013 - Random Shot - Clouded Pond

Well I still havent got round to doing Sunday's write-up but the pictures are all available on my flickr or NOW on my own site: http://www.jaypphoto.com.

Now, it can be nice to get away from shooting cars all the time, especially when it's a place like this.

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012 - Mopar Euronationals, Santa Pod - Saturday

Saturday morning brought a complete change in weather and already, by the time most people had even thought of getting up the track was being dried, swept and prepped for a new day with barely a cloud in the sky.





Already, as I walked round the pit area less than half hour after crawling out of bed there were people prepping cars for the opening of the track while others wandered, admiring the cars.





The "Vantastic" Barracuda was staying for the weekend along with the french crew, and media team.





The aptly named "Twister" model T of Andy Fadster is quite a spectacle, I'll come back to this later.





Not everything was there to race, some just came along to look pretty as demonstrated by this lovely Barracuda.





After the track opened it wasn't long before the first issues of the weekend showed up, the first of which being a small oil leak which was quickly cleaned up by the Santa Pod crew.





Action resumed shortly after with a few standard runs, followed by one of the Taz Racing chevrolet V8 powered Fiat 126's, not a car I'd want to run against.





And there's why, running consistent 9's throughout Saturday they are definately Fiats that aren't to be messed with.





Another car not to be messed with is the Ray Barton hemi powered Viper of Chris Orthodoxou, one of the few cars running 7 second quarters.





The fireup lane was full throughout Saturday, and with the sun beating down, some found it best to stay in the shade....in their cars.





The first race outing for the 1100hp road legal Barracuda of Mark Sheridan was not the most successful, with suspension issues and a lack of slicks, the beast was stuck in the 12's, still faster than a lot of cars, but it will definately run faster.





What british drag event would be complete without the UK's fastest road legal car. Andy Frost's "Red Victor" ran low 8's and high 7's all weekend....until it could take no more and broke.





As always, the resident Jet Car was on hand to provide a bit of different entertainment, and it did well, running a 5.945 and a 5.925 on saturday, first 5 second run for 2 years if I heard correctly.





Remember kids; pinstriping isn't just for low-riders, it also looks awesome on race helmets.





The lunch break gave a break from both racing, and the sun, bringing a bit of cloud cover, perfect for sitting in the fireup lane.





The Audi Quattro of John Sleath is yet another 7 second, road legal car, in fact it's the first 7 second road legal car in the UK.





Burnouts are - of course - a common sight at an event like this, they look great most of the time....they look better as the sun starts to set.





Twin turbos producing 1700hp is a great way to get some smoke from the rear tyres, it's also a great way to run 9's.





Well, as I said earlier, this is quite an aptly named model T, here it is doing what it does best, getting the wheels up for another 9 second run.





Even as the sun was setting, cars queued up in the fireup lane ready for 1 last run.





Eventually, the sun set behind the grass banking, the racing stopped for the night and people packed up and headed back to camp or for some, home.
Saturday was a good day, almost a full 11 hours racing and a full days sun, brilliant despite the "Pod Lobster" many people suffered from including myself, still peeling now, a week after.

As always the pictures can be checked out on my flickr HERE

And the write up for Sunday will be put up as soon as it's done.

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011 - Mopar Euronationals, Santa Pod - Friday

Every year, late in July comes a time when muscle cars and their owners from around the UK, France, Germany (and many other countries) find a new home for the weekend, that home being a small, quiet part of the English countryside....well, until they arrive of course. Being 16 and not shooting for a magazine means it's pretty much impossible to get a press pass, so unfortunately there are no trackside shots, but I'll show you what this weekend's like from my point of view.





Friday, being the quietest of the 3 days generally allows for testing and tuning of vehicles before the main crowd of people arrive early Saturday morning, however this year was, unfortunatley not the case. After setting up camp the track was being prepared for opening around 1pm, however the storm clouds overhead decided otherwise, giving 3 storms with the track only just being dried between each one, though between storms I also got the chance to get some pictures without getting myself, and my equipment completely soaked.





Not long after a storm, this '57 Belair still looks smooth, even in its reflection.





Although it's primarily an event for american muscle, there's always a bit of variation.





As always, the Friday evening brought the traditional cruise which, unfortunately we didn't attend, but plenty of people went and enjoyed the KFC goodness.





And a cruise wouldn't be complete without some fun in the live arena, as demonstrated by a lovely yellow Charger.

Well, that's about all that can be said for Friday. The rest of the weekend will be on the way when I get it sorted, but for now, you can check out fridays pics on my flickr...

HERE

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