shutterchatter

With access to the Track and Pit Lane for the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, I was like a kid in a candy shop.

This prestigious Festival of Racing is a tough testing ground for the potential future world champion’s. In 1998 the newly crowned FIA F1 driver Jenson Button stood on the podium taking top honours, with naked ambition and reputations to enhance, the Sports 2000 and the BRSCC Formula 3 Championships represent significant rungs in the ladder to Formula 1 success.

Knowing I couldn’t compete with the seasoned Action Sports Photographers who were lugging camera’s with telescopes attached to them around, I with my relatively piddly 300mm Lens decided to bring a bit of Happy Glam to the party in the shape of Lauren Dunn.

We teamed up with AH RACING who were slightly flabbergasted, but very willing to allow us access to their cars and tools for our inpromptu photo shoot, the team started competing at Brands Hatch 4 years ago, now running with 3 cars in the Duratec and Pinto classes driver Mike Johns achieved his and the team’s best result to date with 3rd overall in the Historic Class.

The Historic Class may not sound hardcore, but driving with no ABS or traction control at breakneck speed, with 20 other speed freaks tearing after you is certifiable so AH RACING we salute you. Starting his career in Formula 1 stock cars, mechanic Alan Henderson then progressed to historic touring cars working on BMW, Lotus and Cortina’s, motor racing has been a life-long obsession, we hope we brightened up his day and thank him sincerely for his co-operation, let’s hope his missus doesn’t read this.

As we set up Alan whipped out his phone camera and joked “I’ll tell the missus we have a new pit crew member” as Lauren started to get warmed up, he then piped up “Actually I’d better not, she’d never let me come back!” we all fell about laughing for a couple of minutes, except for the mechanics of the other team sharing the pit, who were all still stood open mouthed not quite sure what to do with themselves.

We toured the entire complex and managed to get up to the TV Gantry, this is where Lauren came into her own, wearing 6 inch red stiletto’s is challenging at the best of times, (not that I’d know…….honestly!) doing it while balancing precariously on a stainless steel hatched floor while throwing down vogue moves is the mark of a true professional.