Hot shots

It was while recovering from a cycling accident and in need of a cheering project that photographer Indira Flack hit upon the idea of creating a unique portfolio of legendary British racing drivers. So while visiting the 2014 Festival of Speed – she and her photographer partner Paul have been regulars since the festival’s earliest days – she decided to seize the moment and ask permission to shoot as many of  the heroes of British motorsport as she could possibly persuade.

Now, five years of work is about to be unveiled at an exhibition to coincide with the opening of The Silverstone Experience. Flack has sought to combine the drivers’ off-track personalities with their motorsport careers in her portraits. One of her first sitters was Sir Stirling Moss who, she explains, “is photographed sitting in his Eames chair, because he’d told me that after winning some races, he’d asked for the chair instead of another silver trophy that would need polishing.” Sir Stirling is also sporting a pair of striking Union Jack braces that add to the photograph’s jaunty mood.

Flack covered some 13,000 miles over the course of the project, photographing her subjects all over the UK. The resulting collection of nearly 90 portraits is a roll call of legendary driving talent and budding stars, from karting to Formula 1, and includes Sir Jackie Stewart, Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell, John Surtees and 20-year-old Jamie Chadwick, the first winner of the new W Series. Several of the portraits were shot at Goodwood, and the Duke of Richmond has contributed the foreword to the exhibition.“It’s been such a privilege to spend time with these incredibly talented drivers,” says Flack, who adds that the sessions were often filled with laughter and enthralling tales. “What an experience.”

For further information on the Great British Racing Drivers exhibition, please visit www.gbrd.photos

This article was taken from the Summer 2019 edition of the Goodwood Magazine.