Knockhill circuit outing

[Peter]

A number of people expressed an interest in popping up to the circuit for an club event. It's a good opportunity to get those 'action' shots for next years competition.

I've called the circuit and they confirmed that spectator access is free for any mid-week track day event. Looking at the upcoming event list, the two that would seem to offer the best action and most interesting vehicles on track are: Hot Marques Tuesday 1st June or Classic Marques Thursday 3rd June. Both events run from 6pm to 8pm. The full events list is here: http://trackdays.knockhill.com/index.php?page=1

We can get access to all spectator areas around the track. You can either park in the main car park behind the pits and walk around or drive around the access road and park at any of the corners. There are plenty of banked areas around the track so it shouldn't be a problem to get pictures without the safety fences in shot.

[Dougie]

I fancy the Classic Marque 

[Fred]

  great stuff I'll go to both nights + Vera & Katie so thats 3  Guys remember
the 3rd June is the start of Garding Scotland and the only day you can get on site with no Public but that ends around 5
Cheers..

[Stuart R]

HI

Can't make it for these dates but I see there are other dates in July and August so will deffo go then

very interested to see some of the shots and how good the access is

Cheers

Stuart

[Gidders]

Fancy 1st June - may ahve a friend interested as well

Ian G

[Bobk]

I would like to go on the Tuesday night. Bob Kelly

[craigt]

Can definitely make Tuesday and possibly Thursday as well (going to Gardening Scotland on Thursday too).

Craig

[angelsj]

doing gardening scotland thurs and fri if theres any other days your going let me know

[otooleg]

I assume these are all car related - do we have any details regarding the bike competitions that take place here?

George

[Peter]

I assume these are all car related - do we have any details regarding the bike competitions that take place here?

George

George, the bike track days/nights are listed here http://trackdays.knockhill.com/bike-trackdays.php.

When I called Knockhill they said any mid-week public track event is free admission for spectators so most on the above page would be free (I guess Friday is not mid-week?)

If you do plan to go, post in this thread as others might be interested and could share fuel costs.

Peter

[Willie]

Hi Peter,

Both Deb and I would be interested in attending both events, we would like to share a ride if possible. Thanks for setting this up!

Best - Willie

[Louise G]

ill def come trying to do some motor sport this year 2 butthis sounds more fun

[Peter]

An update for next Tuesday (Hot Marques) and Thursday (Classic Cars).

Can anyone who is planning to go and will be taking their car please drop me a note of which night(s) and how many spare seats they have. I've had a few requests for transport, more than the 3 seats I'll have available, so I'll try to co-ordinate it.

The cars will be on track at 6pm for two hours. I suggest we try to get their for 6:30pm which would mean leaving Mid Calder at 6pm. Sorry if this is a bit early for those getting home from work but that's when it's on.

Directions:

Cross the Forth Road Bridge on the M90 and continue up. Turn off at junction 4. At the top of the slip road, turn left onto the A909 and continue on for 1.7 miles then take the right turn onto the B914 for 1.8 miles. Then at the crossroads, take the right turn onto the A823 which passes around the north side of the circuit. There are signs to the track from just before junction 4 on the motorway so it should be easy to get there.

We'll park between the International circuit and the Go Kart track (small wishbone shaped track at the top of the picture below).



Kit to bring:

If you have an SLR, bring the fastest long lens you have, 100mm upwards is perfect. I've found panning shots (where the car is sharp but the background is blurred to give the impression of speed) easiest with the camera handheld but tripods can be used too. If you do use a tripod, make sure it's level with the race track, not the ground you're standing on.

Settings:

For panning shots:
- set the shutter mode to continuous (away from single shot or remote release) at the fastest speed possible.
- either set the camera to Active Focus (AF-C on Nikon, not sure what it's called on Canon) where it will try to keep a moving object in focus, or switch off Auto Focus and manually focus on the point where you know the car will be.
- set the camera mode to Shutter priority ('S' on Nikon, 'Tv' on Canon)
- set the speed to around 1/160th second to begin with, the camera will pick the aperture.
- Pick a point on the car such as the wing mirror or door handle and try to keep it in the AF point in the viewfinder, rotating your upper body as it passes.
- Press and hold the shutter button and rattle off a few shots as it passes.

If the car is sharp (zoom right in on the LCD to a point on the car to check) then you can try lowering the shutter speed to 1/100, 1/60, 1/30 until you get to the point where the car isn't so sharp then increase the shutter speed back up one step.

As light fades, it might be possible to get some light trails with long exposures as the cars brake into the corners, you'll need a tripod and maybe a remote release for this.

This might also be one time when it's best to shoot JPEG rather than RAW, as some SLR's shoot more frames-per-second in JPEG mode. Remember it's digital so the duds don't cost anything!

Good vantage points to shoot from are the straight (where we'll be parked), the hairpin (far left in the map above) and the corner at the bottom right of the map.

My mobile number is 07796 274682 if anyone needs to get in touch on the night.