Pentax gathering, Mallory Park, March 10

Possibly a half-baked idea, this, but quite a few Pentax aficionados are gathering in Leicestershire on March 9, to do some farmland photography, and I thought this might be a natural extension for anybody who wants to spend their whole weekend burning through SD cards.

On Sunday March 10, Mallory Park (near Hinckley) hosts its first motorsport meeting of the year - opening round of several regional motorcycle championships. I usually have the unfair advantage of a media tabard at race meetings, but you really don't need one at Mallory. The following were all taken from general spectator enclosures.

[IMG]http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp41/simonarron/Motorcycle%20racing/WilliamsHondaetal1-1_zpsed3a4a90.jpg[/IMG] 1 - 150mm

[IMG]http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp41/simonarron/Motorcycle%20racing/ThundersportGP1group1-1_zps10c2711c.jpg[/IMG] 2 - 300mm

[IMG]http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp41/simonarron/Motorcycle%20racing/HeatonDucati1-1_zps405352e2.jpg[/IMG] 3 - 70mm

[IMG]http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp41/simonarron/Motorcycle%20racing/bike41_zpsccdee418.jpg[/IMG] 4 - 230mm

[IMG]http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp41/simonarron/Motorcycle%20racing/McNeilSuzuki1-1_zps61f1c82d.jpg[/IMG]5 - 100mm

[IMG]http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp41/simonarron/Motorcycle%20racing/sidecar14_zpsd3236e41.jpg[/IMG] 6 - 290mm

And, sometimes, this happens in the field adjacent to the pit straight (although I can't guarantee as much on this occasion)...

[IMG]http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp41/simonarron/Motorcycle%20racing/mx40_zps7cfb6765.jpg[/IMG] 7 - 70mm

I'll be there and two other Pentax folk have so far expressed an interest. We'll probably meet in the paddock café circa 8.00-8.15 (egg, beans, mushrooms, hash browns and a pint of tea for about a fiver). The website quotes running time as 8am-5pm: practice doesn't usually start until 9am but there is always plenty of interesting mechanical clutter around the paddock.

Tickets are £13 on the gate, or £11 if purchased in advance through the official website link. I should point out that I have no official connection with the circuit, but sometimes have to go there for work-related reasons and absolutely love the place...

Would have been there Like a shot if it were closer but a 7 hour round trip is just a bit too far with work days either side.

Definitely thinking about it, just need to work out the Mother's Day clash problem!

Do you know how far ahead the advance ticketing ends? I may need to wait until the week before to confirm for additional reasons anyway.

No idea, sorry. I'll try to find out.

Update: discounted tickets remain on sale until March 5.

Thanks for finding out

This looks great, I can't join you all unfortunately. I would love to next time though.

You will be able to practice your focusing on tractors before moving on to the bikes.

Will

blimey how fast do you drive your tractors Will ?

Is there a Premier Inn or similar nearby?

Am thinking of maybe driving up Saturday evening and coming back Sunday.

I tend to use booking.com for hotels, Mike. At the time of typing, they have rooms in the Premier inn, Hinckley, from £62 (plus other options): link.

I'm staying at a premier inn - £46

doing the farm thing on the Saturday and hopefully some urbexing on the Sunday

laterooms is pretty good too

Hopefully I'll be there but what time and where should we all meet?.
As Simmon says 8---8.15 in the paddock cafe. Sounds OK to me but it might be a little early for some who have to travel a little bit. I'm about 35 miles away so no problem for me but some may find this a little early? Comments please as I'd like to meet a few more Pentax users.
CHEERS Vic.

I will definitely aim for an 8am breakfast, or as close to that as the M1 permits.

Mallory is fairly compact (track map here: link), so it shouldn't be too hard to find people. It's a good idea to start the day to the inside of the Cooper Esses (shots 3 and 5 in the OP), because that's a 30-second stroll from the paddock café (turn left as you exit, then proceed in a straight line to the trackside fence). The light tends to be good first thing in the morning (if, indeed, there is any light) and it's a decent spot for pan shots, when riders are practising rather than racing.

I'd suggest early arrivals gather here, if they don't make breakfast. I'm happy to swap mobile numbers via PM, to keep latecomers in touch via text etc.

The other prime spots include the hairpin (OP shot 1) and the Bus Stop chicane (4 and 6). The chicane on the back straight (Edwina's) is OK for racing shots from the infield, but becomes fairly crowded because friends, family and mechanics stroll across from the paddock to watch. It's probably reasonably dramatic from the outside, but I'm not sure the sun is ever in quite the right place. There isn't much point shooting from the outside of the first corner, Gerard's, unless you have a 600mm lens and TC, because they extended the run-off to accommodate the British Superbike championship... whose powers then decided they weren't going to race here anyway. There is potentially an OK landscape shot towards the corner's exit, though, just before the back straight, where you can get the main lake and paddock buildings in the background.


A more carefully framed version of this, perhaps...

The circuit perimeter is only 1.3 miles, so it's not quite the Nürburgring Nordschleife, but there is only a solitary footbridge, halfway along the pit straight. OP shot 2 was taken close to the bridge and at this point you have the motocross track just behind you.

Any further questions, feel free to ask here or via PM.

I shall be there for the breakfast, as I am only a few miles away in Oadby.

You can often get shoot from the old control tower in the paddock too, and catch the action through the Devils Elbow. This is with a 200mm.