World Superbikes Brands Hatch
09th August 2008
Finally the World Superbikes were in town so I made my way down to the Kent circuit for the Saturday qualifying session with my good mate Chinny.
The weather was looking a bit fickle but that's never dampened my spirits before so I wasn't too bothered what it was going to throw at us as I've been looking forward to capturing the WSB boy's in action for ages.
We headed up to Stirlings for the morning pratice session which is a good corner for wheelies as they tap on the power coming out of the bend. You have the added bonus of very low fencing too which makes life a lot easier when you're shooting from the public viewing areas.
Chris Walker made his return to the Superbikes on the Paul Bird Vent Axia Honda. Good to see the old Stalker back on a proper bike.
I tried to get a few different photographic angles on the bend but they've restricted your access now due to safety concerns even though they cover this on the entry ticket which I've pointed out on several occasions.
Chinny and I hung around Stirlings for some of the Supersport practice session, you normally get a few of the boys showing off for the camera at some point and it wasn't long before they started pulling wheelies.
We moved around to Druids for the afternoon session which is one of my favourite corners. The backdrop of Paddock Hill bend gives you a lovely clean image and thankfully we managed to squeeze into a spot which was a stroke of luck as normally you have to get there first thing in the morning to get a spot.
The fencing on this corner can give you problems espeically when the the sun is out, it's still not ideal when the sun is in though! But it's something I have to live with.
Anyway, we settled in and watched the stunt show before the Superbikes came out for the final qualifying session.
This was the first time I've ever seen a stunt rider perform at Druids, normally they stay down on the start/finish straight so this was an added bonus for us.
The Superbikes came out and it wasn't long before 4 gigs of memory was used up shooting from a few different angles.
Corser was giving us a good show backing his fire spiting Yamaha into Druids.
Ruban Xaus was putting on the style too but as usual crashed later on in the session...
I was pleased with what I had captured on the day plus me and the Mrs were coming down for Race day too so I had another chance to get some images from different corners of the track.
Unfortunately this didn't go to plan, Saturday was very quiet but Sunday was packed and I'd left it a bit late to get a decent spot.
We eventually ended up at Stirlings for the first Superbike race which was an all out battle between Bayliss and Kiyo
with Kiyo coming out on top and finally winning his first race of the season.
Bayliss seemed to be pleased with his 2nd place and gave me a nice look down the barrel of my lens.
Poor old Tom Skyes had some bad luck with a mechanical break down in the first race whilst holding his own in 3rd place, he looked well on the pace and determined though so it was looking good for Tom in race 2.
We moved around the circuit looking for a decent spot but it was way too busy with all the tents and chairs so we decided to watch the Supersport race near Surtees which had a big screen then head home once that had finished.
Half way through, the race was red flagged due to rain so we headed back over to clearways as this was the end of the circuit the car was parked.
As we came round the back of clearways we heard the crowd gasp, I walked over to see what had happened and could see a rider lying in the middle of the track. I asked a bloke next to me who it was "Craig Jones big crash" he said.
I could tell by the amount of medical personnal that it was a heavy fall. When I got home I watched the crash on tele and felt sick, it looked very nasty.
I hoped for the best as these fellas are made of stern stuff but the news the following day was tragic.
Craig Jones had died due to head injuries, this is such a sad loss of a future world champion. Craig's all out riding style was a joy to photograph and I feel honoured to have watched him slide and wrestle bikes around.
Thoughts to his loved ones and friends in this difficult time.
RIP Jonesy NEVER FORGOTTEN.
The weather was looking a bit fickle but that's never dampened my spirits before so I wasn't too bothered what it was going to throw at us as I've been looking forward to capturing the WSB boy's in action for ages.
We headed up to Stirlings for the morning pratice session which is a good corner for wheelies as they tap on the power coming out of the bend. You have the added bonus of very low fencing too which makes life a lot easier when you're shooting from the public viewing areas.
Chris Walker made his return to the Superbikes on the Paul Bird Vent Axia Honda. Good to see the old Stalker back on a proper bike.
I tried to get a few different photographic angles on the bend but they've restricted your access now due to safety concerns even though they cover this on the entry ticket which I've pointed out on several occasions.
Chinny and I hung around Stirlings for some of the Supersport practice session, you normally get a few of the boys showing off for the camera at some point and it wasn't long before they started pulling wheelies.
We moved around to Druids for the afternoon session which is one of my favourite corners. The backdrop of Paddock Hill bend gives you a lovely clean image and thankfully we managed to squeeze into a spot which was a stroke of luck as normally you have to get there first thing in the morning to get a spot.
The fencing on this corner can give you problems espeically when the the sun is out, it's still not ideal when the sun is in though! But it's something I have to live with.
Anyway, we settled in and watched the stunt show before the Superbikes came out for the final qualifying session.
This was the first time I've ever seen a stunt rider perform at Druids, normally they stay down on the start/finish straight so this was an added bonus for us.
The Superbikes came out and it wasn't long before 4 gigs of memory was used up shooting from a few different angles.
Corser was giving us a good show backing his fire spiting Yamaha into Druids.
Ruban Xaus was putting on the style too but as usual crashed later on in the session...
I was pleased with what I had captured on the day plus me and the Mrs were coming down for Race day too so I had another chance to get some images from different corners of the track.
Unfortunately this didn't go to plan, Saturday was very quiet but Sunday was packed and I'd left it a bit late to get a decent spot.
We eventually ended up at Stirlings for the first Superbike race which was an all out battle between Bayliss and Kiyo
with Kiyo coming out on top and finally winning his first race of the season.
Bayliss seemed to be pleased with his 2nd place and gave me a nice look down the barrel of my lens.
Poor old Tom Skyes had some bad luck with a mechanical break down in the first race whilst holding his own in 3rd place, he looked well on the pace and determined though so it was looking good for Tom in race 2.
We moved around the circuit looking for a decent spot but it was way too busy with all the tents and chairs so we decided to watch the Supersport race near Surtees which had a big screen then head home once that had finished.
Half way through, the race was red flagged due to rain so we headed back over to clearways as this was the end of the circuit the car was parked.
As we came round the back of clearways we heard the crowd gasp, I walked over to see what had happened and could see a rider lying in the middle of the track. I asked a bloke next to me who it was "Craig Jones big crash" he said.
I could tell by the amount of medical personnal that it was a heavy fall. When I got home I watched the crash on tele and felt sick, it looked very nasty.
I hoped for the best as these fellas are made of stern stuff but the news the following day was tragic.
Craig Jones had died due to head injuries, this is such a sad loss of a future world champion. Craig's all out riding style was a joy to photograph and I feel honoured to have watched him slide and wrestle bikes around.
Thoughts to his loved ones and friends in this difficult time.
RIP Jonesy NEVER FORGOTTEN.
