Photographing British Superbikes – A walk in the (Donington) Park
Report By David and Andrew Harbey
22 April 2025


A quiet winter with little motorsport photography meant that the recent chances to get out with the camera have been welcome. Whilst various race meetings have already taken place, British Superbikes test days are firm confirmation that the two wheeled season is really underway. Donington hosted two days of testing at the Easter weekend – complete with new Hyundai branding.

Friday saw Glenn Irwin set the best-ever British Superbikes lap round the fast, flowing and picturesque track that straddles the Derbyshire / Leicestershire border. There had been some comment among photographic types about the new fence at the exit of the Esses – this usually triggers some misty-eyed reminiscences among older folk of days gone by – as illustrated by a couple of my Dad’s photos. We’ll talk fences later.


Donington Park Redgate
Overnight rain meant that when Andrew Harbey and I arrived just after 9am on Saturday the track was still damp. We started the day on the inside at Redgate in time for the first session of the day for the British Talent Cup / British Superteen runners.

A little panning practice to get the eye in started the day. We were using our usual kit here – Andrew with his Nikon D780 and my Nikon D850 paired with 300mm and 500mm primes plus a 1.4 teleconverter which gives a useful 420mm focal length with the 300mm prime.
Some runners were finding the track tricky with lowish ambient temperatures and, to start with, grey skies. There was also a distinct breeze.


British Superbikes Sessions
The first of the British Superbikes sessions was due to start at 10.20 – but it was all eerily quiet. The BSB commentator did a fine job of filling – getting down to the pitlane to interview anyone he could find. The message was fairly unanimous – no point in going out when the track is like this, we will learn nothing (and it’s risky) so wait for it to dry.
Well, I get all that, but I did reflect that this year we had paid to get in (it used to be free) which might be thought to carry some sort of obligation. On the other hand, there’s no way I’d go out there on a bike. Eventually, a few of the BSB riders emerged to do a few laps. Nine of them for a total of 37 laps in a one hour session …

Leon Haslam had an issue with his new bike which left him up to his ankles in Redgate’s finest, although he is very up-beat for the new season after the two days of the test.

Donington Park Goddards
Time to move on and revisit a location that I had returned to at the GT Cup meeting a couple of weeks previously. In the early days of Donington, as we saw above, there was no fencing, just the concrete walls you see today and wooden fence a few feet back. So, a shot at Goddards was easy – this is from the Metro race at the annual Rallysprint in around 1980.

Now there is the metal fencing to shoot through and the wooden spectator fence is also much further back than it used to be. Armed with the 500mm prime and then adding the teleconverter (so 700mm) and remembering the golden rules – right angles to the fence and largest aperture possible, I tried my luck.

I was quite pleased with the results, so moved to the corner of the fence to look back at the entrance to Goddards. This definitely needed the 700mm focal length and standing on a step to get the best possible angle through the fence. Again – I was reasonably happy with the results. This would be a good angle for early race action.

Donington Park Esses Outside
Needing some fence-free time, it was off to the inside of the Esses by the marshals post for a favourite Donington location. The step is useful here to clear the wall and it gives a really good shot into and out of the Esses.


The outside of the Esses remains a fence free area in part at least. There’s a rear shot as the riders head to the Melbourne Hairpin and various angles as they try to make the chicane as straight as possible as they rattle over the kerbs.

Donington Park Esses Inside
It was time for a little slow shutter speed fun. It’s an easy pan here so anything down to 1/100th second, like this, should give decent results with practice.

Why stop there ? This is at 1/10th second – but we may be entering “Marmite” territory here.

Donington Park Coppice
With a dry track and the second BSB session due soon after lunch it was time to walk across to Coppice. I started on the outside of the corner – it is back to shooting through the fence and a step is useful. Keep an eye on the sunshine reflecting on the fence here – that’s why you can occasionally see black paint on the fence – the difference it makes is significant. As testing was not televised, there were no additional higher advertising banners giving a clear view of the riders. Beware of this at major meetings for two or four wheels.

I enjoy this location which gives views of my home county as far as Crich Stand on a good day. There’s also a view down towards the Esses in the other direction. A long line of Talent Cup competitors would look good here !


The inside of Coppice is a favourite spot and was proving very popular. A step is really essential to clear the wall. I started off with the 70-200mm zoom but soon added the 1.4 teleconverter. 200mm is fine for cars, bikes need a little more reach. Oh, and the obligatory plane and bike shot – the planes seemed very low …



Donington Park Esses
Walking back to the Esses, there is constant fence, but, whereas I would normally keep walking, I took a few panned shots at the exit of Coppice and further down the straight. It’s worth persevering here especially as the quicker bikes lift the front wheel as they come over the slight crest by the marshals post.

Back to the inside of the Esses for some 1/125th / 1/100th second panning shots using the 70-200mm zoom this time. At faster shutter speeds, this shot is very messy with spectators and fencing behind the rider, but the slower shutter speed, blurring and fence lines to my eye, at least, makes for a better image.

A few shots on the outside of the Esses includes a modest entry for Wheelie Wednesday.

Donington Park Esses Exit
The exit of the Esses, looking back, used to be shootable from the top of the spectator bank, but alas no more. The new fencing is tall and shiny silver coloured. This is not good for us spectator snappers. There is still a shot through the fence by the marshals post. This image was taken at a 700mm focal length. You will have to dodge the marshals and, from time to time, their flag waving.

There is one piece of better news. The new fence has not been extended all the way to the Melbourne Hairpin, so there is still a shot from the top of the bank over the fence to the entrance to Goddards – just need to get them to hide the red bins on race days now.

British Superbikes Paddock
While I was up at Coppice, Andrew decided a hot chocolate and a wander round the British Superbikes paddock with the 24-120mm zoom lens was a better idea. Here’s some of what he found.




In the end a good day out despite the rather slow start to the action. There are still lots of fence free shots at Donington – pretty much all the way from Redgate to Coppice on the inside of the track – and, of course, there needs to be a balance between the needs of safety and spectator snappers. There are better, and worse, tracks to shoot at!
Davids and Andrews Flicker gallery can be found by clicking the image below.

If you would like to see more of Davids images you can follow these links.
All of the PistonClick British Superbikes reports can be found here.
