This Time It’s War.
My relationship with drifting goes right back to the beginning of my photography career. I guess it would be pretty fair to say that if it wasn’t for drifting, I likely wouldn’t have had a lot of the opportunities I’ve had so far. Even in saying this, my love for the sport has waned progressively over the years. I’m not going to go into the reasons for this now – it’s covered pretty well in my article on Drifted, linked below – but rather I’d like to take a few moments to appreciate just how much the sport has resurrected itself over the last few years. In Ireland, anyways. Drifting very much so remains a budget motorsport in Ireland. The cost to entry is quite low, but as you examine the top of the professional class standings, it’s evident that a lot of money is required to stay competitive. As it is with any motorsport. 700 plus horsepower isn’t unheard of, nor is destroying a brand new pair of super soft and just about road legal tyres every couple of laps. Some will bemoan this, but it’s exactly what is required for the sport to evolve to a level where the drivers can concentrate all of their energy and time on driving. Whilst only in its second season, the newly formed Irish Drift Championship has been doing everything in its power to bring back the glory days of Irish drifting. For the third round of the 2014 championship, aptly named ‘Global Warfare’, they invited some internationally acclaimed drivers to compete on Irish soil. No non-Irish driver has ever been victorious in Ireland, a record which has so far stood for 10 years. This was the focus of the event projected globally on a high quality web stream, could the Irish […]
Irish Drifting – A Retrospective: Part One – 2004
March 5th, 2004. Not exactly a date that will go down in history, but it was a day that probably changed the course of my life forever. From the age of 13, I knew I wanted to be involved in motorsport in some way, shape or form. But from March 5th 2004, I knew exactly which path to take. It’s been over 10 years now since I was introduced to the world of drifting. I didn’t know it at the time, but this would be the greatest stepping stone in my photography career. I’ll be forever grateful to every single person involved in Irish drifting, from staff to drivers to supporters. Looking back, it feels like 20 years ago rather than just 10. If I remember correctly, 2004 was the first full season of drifting in Ireland and every round was held at Tipperary International Raceway or Rosegreen as it was also known. The events, known as D1 Drift Series at the time, were all held on the karting track on the raceway’s infield with the last exhibition event (an Ireland Vs United Kingdom battle) utilising the outer oval for the first time. In 2004, drifting was still in its infancy, so the vast majority of drivers drove their cars to the track and back home again. I think there was only one or two cars transported on trailers. It was a completely different world back then, especially when compared to fierce modern drifting has become. The layouts were simple, safety equipment consisted of a seat belt and helmet and for twin battles, the drivers were set off at 10 or 15 second intervals. The cars varied too. The majority were European brands (BMW, Ford etc.) with the odd UK produced AE86 and 200SX thrown into the mix. Only as the […]
Martin Ffrench & The Low Brain PS13
I was asked late last week to fill in for someone who was meant to document Martin’s exploits at Punchestown, and seeing as it has been over a year since I last covered a full drift event, I could hardly say no. What was meant to be a relaxing day off instead started with a 6AM alarm call and getting on the road not long there after. It’s always great to catch up with the people in the Irish drifting community, a friendlier bunch you could not meet. I know a lot of these people from my first day of shooting, so it’s inspiring to see them all still giving 100% commitment to the sport. Times have moved on, and there are a lot of new faces both on the starting line and in the media briefing which made the event feel somewhat alien in certain regards. The one thing that hasn’t changed was thankfully the reason I was there – Martin Ffrench. I can’t even remember the last time I seen Martin drive, but even though he only has a handful of events under him this year, it’s plain for everyone to see that he still has the talent and aggression he is known for. Driving the LBD Achilles Nissan PS13, powered by an ex-Mosler V8, it’s almost the perfect car for Martin. Although things didn’t work out as planned, with more seat time in the car, it won’t be long before we see him back on the top step of the podium. Big thanks to Martin Ffrench, Team LBD Achilles and Paddy Macken from IDC.
Gatebil Mantorp Park
Following some recent health issues, I’ve been out of action for the last few weeks. On the plus side, I’ve a couple of interesting shoots and stories to share with you. After the Bavaria City Racing Dublin event, I took to the skies once more. Destination? Sweden for the annual Gatebil show at Mantorp Park, a couple of hours south of Stockholm. Unfortunately on arrival, I found my 5D MKII was unresponsive having presumably taken a knock somewhere in transit. My 5D2 has been a reliable work horse for the last three years so I was pretty bummed out by its loss. Thankfully, I had two other great cameras in reserve but it did put a bit of a downer on the event. The mayhem at Mantorp was even better than expected. Having experienced the Rudskogen event the year previous, I thought I would be prepared for the Swedish take on the popular event. I wasn’t. Check out the full coverage on Speedhunters below … Read the full Speedhunters coverage here.
Prodrift Punchestown
I owe a lot to Prodrift. What started as a small series quickly expanded into one of the most respected and innovative drift series’ on the planet. Although the recession has hit Ireland hard, the quality of driving at Prodrift events has show no sign of dropping off. From the amateurs to the pros, the standard of driving at any Prodrift event is unnaturally high. Congratulations to Damien Mulvey on his pro-class win. Not the first time the Cork man has topped the podium and it certainly won’t be the last …
Team Need for Speed D-Mac ’86
You may remember late last year that I published a feature both here and on Speedhunters of Darren McNamara’s wild rotary powered AE86 build. I never got around to posting these images of the car during it’s first test day and first two events. Considering it was a completely fresh build, the success it has enjoyed at its first two events is astounding. Rarely do cars work so well out of the box. It’s a credit to Darren and the team at MCN Sport.
Gatebil Rudskogen Part Two
Part two of my Gatebil story concentrates on the track action. With drifting to extreme time attack, Gatebil was a no holds barred automotive extravaganza. Caution : This Story Contains Copious Amounts of Tyre Smoke.
Gatebil Rudskogen Part One
The last couple of months have been truly memorable. Not only as a photographer but also as a petrolhead. I’ve had the privilege of shooting some of the best events on the planet, events that only a year or two earlier were only but a dream. I know that things as good as this never last long, but I’m ensuring that I’m enjoying every last moment and having no regrets along the way. It’s not everyday you wake up in your dream job and I can’t thank the Speedhunters and Need for Speed teams enough for allowing me the privilege of working with them. This is the first of two parts from the Gatebil Rudskogen, an event which was held about two hours north of Oslo at the end of July. The word insanity doesn’t even come close to describing Gatebil. More images, as usual, after the jump …
Back to the Daily Grind …
It’s fair to say that the motorsport season is well underway once more and my poor blog is getting neglected once again. You can still keep up with me on Speedhunters or on Twitter if you really miss me that much. I’m also doing my best to keep my Flickr account up to date so be sure to check in for lots of photographs you won’t see anywhere else. Since I’m here I’ve put together a small selection of shots after the jump that should give you an idea of what I’ve been up to since I last posted here !
Mondello March Drift Practice
The now monthly drift practice days at Mondello Park rolled around once again last month. As the start of the 2011 drift season edges closer, some of the pro-class competitors were out testing their updated machinery for this championship year. A large amount of kudos must be sent in Mondello Park’s direction, they’ve always been a huge supporter of drifting in Ireland and these practice days are helping the sport to further evolve. More images after the jump along with a link to the full gallery at the bottom of the post …
Wexican Motorsport Altezza Shakedown at Mondello Park
Last Saturday I had a rare day off which kind of turned into ‘not-really-a-day-off’ but an enjoyable one none the less. The occasion was the first shakedown of the Wexican Motorsport Toyota Altezza and I was on-hand to document the event. It was a pretty chilled affair and was the perfect opportunity to test out some new equipment namely the Canon 17-40 F4 L, Canon 135 F2 L and the Canon 1.4x extender on the Canon 300 F4 L. It’s also been a while since I got to shoot some live track action so it’s great to be getting back into the motorsport season once again. The following shots primarily focus around Martin and his Altezza but if you head over to my Flickr page, there are a couple more images of some of the other attendees’. More after the jump.
On-Board with Martin Ffrench
[vimeo width=”800″ height=”600″]http://www.vimeo.com/20162768[/vimeo] I spent most of yesterday working on a personal project of mine with Martin Ffrench. I had the honor of shooting the exclusive of his SR20DET Toyota Altezza back in November and even luckier to have the chance to ride along side him during the practice sessions. These are only two short laps from the morning whilst Martin was still working on setups and ironing out any small problems. I’ll have a better video and some photographs up later this week.
The Allstars at Wembley
Better known for it’s field sports, the world re-knowned Wembley Stadium played host to the fourth and penultimate round of the 2010 JDM Allstars series. The entry list was vastly improved upon when compared to previous rounds with only the exceptions of Phil Morrisson and Martin Ffrench being the big absentees. The event was a two day affair, but due to other commitments I could only make the final day of the event. As to be expected from the JDM Allstars crew, the event went without a hitch with only the weather interrupting proceedings for a few minutes during the day. The full gallery can be found after the jump …
Modified Live // Time Attack // EDC – Brands Hatch
The day after JDM at Donny, I was south of London for the third round of the UK Time Attack Series which took place at the Brands Hatch venue in Kent. The particular loop they would be using would be the Indy Circuit, the shortest layout which provided a spectacular and comprehensive view of the event for all the spectators. The series has been incorporated into the Modified Live events, which also host a static show, a round of the European Drifting Championship and a series of demonstration runs from the Sumo Power GT1 GT-Rs to a rather drifty articulated truck. More after the jump …
JDM Allstars Donington Alpine Drift
It has been a pretty hectic nine days here at PMCGPHOTOs. From Donington to Brands Hatch in one weekend to Paul Ricard the next. I’m going to try and catch up in the next few days with all the images from each event I covered, along with my first interior design shoot which was a nice change of pace. These shots are from the second round of the 2010 JDM Allstars series which took place on Saturday 26th of July at the Donington Park Alpine Course. The event was won by Driftworks driver Dan Chapman who defeated his teammate Phil Morrisson (pictured above) in the final. More images after the jump …
JDM Allstars Round One Coverage
This weekend gone saw me in Manchester for the first round of the JDM Allstars 2010 series. I was there to cover the event for Speedhunters alongside drift photographer extraordinaire, Ross I’Anson. Full coverage of the event is available on Speedhunters so be sure to check out the coverage from both of us there ! My own selection can be found by clicking on the Read More button …
Random Snap #6
Just returning from the UK after shooting JDM Allstars for Speedhunters.com. Have loads of news and pictures to share, but for now Alan McCord shall have to entertain you in his LS1 powered S15 Silvia.
James Deane’s SR20 RX7
Shot these last year during a brief ten minute shoot and having previously only paid attention to posting one shot I’ve tried to put together a short series of shots with a more inline style of post work. Let me know your comments, good or bad ! More after the break
Wexican Launch Drift Experience
Wexican Motorsport, have just launched their Drift Experience and officially announced their Drift Academy. Vouchers for the Experience, which make awesome Christmas presents for those loved ones with an interest in motoring or even for those you want to convert to the world of motorsport, as well as information regarding the academy can be found on www.wexicanmotorsport.com
Modified Motors Live 2009
Sunday just gone was the last major event of the year for us, the show being Modified Motors Live at Punchestown Racecourse. The event also featured what was billed as the Prodrift ‘Battle of Nations’ but it was clear from the start of the day that the event was only to be a trial day for a new battle system Prodrift wanted to have in place for 2010. More after the jump …
More Speedhunters Coverage ..
Just published the coverage of the third round of the Irish series on Speedhunters. Check out the article HERE !
Prodrift Ireland Round 3 Coverage Coming Soon …
Just uploading the shots from yesterday’s event to my flickr, full gallery and walkthrough coming soon !
Karnage Maxxis Onevia
This week gone, I got the pleasure of tackling Dean ‘Karnages’ Kearney Maxxis endorsed Nissan Onevia. The shoot turned into an eventful one, first it rained and then rained some more. It was also the first time I got to grips with my new rig, albeit in its shortest configuration as the rest hadn’t been completed in time by my fabricator. The best of the shoot after the jump …
PMCGPHOTOS.com unveils Wexican Motorsport SX-20
PMCGPHOTOS.com is proud to unveil the 2009 Wexican Motorsport SX-20, a two-litre, turbocharged, Nissan powered, Toyota Altezza for road and promotional purposes. PMCGPHOTOS.com has worked very closely with Wexican Motorsport to design a custom livery to help show off this astounding custom built car.
New Wexican Video …
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/5348448[/vimeo] After much swearing and minute adjustments, the latest Wexican Motorsport video is online. The footage features more on-board, more out-board and more action than before. The music is by Waterford band, Gorbachov and the song is titled ‘Come & Get It’ from their debut album ‘Can’t Start the Machine’ Enjoy !
2009 so far … Part I
Since the site has been inactive for so many months, I thought I’d fill you in on my 2009 so far. It all started with an AE86 owners day at Mondello Park …
Martin Ffrench Hates …
… water barriers. They are evil and must be punished. More coming soon …