Taken back in the Karlstad service area after a spectacular roll, Henning Solberg takes some fun-filled abuse from some of his peers, including Sebastian Loeb as they check out the damage to his WRC spec Peugeot.
Been quite busy this weekend sorting out stuff around the house (I would still use new, but 5 weeks in it's definitely much more homely now), and as such the sharing of some of the older pics from my archive has suffered, so here's a shot of one of Red Bull's Formula BMW cars lifting the inside front wheel on the rumble strip at the exit of the chicane during one of the races back in August 2006 at Snetterton in England.
Taken during my daytrip with John and Andrea to Neuschwanstein Castle and a few other spots in Bavaria, Germany back in January.
Taken during the lone Scottish round held at Knockhill of the 2006 D1 Drift Championship, this features the Sumo Power Nissan 350Z setting itself up for the final corner of the drift course laid out at the Scottish racetrack.
During our road trip around the Coastline of Scotland one of the coolest places we visited was Kinlochbervie, aside the small shipping port that runs there a short run up a single track road will take you up onto one of the surrounding hills for a great view out onto the North Atlantic Ocean.
This image was taken as we were approaching the half way point along the Northern coast of Scotland between Durness in the West and John O'Groats in the East. Spectacular views from here of the hills and valleys which have been carved by nature of the centuries. Image 2 of 2 from this location.
OK, so the photo itself may have a blown sky, but in my defence I was too impressed with the fact that my Monaro had made it all this way along tiny little single track roads and moreover the simply stunning view that lay to the side of the road where we pulled over.
While in Stockholm for the WRC in February 2006 I found this little dude outside one of the shops in the Swedish capital. He didn't seem to mind the -20-25°C temperatures that the shop owner subjected him too, in my case I had vests, t-shirt, polo shirt, jumper and jacket on...and it still felt damn cold!!!
There's something magical about Scotlands Western Isles, something so magical that it did it's level best to make itself invisible for this shot, so magical indeed that it left absolutely zero, nil, nada, diddly squat of itself to infact be glanced at here, now, or then, or whenever.
The colour in the sea (or should I say Atlantic Ocean) around the islands which make up the Western Isles are simply stunning, so much so that when you show someone just how it looks in good, sunny weather you are almost instantly accused of photoshopping the colours in, of tampering with the saturation in the image etc.
But, and yes there is a but, is that even here in this wet, dreek, grey, drookit outlout from the South tip of the Isle of Eriskay as myself, Mireille and the Monaro waited patiently for our ferry to arrive for the short sailing over to Barra you can just about get a hint of the colours lurking beneath the surface.
What colour you may chortle with jest, but believe me the colours are there in abundance and are just waiting on the right moment to dazzle you with all their brilliance.
Barbados, nope, the Dominican Republic, nope, Hawaii, nope.....Scotland, damn right, every single time...!!!
One of the cool things about covering the motorsport events and shows for so long was the fact that it gets you known at the various venues and racetracks around the UK, Europe and beyond, and that can normally bring in a few cool shots that aren't so run of the mill.
Take this shot of the Stad de France as it prepared itself for the Race of Champions event back in December 2005, somewhat of an eerie silence when you find yourself in such a large stadium and only a small handfull of people milling around, making sure all of the last minute touches are in place before the event starts in earnest a few days later...
Taken at Knockhill Racetrack in Scotland, the Formula BMW Championship UK was always one of the support races to the BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) which I covered for several years.
One of the main people followed during the time shooting images for UK, Irish and European car magazines was Terry Grant who would tour around the world performing his stunt shows using various cars and some crazy antics.
This shot was taken during Ultimate Street Car 2006 which took place at Santa Pod in England, and sees Terry climbing up onto the side of the car while it continues to spin in circles in front of the crowd who had gathered at the start end of the quarter mile drag strip.
Taken in 2008 during out 2 week summer holiday following the coastline of Scotland from Glasgow, up the West coast (with a quick couple of nights stop on our favourite Isle of Skye), via Ullapool (harbour pictured here), all the way to Kinlochbervie on the North West corner and then along the North Coast to John O'Groats before coming down the East coast via Aberdeen and ending in Edinburgh.
Absolutely stunning views one after another and even more fun as the tiny little single track roads we encountered were all easily eaten up by the Monaro...
