In the break between the US and European stints of the Formula E series, we sent our intrepid photographer to explore another type of high-tech racing. Here’s what happened when Shiv swapped street circuits for Silverstone and beaches for British clouds at the World Endurance Championship’s season opener.

“Formula E and WEC tap the same talent pool, and I’ve spent a lot of time with those drivers in far-flung corners of the globe. Between glugging cold drinks and sheltering from sweltering sun with them in pit lanes in China, Malaysia, Uruguay and the US, I found myself intrigued by the differences between the series in context, cars and climate. I decided to document the different motorsports environments in the best way I know how – through my camera.

Arriving at Silverstone for the first race of the 2015 WEC season early on Sunday morning, two things were immediately clear. Firstly, the changing sense of scale: Formula E feels intimate, like a family sport, whereas WEC is huge, with a gigantic race track that reflects its status as possibly the foremost track sport today for the works teams of large car manufacturers (Audi, Toyota and Porsche were all on the podium).

Secondly, the immediate sense of being at home: Silverstone is somewhere that I’ve shot many times before, so I know every nook, cranny and angle like the back of my lens cap. Plus, there are so many Formula E drivers involved that I already personally know many of those on the grid. Sebastien Buemi, Loic Duval, Sam Bird, Karun Chandhok, Stephane Sarrazin, Tonio Liuzzi, Nick Heidfeld, Nico Prost and Daniel Abt all drive in the series, and that makes it far easier to get the access I need.

There are some marked differences in preparation. At the hot and sunny Formula E events, I just make sure I have a decent hat, sun cream and enough pairs of shorts. At Silverstone, you know it’s likely to be cold and wet. Waterproofs are a must – for your camera gear as much as yourself.

Silverstone is used for F1, which means that the run off areas have to be huge. Consequently, you’re always a long way from the cars when they’re on track. At a Formula E street circuit, you’re much closer to the action, sometimes merely inches away. That requires a different approach to the lenses I use: for WEC, I tend to use my 300mm lens with a 2x converter that effectively doubles the range to 600mm. On my second camera body I use my 70-200mm lens. I rely a lot less on the wide lens (really only used at Silverstone when the sun was breaking through the cloud for those moody skyscapes, in the garages and podium shots).

I also took a monopod to assure stability with the long lens. Because there’s no all-encompassing catch fencing at Silverstone, you can do a lot more panning shots than you can at a typical Formula E venue.

Keep in mind the different focal points. In Formula E, you concentrate on the helmet, from the front and from the side. In WEC, you aim for the windscreen from the front, and then anywhere inside the wheelbase (between the front and rear wheels) with side profile pictures.

At Silverstone, after the grid work was complete I set off to my first spot before 12pm, and got back to the podium at 6pm. There were no breaks in the action, so I stayed out for the whole stint.

That gave me a lot more time to get the shots I wanted compared to what’s available in Formula E. There, you usually get a combined total of 75mins of free practice, around 40mins of quali (four 10min groups) and then the race, which is around 50mins – all told, a fraction of the time of that available at a WEC session to capture the cars on track.

Still, because of the one-day format of Formula E, where all the sessions take place on Saturday, you end up on your feet for just as long as the six-hour endurance race.

I found the biggest challenge at Silverstone was trying to catch a car when it was on the section of track I’d selected and when the sun pierced the clouds to light that exact section. It wasn’t easy!

The other consideration is noise. Having shot Formula E for so long, I’d forgotten that you need earplugs elsewhere!”