The off-season is a well established concept in motor racing. Formula 1 packs up for the winter and all motorsport stops until it kicks off again in April. Not quite; Endurance racing continues around the world, notably in the Gulf. Formula E is a winter series too and the Kiwis in New Zealand run their main championships in their summer, which is our winter. The UK keeps going too with rallying throughout the winter, Britcar went well into November and then there is the annual Plum Pudding Races at Mallory Park.
The format is simple. Sessions last around 15 minutes with Practice first followed by two races for each group. The grid is set in a novel way, the order of entries sets the race 1 starting order while race two is a full reverse grid affair with retirements from race 1 starting at the back. Its an All-Comers style race with almost anything which meets the noise limits allowed to compete in one of four races. Saloon Cars, Sportscars, Solo Motorcycles and Motorcycles and Sidecar.
We thought we should take a look at this British festive motor-racing institution, which is now into its 42nd year so we sent our GT and Endurance photographer to walk off the Christmas cheer in Leicestershire. Its a bit of a challenge though, Nick has never been to Mallory Park and has never photographed bikes before. Here is what he brought back:
All the images on this page are credit: Nick Smith/TheImageTeam.com.