My Blog...trackside with the cameras
Photoparazzi 'Lockdown' Blog 2020
Update 1st November 2020
Day 223....the day England went back into full lockdown for four weeks. Yes a grim day!
End of September the German V Japanese Car Club staged a very well organised and covid safe ticketed event at Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking Surrey. We drove our Mercedes 350 SL to join in the fun. Fabulous location and 100's of cars attended. It was so well organised and proved that it is possible to stage outdoor car meets with the right organisation. Having been cooped up for so long car enthusiasts were glad and relieved to get out and meet like minded people.
Concours of Elegance 2020. For the fourth consecutive year the celebration of the Worlds' most beautiful cars was held within the stunning Fountain gardens of Hampton Court Palace. The event brought together a selection of 60 of the rarest cars from around the World many of which had never before been seen in the UK.
The epic battle at LeMans 1966 between legendary rivals Ferrari and Ford was narrated for visitors during a competitive display between the GT40 and the Ferrari 250LM
To many be the the most stunning car was the Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Gangloff and the vehicle which possibly fascinated the most had to be the The Leyat Helica
Winning Best in Show at the Concours of Elegance was the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning Porsche 917K, one of the most famous cars in motorsport history
Day 151 Lockdown
Officially lockdown finished on June 23rd replaced by restrictions, limitations and guidelines.
We were treated to a very pleasant surprise this week.Very pleasant surprise. The London Concours went ahead as originally planned. The organisers did a magnificent job keeping Exhibitors and visitors safe with the strict Covid precautions in place. The weather was not kind on the day we attended but our climate does have a mind of its own....the following day was glorious sunshine. One could hear a pin drop walking through the City but one inside the grounds of The Honorable Artillery CompanyIn addition the the array of exotic cars from around the globe for the first time Concours presented 'Speed of Sand’ – a class dedicated to the world of hot rods. Other main classes were ‘Convertible: The Golden Era’ , ‘The Pursuit of Speed’ and ‘Lancia Legends’.
UPDATE 1st August 2020
We are now Day 131 Lockdown!
Summer holidays are cancelled and the race is still on to erase this virus from our lives and return to some kind of normality. As each day passes it becomes more apparent that a new normality will eventually be the new 'norm'
Events are cancelled or postponed and just as restrictions were beginning to ease the belt is being tightened again.
With regard to car events we are enjoying a few small local gatherings for enthusiasts to dust off their classics and meet up in local parking facilities. They are very low key and participants are being very cautious keeping the required distance and wearing masks if necessary. We are, of course, delighted to include images of these local events here.
The next significant event photoparazzi has been Accredited to cover is the wonderful Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace between 4-6 September. We sincerely hope this very prestigious event will go ahead as planned and look forward to displaying images from the event on this website, Attendance at London Concours later in August have yet to be confirmed. In the meantime we must all play our part by washing our hands, keeping our distance and wearing our masks. Simple really!! Stay safe x
Since the last update in March we are now several weeks in to lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
We are ALL doing our bit to stop the spread of this virus so with this in mind we are keeping a low profile and look forward to resuming normal activity once we are sure that good health is not at risk.
In the meantime we have been going through our archives of travel photographs. These usually get neglected and placed in files for 'future reference'. This quiet time of isolation and 'staying at home' is a perfect opportunity to publish our favourites in the Gallery 'Destinations' We hope you enjoy and maybe recognise destinations you have also visited.
The New Years Day Gathering at Brooklands Museum is always an excellent way to kick start the New Year. 2020 was exceptional with almost 8000 visitors and over 1500 classic cars of all marques filling the Brooklands site.
January is also Autosport International month and once again Photoparazzi was delighted to cover this favoured event for all Motorsport enthusiasts and fans.
To date in 2020 we have covered Veteran Sports Car Club Driving Tests at Brooklands Museum and the London Classic Car Show which was held at Olympia, an iconic location for this wonderful show.
Sadly everything came to a halt in March. Brooklands Museum temporarily closed its doors until further notice, events at Goodwood were either postponed or cancelled and many other events hang in the balance.
It will be a while yet until mass gatherings will take place and we all look forward to supporting our favourite shows, events, race meetings and museums etc
Thank you for visiting Photoparazzi and your support. We look forward to returning soon and in the meantime 'Keep Safe'
Rob Walker Centenary Festival - Dorking
To view the full gallery of the Festival please copy and paste the following link in your browser
http://www.photoparazzi.com/p1068191593
Surrounded by the Surrey Hills the Market Town of Dorking was the setting for The Rob Walker Centenary Festival on Sunday.
The Historic Racing Car Parade filled Dorking town centre with the sounds of race engines which included Ferraris, Surtees, Lotus and Cooper and a more modern Surtees TS14B.
, on what was most certainly an exceptional event for local residents and visiting Motor Sport enthusiasts.
Rob Walker was the last privateer F1 entrant whose Garage was in Pipbrook, Dorking. Between 1949 and 1968 the Rob Walker Team won 9 Formula One World Championships Grand Prix including three Monaco Grand Prix. Drivers behind the wheel during these races included Stirling Moss, Mike Hailwood and Maurice Tringant.
Autumn Motorsport Day - Brooklands Museum & Mercedes Benz World
To sede all the images taken at the Auto Italia Autumn Motorsport Day please copy and paste the following link in your browser?
http://www.photoparazzi.com/p207411165
Following a run of superb weather the Auto Italia Autumn Motorsport Day at Brooklands Museum and Mercedes Benz World sadly fell victim to a day of continuous rain.
However, spirits were not dampened and the show carried on.
Unfortunately the quantity of cars in the Paddock suffered but the rain reduced to drizzle at Midday for the parade at Mercedes Benz World.
The weather held off enough for the Napier Railton to be driven out of the Campbell Shed at Brooklands Museum and participate in the Mercedes Benz World parade
Japanese Sunday - Goodwood Breakfast Club
Up at 5.00am and on the road an hour later en route to Goodwood for Japanese Sunday Goodwood Breakfast Club.
We arrived at 7.00am, it was still pretty dark and the circuit was almost full! Such is the draw of the Goodwood Breakfast Club meetings.
As always a varied selection of cars (all Japanese of course) old, new, classics and supercars lined the circuit.
When the sun came out it highlighted the wonderful colours of autumn showcased in the Sussex countryside visible from the circuit.
Lots of visitors out for a morning stroll to admire the cars and enjoy a delicious hot Goodwood breakfast.
No hanging around...enthusiasts have to arrive early as by 11.00am most are on their way home for lunch. The clue to the event is in the title!
Copy and paste the following link into your browser to see all photos taken at Japanese Sunday.
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Supercar Sunday. Auto Italia Supercar Sunday Brooklands Museum
You only have to whisper the word 'Supercar' and and the alert goes out. Such was the case at Brooklands Museum when hundreds of Supercars descended on the site to be admired and also participate in a parade on the Mercedes Benz circuit.
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