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.

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 …

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 !

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 …

Full Gallery Available on Flickr

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.

by Paddy McGrath for Wexican Motorsport.

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.

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 …

for Speedhunters.com by Paddy McGrath

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 …

For Speedhunters.com by Paddy McGrath

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 …

for Speedhunters.com by Paddy McGrath

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 …

by Paddy McGrath for www.speedhunters.com