As motorsport returns at a rapid rate, the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain was back out on the circuit this week at Donington Park. The practice featured some of the well known names from last season along with a few new faces to the paddock. One familiar face to the Porsche Paddock is photographer Dan Bathie, who has been capturing the series since 2017. At the age of 28, Dan boasts an established career in photography, with a rich history of photographing the British GT Series, Formula E, WRC, 24 Hours, Le Mans series and Goodwood Festival of Speed. We caught up with Dan whilst at Donington to talk all things Porsche Carrera Cup GB.

The motorsport photography industry is almost as competitive as motorsport itself. It’s no easy task to gain a career in such a competitive market and build up relationships with some of the world leading manufacturers. Dan, how did your career into photography begin:

“I’ve always had an interest in motorsport from a very early age. I often went to events with my dad and he always carried a little compact camera with him, so I guess my initial interest in photography began there. I used to document some of the race meetings we attended and I was fascinated with the process. At a young age, it seems simple to photograph a car and I could never understand why I couldn’t capture a moving race car. It became a challenge for me at that young age to work out how to photograph motorsport, to capture the speed in an image. From that point it probably became more interesting than the races themselves, I got myself a second hand camera and started attending more and more motorsport events.”

I started to build up contacts, chat with other photographers and ultimately gain networks. I got in contact with Jake Yorath and ended up working on the same features and events. I was also working in the graphic design industry at the time, but from that point, I started paving the way for a career. So once more photography work came in, I had to make a choice and ultimately chose motorsport photography. I won two awards in 2016, the Young Motorsport Photographer Award and The Guild of Motoring Writers; Motorsport Photographer of the Year. From winning those awards, I got a text from the Press officer at Porsche on Christmas Eve and was invited to do the Porsche Carrera Cup GB.”

As we stand here at Donington, there is obvious signs of the Covid-19 restrictions. How has the return to motorsport changed since we was last here:

“I’m still not sure how it will play out throughout the season with spectators, so that is firstly something we will have to wait and see. The obvious thing is we all have to wear masks in the paddock and for me, it actually changes the way you approach the photography. You’re so used to seeing everyones faces and in someways it actually adds something different, as you’re immediately drawn to the subjects eyes in the photographs. Ofcourse, they’re not the most comfortable things to wear, especially when you’re running around the paddock, you also get a very odd tan line, which is something I didn’t even think about and you look a little ridiculous the next day. The rest is almost as you were, the cars are out on the track and my photography approach is no different, although they have closed the main tunnel here at Donington, so you have to walk all the way round. Podium ceremonies are a little different, obviously social distancing is observed by the drivers, so you lose all of those shots where drivers and mechanics hug and celebrate. That’s shame as those images show alot of emotion and human element to the sport.

Many of the Porsche Carrera Cup Teams seemed very happy to see you back at the circuit this morning, you must be liked around the paddock?

“When I came into the Porsche Carrera Cup in 2017, I was obviously the new face in the paddock but the teams and drivers got used to me been around pretty quickly. I’ve built up a really good relationship with them all and I’m happy working in those environments. At a race weekend I’m usually there solely to photograph the Porsche Carrera Cup, which means all my time is dedicated to that series. Most often a race weekend features different series, and some of my photographer colleagues might be photographing more than one, I’ve got the luxury of focusing all my energy on the Carrera Cup. On qualifying day I could be there from 7am until 6pm, with only qualifying to take place, so I have alot of time to photograph the human side to the series. I’’ll often grab shots of the mechanics, drivers in the pits and guests of the series and I really do enjoy capturing those moments. Those shots go down really well with the teams, the mechanics love them and they make great images for their social media platforms.

You can view more of Dan’s work here.