Sturm und Drang: A Speedway Essay
Sturm und Drang, German: literally storm and desire.
Guy from the club recently suggested that I accompany him to the speedway at Glasgow Tigers. The first attempt was a literal wash-out; the next two visits were much more successful and seem to have sparked a new interest. The words and pictures below try to capture some of the spirit of the meetings…
Sturm und Drang… Glasgow Tigers vs Edinburgh Monarchs at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium, Glasgow.
Fujifilm X-T3 | 128mm f/4.7 1/500s ISO160
Speedway: a Saturday Afternoon Soundtrack
I was born in the 1960s, meaning that my formative years were in the 1970s and 1980s. Before we eventually succumbed to the lure of Friday nights in the pub, and Saturday afternoon hangovers, my pals and I used to spend Saturday afternoons around at each other’s houses, either mucking around outside or, if the weather was pish (and, growing up in Manchester, it frequently was), inside playing cards, board games or some other nonsense.
The soundtrack to this was, more often than not, the long-departed and sometimes lamented World of Sport on ITV. Those of my generation will probably associate the programme with Dickie Davies and wrestling and the seemingly larger than life characters (Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Kendo Nagasaki et al) that populated this world. Horse racing, darts and a myriad of other ‘second line’ sports also featured, but none captivated the interest in the way that the speedway could.
Speedway was still, in the 70s and early 80s, close to its azimuth in terms of popularity and interest helped in no small measure by the regular TV coverage. Riders such as Peter Collins, Ivan Mauger and Ole Olsen were, if not household names, widely known and Dave Lanning, covering darts and speedway, was a familiar voice.
When ITV cancelled World of Sport the coverage stopped and speedway disappeared from my consciousness for many years. However, when Guy suggested a photography outing to the Tigers my interest was piqued…
Sideways in sync… Glasgow Tigers vs Newcastle Diamonds at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium, Glasgow.
Fujifilm X-T3 | 210mm f/5.0 1/500s ISO1000
Speedway: Racing as Minimalist Art
There are a number of words that spring to mind to describe the racing, but uncompromising is probably a good place to start. In the pantheon of motorsport, Speedway is almost certainly the antithesis of Formula 1. There’s no telemetry, aerodynamics, in-car communications, engine mapping or electronics; it’s two wheels, one gear and no brakes. The machines are stripped down to the bare minimum needed to get them around four laps (even to the extent that there’s only one footrest), with the single cylinder 500cc bikes running on the minimal amount of methanol.
Shoulder to shoulder… Glasgow Tigers vs Newcastle Diamonds at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium, Glasgow.
Fujifilm X-T3 | 148mm f/4.7 1/500s ISO160
On one level, the racing is, as Thomas Hobbes might have described it, nasty, brutish and short. The track can be about the same length as an athletics track, say around 400m. Some are shorter. Each heat is four laps of the circuit and last less than a minute (the bikes can reach up to 70mph) and with fifteen heats in a match that equates to about 15 minutes of track time.
But, while short, the heats pack in a huge amount of noise, heat, dust and energy. Despite the shortness of the track the race is by no means a procession; overtakes are common and there seems to be no one ‘good’ line. It seems to be as much about bravery on the throttle as a precision line. It’s also tight, fiercely competitive, very close and perfectly possible to get wrong.. Bottom line, it’s not for the faint-hearted.
Running repairs… a false start gives an opportunity for a final tweak.
Fujifilm X-T3 | 100mm f/4.5 1/500s ISO160
Speedway at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium
The show is open…
Fujifilm X-T3 | 400mm f/5.6 1/500s ISO160
Two things struck me on arriving at the stadium; the noise (of which more later) and the amount of activity taking place to support the meeting. Like very many ‘second tier’ sports the organisation and matchday support relies heavily on an army of volunteers; marshals, ground and track crew, photography, video and media, bar staff, medics, mascot, compere and announcers - the list goes on. Everyone is there for a reason, to support the team and because of a shared passion.
The crowds, though not the largest, are equally enthusiastic. The sport has a loyal following; for the Edinburgh Monarchs meetings, for example, there was a decent contingent of travelling support (and I’ve seen lower league football games with less away support), with a pretty high percentage of both home and away support sporting club colours. Despite the COVID restricted numbers, the crowd definitely creates an atmosphere.
The Photography: the Challenge of Movement
Photographically, the challenge is to convey a sense of movement while still getting acceptable sharp images. It’s comparatively straightforward to get a shot of a moving vehicle that looks as though it’s parked; the trick is to use the environment, shutter speed and other cues to give the viewer a sense of the speed and action.
The trick (and I’m no expert) seems to be to start with a faster shutter speed and drop this is you start to get into a rhythm. You’re very close to the track side, so panning on the straight is nigh on impossible (think angular velocity); where you’re looking to capture is on the bend as the lateral movement is shifting. The dust and spray helps with a sense of movement, but getting the shutter speed low enough to retain some blur or movement in the wheels makes it more convincing.
Slipstreaming is rarely a successful strategy… it pays to get in front early.
Fujifilm X-T3 | 252mm f/8.0 1/320s ISO320
Technically, you are close enough to the trackside to get hit by shale from the bikes as the accelerate down the straight. Unless you’re comfortable with having the front element pebble-dashed, it’s wise to stick a UV filter on the lens. This will also help with sealing against dust, which is horrendous. Changing lenses, even between heats, is a complete non-starter; get your setup sorted at the outset and live with it.
Conclusions
I have been thoroughly taken with the Speedway, both as a spectator sport and a photographic subject. In may ways it reminds me of Rugby League - a similar uncompromising physical sport that eschews complexity in favour of an uncompromising focus on physicality and bravery. The audience, though small, is dedicated, vocal, loyal and knowledgeable and make the meetings an occasion.
At the edge… three bikes in competition for the same patch of shale.
Fujifilm X-T3 | 153mm f/4.8 1/320s ISO160
The sport, however, has been in decline and there is no doubt that some clubs have struggled., even before COVID destroyed a season and hammered revenues. Giles Richards wrote a piece in the Guardian a couple of years ago about the travails of Speedway - Out of time and on the skids: speedway’s struggle for survival - which outlines the issues and the struggles far more authoritatively and eloquently than I ever could. It’s worth a read.
In any event I’d recommend you find your local track, pay your entrance money and go and support the team. The sport needs it and, you never know, you might even enjoy it. I’ll definitely be back, with and without my camera.
