You certainly don’t need yet another T-shirt, but wanting one, well, that’s a whole different thing…
Von Dirk celebrates automotive subcultures where wheels, art, and adventure intersect. From hot rods with earned patina to high-tech race machines with perfect paintwork, we capture the stories that unfold in garages, on open roads, and around campfires.
Whether you’re building, riding, or wrenching, navigating city streets or chasing horizons on sun-soaked highways, Von Dirk documents the culture, craft, and characters that make this community unique. Because every machine has a story, every journey connects us, and no ride worth taking was meant to be taken alone.
Deutsche Fest 2018: A Celebration of German Engineering and Motorsport
Returning for the second year, Deutsche Fest aimed to celebrate all German manufactured vehicles. This year though, they had teamed up with Heritage Parts Centre to bring us a whole weekend of activities. Saturday featured the Heritage takeover – a full track day for German cars only, plus displays and evening entertainment. With Sunday came a full race line-up, club displays, and Deutsche Fest Awards. All the ingredients were there for a perfect weekend – cars, clubs, racing and an amazing venue, but something seemed to be lacking this year. I know first hand that it takes a lot to put on a car show, and it’s even more effort if you include racing of any kind, I take my hat off to the Deutsche Fest team for putting in so much effort. There wasn’t anything wrong, I really don’t have a bad word to say, I just wasn’t feeling it this year and it probably shows in my photos. I’m sure next year will be awesome, if you like German cars then make sure you visit and support the Deutsche Fest team.
American Speedfest VI
The title of this event is pretty explanatory, as it exists to celebrate everything American. American motorsport, classic cars, food and delivers all the pomp
Masters Historic Festival, Brands Hatch
Another month and another trip to Brands Hatch, this time for the Masters Historic Festival. Taking advantage of the full GP circuit the drivers were free to stretch the cars to their limits. The packed programme included FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship, FIA Masters Historic Sports Cars, Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars and Historic Formula 2. Plus other support races from CSN Group YTCC and a Gentlemen Drivers.
Bike Shed London 2018
Time for a little two-wheel fun at Bike Shed London 2018, held in the wonderful Tobacco Dock. It’s been a while since I last visited this event, so when the chance of snagging a VIP/Press preview ticket came up I jumped at the chance. Turning up early Friday evening I wasn’t expecting such an eager queue of excited people. Pennington Street was awash with low-slung jeans, Redwings and checked shirts. As I waited for the doors to open I chatted with others in the queue. While a selection of riders cruised by on a variety of bikes, giving a taste of what was to welcome us inside.
Long Beach Hi-Po Swap Meet – Automotive Treasures for Every Car Enthusiast
The Sunday of our little LA trip was another early start to get to the Long Beach Hi-Po Swap Meet for its’ 06:00 opening. This swap meet has been running for over 30 years, although we’ve not been going for anything like that long. It takes place at the Veterans Memorial Stadium. While it’s not on the scale of the Pomona swap meet, it’s become world-renowned for its content of antique, vintage, classic and high-performance cars and parts for sale, usually at lower prices than Pomona too. It’s a must-visit for any hot rod, muscle car, street rod, classic car enthusiasts. This months event happened to fall on mothers day, which explained the smaller than usual crowds and vendors. With the lower visitor numbers, there were a fair few bargains to be had.
Donut Derelicts Meet – Huntington Beach’s Classic Car Spectacle
On my recent trip to LA, I managed to visit the famous Donut Derelicts breakfast meet in Huntington Beach. While this has been a breakfast I’d wanted to visit for a long time, I’d never managed to get there on previous trips. This time I was determined to not miss it, even though it meant a very early alarm. This event has been running every Saturday morning since February ’85 in the parking lot of Adams Ave Donuts. Enthusiasts from all over gather to enjoy a doughnut, a cup of coffee and the spectacle of street rods, hot rods, classic and speciality creations.
911UK Mayday Breakfast Run
Bank Holiday Monday and another 911UK drive down to Rye for breakfast. We knew the roads wouldn’t be quiet as the early May bank holiday is synonymous with the Mayday Run which sees 1,000’s of biker make the run down the A21 to Hastings. The sheer number of bikes is always an impressive sight, but we decided to meet up earlier than usual to get a head start on our journey down to the south coast.
Exclusively Porsche
Beautiful weather teased out quite a few people for the May edition of Exclusively Porsche, which meant it was going to be a busy meet-up. I arrived a little late and was greeted by a throng of stunning Porsche’s and a few other classics for added interest. From Simon Moore’s beautiful 356 coupé, Toby’s 912 and a few 718’s representing the flat 4’s and various air-cooled 911’s plus a brace of watercoolers representing the flat 6’s – there really was something for everyone. It was also nice to see some other classics joining in the summer sun, such as the wonderful Triumph Herald and Paul Campbell’s 1953 VW ‘Zwitter’.
750 Motor Club Brands Hatch
Following on from the hearty 911UK breakfast earlier, we took a short drive over to Brands Hatch to watch a fantastic mix of club racers. The line-up of vehicles racing included the 5Club MX-5 Cup, 750 Formula, Classic Stock Hatch, Formula Vee, Historic 750 Formula, Hot Hatch, Locost, Toyota MR2, RGB Sports 1000, Roadsports and Sports Specials. Quite an eclectic line up which certainly made interesting viewing. Another great feature of these lower formula events is full access to the paddock and pit areas, which is great for photographers.
