Have you ever taken a photograph of your daughter on her wedding day, and wondered why her wedding dress looked off white or even grey when reviewing the photo? Or perhaps a holiday snap while skiing in the Snowy Mountains and couldn't quite figure out why the snow looked dirty instead of the unblemished white you remember? Maybe at the other end of the spectrum, you've done some night time photography and the photo looked lighter than it should? Or perhaps photographed a stunning black racing car only for it to turn out a dull dark grey? Well that's because of how your camera's sensor meters the light. This is where overexposure and underexposure enter the equation.
    Remember photography is simply pausing a moment in time by capturing the light. Despite camera technology constantly improving and their sensors becoming more sophisticated by being able to discern colours more discreetly, the sensors still largely see everything between the extremes of white and black. Consequentially, they try to meter every subject as an average of the two or a "middle grey". That's why your daughter's wedding dress or your snow looks off white, or your night time shots look too light, or your black car looks dark grey. To compensate, you need to overexpose your predominantly white subjects and underexpose your dark subjects. But why would I overexpose something white when there's obviously a lot of light reflecting off it you ask? Or why would I underexpose a black car when it's already dark you ask? Remember as previously stated, your camera will try and turn everything into a middle grey. Therefore overexposing your lighter subjects will bring it back to white and underexposing your dark subjects will move them back to black.
    Take a look at the image of the beautiful 1968 Brabham from the recent Sydney Classic attached with this post. We underexposed this shot by only just under a full stop to maintain its wonderful dark colour. If we didn't, it would've looked too light bordering on grey and not been a true representation. The camera settings are in the caption. There is also an artistic reason for underexposing as well. Underexposing is useful for bringing out the riches of colour as well. Handy if photographing flowers, sunsets or motorsport for that matter. 
    While we have never professed to be photographic experts, we hope these tips help and remember, these tips mainly concern DSLR camera users. Check out our Final Sector page, click on the images and you'll see our camera settings to further spark some ideas. Happy shooting....
    

    Since 1957 Motorsport Australia (formerly Confederation of Australian Motorsport or CAMS) have presided over one of Australia's longest running motorsport championships, the Australian Drivers' Championship. This championship is attained by the driver who wins the series of the top complying open wheel category as determined by Motorsport Australia. They are awarded the prestigious Gold Star. In the past the Gold Star has been contested in categories such as  Formula Libre, Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2, Formula Holden and Formula Brabham. Not only international drivers but the best home grown talent have vied  for Gold Star honours. Many have gone on to forge remarkable international careers. Past winners include such illustrious names like Lex Davison, Stan Jones, 4 time winners Bib Stillwell and Alfredo Costanzo, John Bowe, Mark Skaife, Paul Stokell, David Brabham, Will Power and Scott Dixon. From 2005 to 2014 Formula 3 has been the disputed category with drivers like Tim Macrow, Ben Barker and most recently Simon Hodge enjoying the winning spoils.
    Unfortunately dwindling entries in Formula 3 were the catalyst for shelving the Gold Star at the end of 2014. However in 2021, Motorsport Australia have resurrected the Australian Drivers' Championship and deemed the new S5000 series worthy of the Gold Star. S5000 is a modern take of F5000 which ran in the 1970's, attracting the then current F1 drivers "Down Under" in the F1 off season to battle for the coveted Tasman Cup. Big banger 5 litre V8 open wheelers producing around 560bhp with big rubber focussing on mechanical grip with minimal aerodynamics. They look the part. They sound the part and they've got the speed to match. The recent Sydney Motorsport Park round crowned Joey Mawson of Team BRM the latest recipient of the Gold Star. 
​    So where does this leave Formula 3? Coinciding with the cessation of the Gold Star, in 2015, Motorsport Australia commenced with great fanfare the start of the FIA sanctioned Formula 4 championship. A worthy stepping stone for young drivers wishing to progress their burgeoning careers from karting to open wheelers. A fantastic introduction to wings and slicks racing. Despite our best efforts to promote Formula 3, petitioning for a support bill at the Australian F1 Grand Prix or a return to Mt Panorama, we questioned whether both categories could co-exist. Formula 4's entry numbers never quite fulfilled Motorsport Australia's ambitions. Fast forward 5 years and Formula 4 is now defunct in Australia, yet still prominent in Europe, UK, Asia, USA and South America. The knock on effect to Formula 3 in Australia is that numbers dwindled further and the category receives virtually no multimedia exposure.  
    Now with S5000 being the complying category for the Gold Star, will it be endorsed in a fashion that guarantees its longevity? Are we to see these thunderous machines for years to come? Well, they've made an excellent start with a support
card for the Australian F1 GP, supporting some Supercar events and featuring as part of the Motorsport Australia Championships which are streamed live and on free-to-air TV. Now for the 2021-2022 forthcoming season we have a series within a series, the International Triple Header. Desiring to attract some international drivers we have 3 events in 3 weeks, the Australian F1 GP, the inaugural Bathurst International at Mt Panorama and the Gold Coast 500 as part of the Supercars finale. As exciting as this is, has anyone remembered that Formula 3 are still contesting their championship during the Gold Coast weekend at The Bend in South Australia? You see our point?
    We've asked the question before, but we'll ask it again. Are there simply too many different motorsport categories in Australia? With S5000 moving from strength to strength, will the repercussion be that Formula 3 in Australia be no longer seen as a viable stepping stone and be shown the blue flag and lapped into oblivion?
​    Yours with maximum downforce and low drag. Chao....            

    Undoubtedly Netflix's intriguing series "Drive To Survive" covering Formula One's behind the scenes machinations has provided a wider comprehension to us seasoned fans, but also attracted a vast number of new fans to this fascinating sport. People have mentioned to us that they never considered watching F1. Drive To Survive has changed all that. Now they wait with baited breath for the next instalment of F1 racing. Broadening F1's fanbase and keeping them enthralled has prompted the governing body to refresh the weekend's racing format. Introducing  Saturday Sprint Qualifying Races. 
    In 2021, 3 events will have a Saturday 100km sprint race which will determine the starting grid for Sunday's Grand Prix. Two held at European events, mooted at the British and Italian GP's. The third at an overseas event, possibly the Brazilian GP. To summarise, Friday will consist of Free Practise One of 60 minutes duration, followed by Qualifying as we currently know it to set grid positions for Saturday's sprint race. Saturday will comprise Free Practise Two and the 100km Qualifying Sprint Race in the afternoon which sets the grid positions for the Grand Prix itself. Sunday will feature the Grand Prix as always. The Saturday race will have no compulsory pit stop and championship points will be awarded to the top three place getters. 3 points for first, 2 for second and 1 for third. We won't go into the tyre allocation restrictions at this point, but the top 10 qualifiers do not have to start the GP on the tyres with which they qualified on. The cars enter parc ferme conditions before qualifying on Friday.
    The Saturday sprint races could potentially add some favourable or perhaps not so favourable tangents to the weekend. The cars towards the back of the grid will certainly be racing as hard as possible to improve their starting positions for the Grand Prix. But what of the guys in the middle or even the front of the grid? If you're starting in P8, are you liable to send one up the inside of the car in front with two laps to go, knowing in the back of your mind that improving your grid spot by one place will still have you starting on the fourth row for the GP? Would the guys starting on the front row dice just as hard into Turn 1 knowing that if they took each other out, they would be starting at the back of the grid for the GP? While we hope parc ferme conditions after Friday practise will relieve the team's mechanic's workload, a crash in the sprint race will put them back under the pump. Contrarily, would the drivers starting in say P4 or 5 race as hard as they would in the GP knowing that an improvement at the chequered flag would not only move them closer to the front for the GP grid, but also garner them championship points? Or simply, once the lights go out, would racing drivers just be racing drivers and let the red mist descend? The unknown to us humble punters will be fascinating.
    The current knockout qualifying session builds the tension up nicely, so we're pleased that that remains. Now we have extra racing to escalate the excitement. We as fans are the winners. Edge of the chair stuff eh?
        

    Greetings motorsport fans. At last the green flag has dropped and we're back to track action for 2021. We hope you are all enduring and caring for each other while the global pandemic changes the way that we live. In Australia we've been blessed by being minimally impacted compared to the majority of the world. Our prayers are still going out to you.
    With a delayed start Down Under to the motorsport season, we are finally underway. We trust you are enjoying Part 1 of our 2 part special of the Bathurst 6 Hour supported by Motorsport Australia Championships from Mt Panorama, Bathurst. Part 1 covers the Saturday of the event, while Part 2 will feature Sunday, largely focussing on the 6 Hour race for Production Cars. 
    Now it's time to outline the rest of the 2021 motorsport season's events we hope to attend and share with you.       
    1-2nd May - Motorsport Australia Championships at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP), featuring TCR Australia Series, S5000, Touring Car Masters, Radical Australia Cup and Trans Am.
    12-13th June - Sydney Classic at SMSP featuring historic racing.
    1st August - NSW Motor Race Championships at SMSP featuring Formula Ford.
    21-22nd August - Sydney SuperNight at SMSP featuring Supercars.
    4-5th September - Sydney Masterblast at SMSP featuring Muscle Car Masters and Radical Australia Cup.
    18-21st November - Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne.
   26-28th November - Bathurst International at Mt Panorama, Bathurst featuring TCR Bathurst 500, S5000, Trans Am, Touring Car Masters and GT World Challenge 3 Hour Endurance Race.
    While we will endeavour to attend the aforementioned events, they are subject to change. Stay safe, look out for each other, and we'll be back with Part 2 of our 2 part special of the Bathurst 6 Hour. Cheers and God bless.... 

    We are in the midst of Formula One history being made and unprecedented dominance. Mercedes have now compiled 7 Constructor's Championships on the trot. Their star driver, Lewis Hamilton has now accumulated 7 Driver's Championships equalling the great Michael Schumacher and in the process become F1's most winningest driver which currently sits on 95 victories. Now it's been announced that he is set to be honoured with a knighthood. Is the Mercedes/ Hamilton juggernaut to be stopped?
    With the New Year commencing and another F1 season beckoning, we found ourselves in a moment of reflection. Who are the greatest F1 drivers of all time? Afterall, F1's inception dates back to 1950. Many a F1 pundit much more learned than us has stated that it's nigh on impossible to compare eras in Grand Prix racing considering differences in machinery, type of circuits raced and number of GP's contested each season and so on. However, we think otherwise.
    When assembling our top 10 greatest F1 drivers list, some drivers simply make the list through sheer weight of numbers. Number of wins, number of championships for instance. We also considered their winning percentage against number of GP's entered which does stand the test of time. Lastly, we took into account their ability to develop their car and extract the maximum performance. 
    So here is our list of top 10 F1 drivers of all time in no particular order....
    - Lewis Hamilton.
    - Michael Schumacher.
    - Juan Manuel Fangio.
    - Ayrton Senna.
    - Jim Clark.
    - Jackie Stewart.
    - Niki Lauda.
    - Alain Prost.
    - Fernando Alonso.
    - Jack Brabham.
    It would be remiss of us not to mention a few drivers who just missed out on our list. Alberto Ascari, Stirling Moss, Nelson Piquet, Graham Hill, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ronnie Petersen and Sebastian Vettel.
    There you have it. Predictable? Possibly. Controversial? Maybe. Debatable? Definitely. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.
​    May you all have a wonderful New Year and we'll be back as soon as possible. Cheers....
    
    
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    The world is currently facing uncertain times with a global pandemic infecting the planet. A consequence of this is that motorsport is facing unprecedented circumstances which are constantly evolving and rapidly changing. While it was disappointing to only see Thursday of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix due to its cancellation, the right decision was made. There are much more important, prevailing issues at hand. 
    The Australian Grand Prix (AGP) isn't the only cancellation. Subsequent GP's have been cancelled or postponed. F1, optimistically, is delaying the start of the season until early June. They have moved the traditional August Summer break forward and have enforced a mandatory 3 week shutdown. Nevertheless, they are instigating a virtual series to help fill the void. The series will feature a number of F1 drivers plus some celebrities, based on the official 2019 PC game and be contested from the comfort of each combatant's home. The first event, the Bahrain Virtual GP is tomorrow morning Australian time.
    Australia's premier category, Supercars is also enduring a hiatus from track action. Supercars have also launched an eSeries which they hope will feature a full grid with all the current drivers. Interesting thing is, not all the drivers have embraced the world of simulators. Intriguing to see who'll come out on top. 
    With all that is going on, has anyone remembered that Holden are ceasing production of right hand driven vehicles at end of financial year? Holden ceased local production years ago, therefore late model Holdens are imported from Asia. Citing plummeting sales figures because of a trend towards compact SUV's, parent company General Motors just couldn't justify continuing to supply a small, fractured market. What does this mean for Supercars? We thought when Ford launched the Mustang to replace the Falcon, that soon we would soon see General Motors launch Chevrolet Camaro's to Supercars to replace the Holden Commodore. However, a telling factor which dispels that theory is that General Motors are also pulling Chevrolet out of Thailand by selling one of Asia's biggest car manufacturing facility's to Great Wall. 
    There's currently speculation that some of this year's Supercar Holden teams may run their current car next year unbadged.  Surely this is only a short term solution. Is there now a window of opportunity for new manufacturer/s to enter Supercars? One prominent team principle has already stated that they are already talking to a number of manufacturers, as they don't want to be seen to be promoting a brand that can't be purchased and is effectively obsolete.
    With racing currently suspended, we certainly hope some normality returns before October's Bathurst 1000. Punters deserve a final showdown of the Ford vs Holden rivalry across Mt Panorama and give Holden a fitting farewell. Then sadly, the Holden lion roars no more. Holden fans really do bleed red.
        

    A year from now we'll be marvelling at the new Formula One cars and debating the new rules and regulations.  Modern, sleek charges with a return to ground effect principles, low profile tyres hugging 18" rims and optimised aerodynamics with a view to enabling a pursuing car to follow closer to a rival. Launch season and pre-season testing will be consigned to history. The cost cap will be in operation coupled with a more equitable distribution of prize money. We may also be about to savour a new weekend format. 
    Wait a moment! Time to wave the red flag. There's the little business of the 2020 Formula One season to navigate first. Largely unchanged, stable rules from last year usually results in the gaps between the teams narrowing. The law of diminishing returns, especially on the power unit side, normally fosters closer racing. Most cars are evolution's from the previous year. While it's difficult to draw conclusions from pre-season testing, we did notice, minus a few hiccups, that reliability was high as all teams completed a lot of laps, and that the times weren't that extreme from each other.
    So what does this mean as the 2020 season commences in a week at photogenic Albert Park in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix (AGP)? Will Mercedes waltz away with another victory en route to another championship, or are we in for a classic season where any number of combatants can frequent the top step of the podium? The younger generation of drivers coming through are exciting to say the least. Can Red Bull's Max Verstappen or Ferrari's Charles Le Clerc mount a serious title challenge? Will we see McLaren through their young chargers of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris continue to improve in their quest to get back to the front of the grid? Will exciting hotshoe George Russell propel Williams back into the midfield? We'll certainly be hopeful of a Renault resurgence to put Australian Daniel Ricciardo back on the podium. Last year's AGP for Ricciardo was inauspicious to say the least. 
    F1 is ably supported at the AGP by Supercars and Porsche Carrera Cup, both contesting championship rounds. The global category for touring cars, TCR, is making its Albert Park debut. Finally, but certainly not least, S5000 is commencing its first championship round. S5000 is a modern day twist on the old F5000 open wheel category of the 1970's. Retired F1 legends and fan faves Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella are returning to Albert Park to contest the S5000's. There's a massive music festival in the park precinct to delight the punters, a Speed Comparison featuring a 2-Seater Minardi F1 car, and as usual the Royal Australian Air Force will take to the skies overhead.
    Let's hope this year's AGP yields the start of a closely fought F1 campaign. See you at Albert Park....
     
    

    Welcome back motorsport friends, fans and punters. 2020 has arrived. For those of you that may have just joined us, at this time of year we traditionally like to outline which events we intend on frequenting throughout the forthcoming months. 
    We hope you are enjoying Part 1 of our 2 part special on the Bathurst 12 Hour at Mt Panorama. The images we've posted in this edition covers the Saturday of the event, namely final practise and qualifying for the 12 Hour race, plus the support categories. Part 2 will be posted shortly and will cover the 12 Hour race itself on the Sunday. 
    The rest of the year is as follows.
    March 12th-15th - Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne. Supported by Supercars, Porsche Carrera Cup, S5000 and TCR.
    April 11th-12th - Bathurst 6 Hour at Mt Panorama, Bathurst. Supported by The Nationals featuring TCR, Australian GT and Radical Australia Cup.
    May 2nd - 400 Thunder at Sydney Dragway in an All Run format featuring Top Fuel and Pro Slammers.
    June 7th - Sydney Classic at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP) featuring historic racing.
    July 19th - Rotax Pro Tour at Eastern Creek International Karting Raceway.
    August 2nd - NSW Motor Race Championships (MRC) at SMSP.
    August 29th-30th - Sydney SuperNight at SMSP featuring Supercars.
    September 5th-6th - Sydney Masterblast featuring Muscle Car Masters at SMSP.
    September 26th-27th - Australian Motor Racing Series featuring Formula 3 at SMSP.
    November 14th-15th - NSW MRC featuring Formula Ford at SMSP.
    While we will endeavour to attend the above listed events, it is subject to change. So charge up your batteries, grab some extra memory cards and we'll see you in Melbourne....
    
     

    That is the question. Formula One teams are meticulous beasts. They plan and orchestrate the most minute detail to the enth degree. They devise contingencies for all scenarios. They are able to push the scope of the rules to the limits of legality. Their problem solving and communication skills are an example for a wide range of businesses. 
    Yet cast your mind back to the last race at Abu Dhabi. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc failed to start his final qualifying run before the chequered flag. How can this happen? The Chinese GP also saw a few timed out shall we say. Also what about the Italian GP at Monza? It wasn't just Ferrari who dropped the ball, but virtually all runners. With the Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen already crashed out, of the remaining nine, seven didn't start their final lap by the chequered. What a farce! In their efforts to find clear space, each car was going too slow and backing up the car behind. No one wanted to be the first to jump. Are they that paranoid of giving their rivals an advantage by way of a slipstream or tow, that they simply prefer to shoot themselves in the foot? The drivers are meant to complete their outlaps equivalent to a safety car delta time. At Monza, they weren't even close. Several were reprimanded by the stewards. 
    With the rules changing for 2021 and the weekend format being reviewed, qualifying is one element up for discussion. Rumours of qualifying to set the grid for a Saturday sprint race to determine the grid for Sunday's GP is one option. Should they use this chance to mandate that all drivers must drive their outlaps during qualifying at a consistent speed on a par to a Virtual Safety Car lap time, ie, 40 % slower than a racing lap perhaps? This is still faster than a Safety Car lap and possibly easier to police. The paying punters at the track and at home deserve better. Qualifying reaching its peak is one of the weekend's highlights. 
    Congratulations to Mercedes F1 Team for winning an unprecedented 6 consecutive Driver's and Constructor's title double.  Kudos to Lewis Hamilton winning his 6th title. Only Schumi left to eclipse now.

    Merry Christmas to all our friends and surfers. God bless and see you in 2020. 

    Finally, after exhaustive and extensive collaboration, Formula One and the FIA  has finally released its blueprint for the F1 regulations commencing in 2021. The overriding premise is to improve the racing by enabling F1 cars to follow and therefore overtake another car with greater ease. The other main consideration is to rein in costs.
    A cost cap is to be enforced by an external authority. This is set at $175 million/year. This figure does not include driver salaries, the top three team personnel salaries, and marketing. This is less than the top teams currently spend but more than the majority of teams spend. We mooted the idea quite a while ago, but there is a limit to the number of updates per season a team can bring to the car. The list of standardised parts has expanded and a more equitable distribution of prize money.   
    Aerodynamics have been simplified. Currently it's touted a F1 car loses 40-50% of its downforce when following another car, rendering it unable to punch through the dirty air of the leading car's wake to obtain the necessary slipstream to overtake. The new rules and regulations look to address this. They claim after significant testing, that the pursuing car will only forfeit 10%. This is theoretically achieved through a combination of variables. Bargeboards which are the aero devices in front of the sidepods serve multiple purposes. They split the air into three. The first to keep the air attached to the bodywork to channel it down to the rear wing. The second to channel the air to the underfloor. The third to send the dirty unwanted air from predominantly the front wheels outwards away from the car. This was an area that was open for development this year and quite frankly have been become intricate, convoluted, complex abominations. They have been outlawed under the new regs with a return to the ground effect principle, whereas air is fed under the floor via a series of channels or tunnels to create a low pressure area that consequentially creates downforce by sucking the car down to the surface. Front wings and suspension elements are more generic coupled with a rear wing that is virtually "endplateless". The airflow impeding front wheels have wheel wake control devices fitted to limit the outwash from  the troublesome front wheels. Aesthetics have also been considered with smoother flowing bodywork lines and low profile tyres fitted to 18" wheels in keeping with the trend of today. All to achieve a cleaner, higher wash or airwake for the chasing car.  
    The race weekend is to be shortened with the official press conference and scrutineering moved to Friday. There are also proposed tweaks to the weekend format. 
    To date, F1 commentators, pundits, so called experts, even the teams themselves have expressed positive responses to the new regs. But where do you stand? Are these regs a step in the right direction to bridge the competitive gap between the "haves" and "have nots", or could more have been done? Can the cost cap be effectively policed? Changes to the weekend format? Please tell us they are still not considering reverse grids? Rules and regulations have always been modifyied since F1's inception in 1950 to try and level the competitive field. We found ourselves trawling through various archives to note significant changes to F1 cars. Wings first appeared on late 1960's cars and it was still hard to overtake. Ground effect was from 1977-1982 and it was still hard to overtake. Bargeboards first appeared in 1994 and it was still hard to overtake. Cars were stripped of aero add-ons in 2009 and it was still hard to overtake. Hasn't F1 always been hard to overtake? Or have F1 possibly, quite possibly, finally found the panacea they seek?