Snapshots: Simon Arron

So many memories shared with this guy, this hilarious, eccentric, knowledgeable, clever, enthusiastic friend and colleague. He never did get a proper job, just went straight from university to writing…

Longridge: Lancashire’s muddy racing jewel, long forgotten Perhaps there’s another similar venue obscured in the mists of time, but none springs to mind. Longridge was a circuit apart, crammed into…

It used to be a source of mild irritation that motor racing in north-west England shut down in October while continuing elsewhere (mostly at Brands Hatch, far beyond comfortable cycling…

For the most part, Formula 1 support cards tend to be homogenised: GP2 and GP3 in Europe and the Middle East, the Porsche Supercup or a regional equivalent at all…

For many years Silverstone was Bernie Ecclestone’s circuit enemy number one, accused of being a building site (which it wasn’t) while he mentioned nary a word about the dilapidated charm…

There are some who consider the trip from Europe to Suzuka an inconvenience – a long-haul flight followed by a significant train ride should you land in Osaka or, more…

When Formula 1 cars are unleashed at Monza this weekend, there will be few architectural surprises. Grand Prix racing has been like that for some time. There will be design…

Cigarette kiosk? Check. Blokes in Elf Team Tyrrell jackets and similar? Check. Absence of debris fencing? Check. Proximity to circuit? Check… People complain that modern racetracks tend to look the…

Classic saloons and casual observation, Oulton Park, August 14 1976 Apologies to both regular readers that there hasn’t been a Snapshot for a week or 10 – blame perpetual absence…

BMW M1 Procar, Silverstone, Brands Hatch… and Portimão The sense of acute disappointment lingers. I’d caught an early morning coach from Manchester to Silverstone, for the primary purpose of watching…

British F3 Championship, Silverstone, June 8 1980 Check photographs of a modern mainstream Formula 3 grid and it will probably look a little busier than this, but such was the…

British F3 Championship, Oulton Park, September 15, 1979 Science is powerless to explain my failure to take more paddock shots or portraits during the 1970s. That simple sentence represents countless…

Vintage Sports Car Club, Oulton Park, June 18 1977 At the time there were fears of perhaps terminal decline. Oulton Park, one of the world’s best inventions, had been sliced…

British Saloon Car Championship, Brands Hatch, July 16 1978 The support package at a modern Grand Prix meeting is a homogenised beast, with precious little diversity. This isn’t always a…

British Open Single Seater Championship, Oulton Park, October 2 1976 Remember a time when single-seater racing cars used to develop interesting CVs, long after their original purpose had been fulfilled?…

European Grand Prix, Valencia, June 25-27 2010 This column tends to thrive on the distant past, with occasional glimpses at its recent counterpart – and this week’s shots come from…

Formula Atlantic, Mallory Park, July 12 1981 In contemporary single-seater racing, you can drive almost any chassis you like… so long as it’s a Dallara, or perhaps a Tatuus. There…