Mercedes-Benz World sits on the old Brooklands circuit. Lots of glass, AMG metal, and a handling track on ground that has been used for motorsport since 1907.
Bolt asked me to photograph a driver away day there. A group of their UK drivers spent the morning at Mercedes-Benz World. Instructors briefed them on driving AMGs fast on a wet circuit, then a road test later on public roads. It was a closed driver event, not a public activation. The pictures still had to work like brand work: the place, the cars, the people, usable for the site, social and driver comms.
Arrival at Mercedes-Benz World for Bolt’s driver away day.
Mercedes-Benz World and Brooklands
The site helped a lot with the work. Brooklands was the first purpose-built motor racing circuit in the world. Mercedes-Benz World sits on that land, with its own circuit and a showroom full of current AMG stock.
The Mercedes-Benz World showroom on the same morning.
AMG stock on the showroom floor at Brooklands.
Architecture, cars and faces in the same morning. Wide frames of the building. Tight frames of drivers in the seats. The metal and the people in the same set.
Drivers and hosts at the Mercedes-Benz World entrance.
Briefing
The day started inside. Breakfast, a short briefing, paper on the table, then out to the cars. Those frames are easy to skip and they are the ones marketing teams keep. People in a room with the brand in the background. Drivers writing. The first coffee.
Breakfast and briefing before the cars.
Bolt in the room before anyone went on track.
Event planning on the balcony.
Plates on the cars
Before anyone went out, Bolt plates went on the Mercedes-Benz World fleet - C-Class AMGs, an E53 coupe, the grey E-Class. That is the picture that makes it their day rather than a stock track session.
Bolt marketing team putting plates on the Mercedes-Benz World fleet.
C-Class AMG ready for the session.
Out to the circuit
Instructors in the AMG jackets, drivers in the seats, cars lined up in the pit lane. Low sun on the grey E-Class before it rolled. Co-pilots talking through the first lap at the door.
From the lobby out to the cars.
Instructors taking the group out.
Grey E-Class waiting in the pit lane.
Co-pilot briefing at the door.
First sit in the AMG.
On the wet track
The circuit was standing water. Spray off the arches, V8s on the Mercedes-Benz World handling loop, drivers and instructors in the cars. C-Class, E-Class, E53 coupe. One tracking shot of the C63 so the page has speed as well as splash.
On the wet handling loop.
C-Class AMG through standing water.
E53 coupe on the handling circuit.
C63 tracking shot on the Brooklands site.
V8 Biturbo on the experience fleet.
Road test
Later in the day a smaller group took a Mercedes out on the road around the site. Different pictures: cockpit, map on the screen, the building through the glass. Same job - driver, car, place - without the circuit.
Road test later in the day.
Instructor in the passenger seat.
You can see more of this work here: Event photography
Automotive stills sit here: Automotive photography
I photograph corporate events, driver days, launches and brand activations across London and the UK. If you are planning a day like this, get in touch.
Do you photograph corporate events in London?
Yes. Conferences, driver days, launches and brand activations. This Bolt morning at Mercedes-Benz World is one example. Lexus in Covent Garden and a conference at Oracle Red Bull Racing are others.
Do you photograph brand activations?
Yes. Built spaces, cars in the room, people moving through them. A recent example is the Lexus Takumi Townhouse in Covent Garden. This Bolt day was a closed driver event, shot the same way.
Do you photograph product launches and launch events?
Yes. Cars, product, the room, the guests. Files for the client, press and social.
Do you photograph experiential events?
Yes. Track days, venue takeovers, hospitality, anything where the brand is something you walk into. Mercedes-Benz World is that kind of site.
Do you photograph driver or employee events?
Yes. Away days, track sessions, internal hospitality. Pictures for the company site, social and comms — this Bolt set is that job.
Do you work with agencies?
Yes. Most of this work comes through agencies and in-house marketing teams who need a photographer who can cover the build, the space and the people without a large crew.