The rebel riders of the UK Dirt Track scene
- Text by HUCK HQ
- Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Benedict Redgrove’s series on the UK’s Dirt Track Racing community, which was commissioned as the lead cover story for SPACES IN BETWEEN, situates the sport as a place where cultures collide. The look and feel of the scene settles “somewhere between B-boy and old school greaser.”
“Ben photographs fighter planes and rocket ships for living but he’s is a passionate biker,” explains Michael Fordham, SPACES IN BETWEEN’s commissioning editor. “We thought it would be fun to apply Ben’s clinical lens to the grit and grime of the Dirt Track.”
Using meticulous techniques in post-production, the detailed backdrop of the racing is knocked back. What comes to the fore is the detail of rider and motorcycle, and a scene that is as inclusive and open-minded as it is dynamic. “Dirt Track Racing is unique because of the people that run it and the people that ride in it,” says Gary Inman, editor of the scene’s key channel, Sideburn, and author of the story that accompanies Ben’s piece.
“The riders competing could be anything from Vegan Art Directors, tubby tilers or freckly schoolgirls. It really isn’t like any other motorcycle scene out there.”
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