretty much a 90-degree right-hander).

8 Isle of Man, June 3

Science is powerless to explain why I’d never previously crossed the Irish Sea at TT o’clock, but a timely invitation from Dunlop finally enabled me to remedy that ridiculous oversight. As an added bonus, within about 10 minutes of my arrival I’d been introduced to Stephen Davison – doyen of road-racing photographers (and author of several exceptional books on the subject). As I hadn’t a clue where to go, nor how to get there, he was happy to let me hitch a ride. For the two days that I was trackside, his knowledge of every nook, cranny and farmyard enabled me to see far more than would otherwise have been possible. The shots show BMW riders Dan Stewart and Michael Sweeney negotiating the crest at Ballacrye (taken at just the 150-odd mph) and Sam West (also on a BMW) leaving the sea behind as he heads up towards The Mountain. The hairs on my neck are bristling still.

9 Prescott, June 24

A slight change of pace from the Isle of Man… Many British hillclimb courses reflect a branch of the sport that has changed relatively little over time – and Prescott is one such. VSCC regular Edmund Burgess heads towards The Esses in his Bugatti T51. This, though, was not one of the VSCC’s two headline events of the summer just past, but a charming, low-key clubbie that attracted everything from motorbikes and Mini Coopers to Lotus 69s and, oddly, a Nissan Leaf.

10 Santa Pod, July 15

While the national media’s sporting focus was very firmly on Lewis Hamilton’s latest Silverstone conquest, I set out to find a couple of alternative fixtures. One was a well run BMCRC motorcycle race meeting on the finest Grand Prix circuit in the land (clue: it’s in Kent), the other was a wonderfully engaging throwback known as Dragstalgia, wherein Santa Pod welcomes all kinds of things that have raced there since it opened for business more than half a century ago. Here, Steve Matthews (Ford Zodiac) and Adrian Sidwell (Opus HRF) set off in pursuit of a close horizon.

11 Brands Hatch, August 6

Paul Ivens was unfortunate to become snared in a chain-reaction Volkswagen Racing Cup accident at Paddock Hill Bend. I’d been shooting in portrait format for the start – logical enough, looking towards Paddock Hill Bend – and didn’t have time to adjust as Ivens’s Scirocco was sent tumbling. Through luck rather than judgment, his height from the ground – and his exhaust system’s attempt to clear the earth’s atmosphere – were captured within a single frame. Ivens wasn’t badly hurt and was back out before the season’s end.

12 Lydden Hill, August 12

While World RX bade farewell in May to rallycross’s birthplace, circuit racing returned – after a two-year absence – in August. The Classic Touring Car Racing Club attracted a full, diverse entry and a decent crowd – particularly as the circuit is somewhat distant for anyone who doesn’t live between Maidstone and northern France. Our images show traditional paddock clutter, with a poodle admiring Bill Richards’ new Mini Countryman racer (which had broken – Bill and his team can be seen in the background unloading his older Clubman after he’d dashed home to collect it), and the Group 1 saloon field heading off towards Chessons.

13 Shelsley Walsh, August 13

The 70th anniversary of the British Hillclimb Championship was the weekend’s main focus, but you don’t need a ceremonial excuse to visit Shelsley. You do need decent lung capacity, though: it’s a stiff ascent on foot, but worth the effort. Here, Alistair Dent’s 500cc F3 Hornet rattles through The Esses.

14 Oulton Park, August 28

The HSCC’s Historic Gold Cup took a step forward in 2017, with bigger grids and a standalone Formula 2 race in which Tecno racer Daniel Pyett went the extra mile – as he always does – to perfect a period look. It seemed only fair to convert him to monochrome.

15 Brands Hatch, October 14

This is from the final round of the British Superbike Championship, on the extended version of Brands Hatch. Physically Kawasaki rider Dean Harrison is negotiating Surtees, but his eyes are clearly trained on an unspecified point a few seconds into the future. If you’ve never experienced the sensory overload of a BSB meeting, it’s probably time you did.

16 Silverstone, November 5

Walter Hayes Trophy – three words that encapsulate the very best of British motor sport. Silverstone’s backdrop might be a little less pastoral than those at Cadwell, Prescott or Oulton, but its 1.6-mile National Circuit is a particularly fine stage for close competition. And despite now being 50 years old, Formula Ford continues to generate the finest, hardest, fairest racing. This is from the historic final, with Ben Mitchell leading winner Richard Tarling, Callum Grant, Mike Gardner and Michael Mallock. They remained this close from about lap four to the end.

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