#leon haslam

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Leon Haslam British Superbikes [BSB] Photo: Darren Oliver-Jones

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Congratulations to Iker Lecuona, Tetsuta Nagashima and Takumi Takahashi for their win.

Also, congrats to Jonathan Rea, Alex Lowes and Leon Haslam for P2 and to Kazuki Watanabe and Gregg Black for the P3.

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Here we have the first batch of images from my latest venture. I’m sure it’s been done before and I’m sure it’ll be done again but I feel like I need to create some sort of physical record of this period of time in the race paddocks I hang out in. 

Over the course of this year I have become involved in the classic motorcycle scene and will have the opportunity to race an old Honda in early August of 2018. The intention is to prepare myself and the machine for the classic TT next year. Due to my involvement I have been paying a little more attention than I normally would to older photographs of period machines and riders. 

I have decided that I am going to start shooting more images on film of the racing environment around me. The idea of an archive of negatives generated and stored to be passed on to my children is already something I do so adding a record of motorcycle racing easily fits in. In years to come maybe someone will see the images and look back in the same way I am doing at all of the old images. 

Motorcycle racing moves quickly both in terms of technology and the people involved. You never know who isn’t going to be around next season, or even the next day. It may be a little morbid but capturing the people who do what they do is, in my eyes, extremely valuable for both historical and sentimental reasons. Conversely paddocks also have a habit of hanging onto personalities. When the riders of today are managing teams or supporting their own children in the racing world then I will have images of them in their prime. 

From now on I’m adamant I’m going to shoot plenty whenever I am around bikes. I have shot lots of digital work over the years but it all seems so transient. I don’t think digital work is any less valuable but the lack of physicality to it means I often wonder whether it will stand the test of time. I’m just starting to experiment with slide film and once I’m comfortable with using it I’ll be wheeling out the big camera and shooting some sheet film as well as other formats. 

All images shot using a 1983 Nikon F3 with motor wind, Kodak Portra 400, 50mm and 600mm Manual focus lenses. 

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Leon Haslam congratulates Shane Byrne on his championship win after having been physically carried to him due to a broken ankle sustained during the last race of the 2017 BSB season. 

© Jamie Morris

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Leon Haslam British Superbikes [BSB]

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