Walter Hayes Trophy – Formula Ford Autumn Fun Part 2

How often have you looked across at those guys and gals in their media tabards and wondered how you could get that side of the fence?  I have, many times, especially at Silverstone which over the years has made many changes to accommodate their headline acts of F1 and MotoGP.

It’s my local circuit, yet the one I least enjoy for motorsport photography. Our guide for spectator snappers can be found here – but be warned – the fences seem to get higher every year.

In our first report of Autumn FF action, I reported on the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch as a normal spectator. Jason Smyth, pictured below at Druids, won the Festival – could he do the double a week later at the Walter Hayes Trophy in another weekend of Formula Ford action? This time at Silverstone on the short National circuit.

Alfa Romeo Owners Club

I have supplied photos to the editor of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club magazine for a number of year. A chance conversation (and having the relevant Public Liability Insurance cover) led to me collecting my blue media tabard for the weekend. The brief was to shoot the final rounds of the Alfa Romeo and Italian Intermarque Championship. The presence of the Walter Hayes Trophy over the weekend was a distinct bonus!

Boy, what a difference it makes somewhere like Silverstone! Well, where to go and what to do? The low and very bright sun meant that care would be required. Regular readers will know that a favourite PistonClick spot is E on the guide – just at the back of the Village Grandstand looking back to Becketts. Now I was allowed to go through the gate and walk down to the marshals post with a fence free view to Escapade, Becketts and the Wellington Straight.

There’s still the fences and parked cars in the background. However, there is much more flexibility in the range of images that are possible. Also you don’t need to worry about shooting through the fence.

I stayed there for the qualifying session for the Alfas.

Walter Hayes Trophy Saturday

For the afternoon, I first dropped in on the assembly area for the first of the Walter Hayes Trophy heats.

I then moved to the Brooklands / Luffield section (F&A on the guide).  Again, it goes without saying that being in front of the fence is much more flexible. Although you do need to be conscious that the fence is there for a reason and you are now in front of, rather than behind, it!  Essentially you can concentrate more on composing the image.

Walter Hayes Trophy Sunday

With overnight rain, the track was still damp on Sunday morning. Although the weather was again bright with the sun casting deep shadows. There was pleasing spray off the wheels of the Formula Fords for their Progression race. I decided to start the day at Copse. (B on the guide) where again, the opportunity to stand in front of the fence is a game changer.

The Monoposto Series qualifying kept the marshals exercised.

The Alfa race was up next and a mix of damp conditions. Good tyre choice and some brave driving saw the guest Punto well up the order in the early running! Keeping inside the white lines and proceeding round the track in the correct direction was sometimes an issue!

I then moved to the Becketts / Wellington spot from Saturday. Escapade does provide an interesting backdrop here and better than the scaffolding you get from the spectator area by the Village Grandstand.

I rounded out the weekend around Brooklands and Luffield for the FF semi-finals and Grand Final.

Allcomers Mutton GP

Plus the mysteriously titled Allcomers Mutton GP – and when we say allcomers, we mean allcomers – from an A35 to a Nissan GTR.

Amazingly there were few incidents although when the GTR tagged an Alfa he was lapping, the resulting tyre smoke was spectacular !

Walter Hayes Trophy Grand Final

As the various finals played out for different generations of cars, we eventually reached the Grand Final. Festival winner Jason Smyth had only qualified 13^th following a penalty in his semi-final and nearly didn’t take to the track. Good job he did, by a third of the way through the race he was leading. Although the leading pack were swapping places corner by corner!

The lovely evening light was courtesy of a Silverstone sunset – it’s always worth turning round – and Smyth prevailed to do the Festival / Walter Hayes double in 2025

Photographic Post Script – MotorSport Accreditation

How do I reflect on my time in the tabard? Well, aside from “when can I have one again, please?” it transforms shooting motorsport at Silverstone especially on the National Circuit which for the spectator snapper is pretty much going to be shooting through the fence all of the time.

No doubt many readers, like me, have seen social media posts asking how to get accreditation for motorsport (typically F1, it seems!). I’m no expert and am grateful for the opportunities I have had this year to go beyond the fence.

Portfolio

It seems to me that it is largely a bottom-up process – build a portfolio from spectator areas. Not all UK tracks are as fence heavy as Silverstone, think about other aspects of the sport – hillclimbing, motocross, karting, for example.

Social Media

Use social media, talk to teams, championships, drivers and see what opportunities they may have. If it is four wheeled motor sport, send your photos into Motorsport News for their readers photos section (it got me noticed).

Web Sites

Use our website, PistonClick. There are numerous ways to get published on the site. Often, but not always, there will be a lead photojournalist at the most popular events. They will write the words and take the photos. You can submit your images to be included in these reports; you will be credited and have your social media link included. 

The gold-plated solution for the site editor is a report and images submitted just by you of an event the rest of the team are not covering. Contact the editor at admin@pistonclick.com for more information.

You will probably be shooting club racing to start with. The competitors will probably be funding their racing through their own pockets; you may have to invest similarly.

Equipment

Don’t worry if you haven’t got the latest mirrorless kit with the longest zoom lens ever. Use what you have in the right places, think about the image, the background, the story it tells. Pick your best MotorSport images. Don’t post photos of moving cars with pin sharp wheels or images with visible fence patterns in front of the cars or bikes – put those down to experience!

Public Liability Insurance

Get your Public Liability Insurance in place. When that opportunity arises you are ready to go – it’s not that expensive. Oh, and be ready to go out on the wettest, windiest day to shoot for your client. I was very fortunate with Silverstone in November.

Finally, don’t assume that you will make your fortune. There’s some excellent moving pictures of the weekend’s action here.

Saturday stream

Sunday stream

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