As a first time visitor of the Autosport International weekend, there was no doubt to say the least that it is a special kind of safe haven for motorsport fans that they need during the off-season for most categories. And who doesn't love to see Ollie Bearman before his debut with the Haas Formula One team as well as many other famous faces surrounding the sport like David Croft or 'Crofty', Jennie Gow, Tom Ingram or rookie Max Hall? As well as these famous people that any person attending the event would obviously recognise, there is one face that seems particularly difficult to work out when he is more focused on his drawing and painting with nothing other than radio-controlled cars, at least according to the man himself.
On a later arrival than I would've hoped, it was time to discover what Autosport International was about. Even if many die-hard fans complain that the excitement of the event has decreased in recent years, there is still a wide range of activities to get involved in: the live arena show included with the online ticket price, multiple e-sports rigs around every corner, traders showing their products and usually the most tempting part of the exhibition, the shop stalls. Amongst the variety of printed canvases, mini helmets and small model racing cars, you couldn't possibly miss the brightly coloured sticker car, soon becoming apparent that it wasn't a funky paintwork design but rather individual, hand-drawn stickers encapsulating its shell. And the man behind it all? Ian Cook, otherwise known as PopBangColour.
Ian has been doing all of his unique artwork since 2007 by putting paint onto a canvas and rolling RC cars through the paint as explained on his website and even demonstrated in person whilst creating Tom Ingram's BTCC car over the course of the weekend. Our conversation originally started when one of my friends fell in love with his Thruxton cover for the British Touring Car race in 2022, immediately trying to scan eBay and other selling sites but catching onto what we were trying to find, Ian kindly gifted one from the back of his car. For a man that had just been involved in a car accident 2 days prior, he wouldn't let anything get in the way of his craft.
As someone who would've enjoyed creating art at school if it wasn't for her teachers and discovering a love for it later in her life, Ian explained that he's never fell out of love with his passion and it was the one motivation that really got him through the first COVID lockdown, further emphasising that he believes he has "the best job in the world". With his repertoire, I couldn't agree more.
When asked what the highlight of his career was, he found it difficult to find an appropriate answer. One of the points he first mentioned was his first big (literally) commission of Lewis Hamilton which stood at over 3 storeys tall and displayed in London just ahead of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, appropriately earning him a Guinness World Record for his successful attempt. From then, the commissions just kept getting bigger and even managing to paint a one-of-a-kind commission piece for the Dubai royal family, people that he described as "the powerhouse of the world".
Although, at least two of these major feats we could see for ourselves. Not only was there the sticker car but also the famous SR3 which had been one of his most recent projects and unveiled at Goodwood Festival of Speed last summer, hand finished with many notable tracks that were used in the Radical Cup Championship and the car itself being raced at the track branded just behind the right front wheel: UK's famous Silverstone. To add to his excitement, the car went on to win the second race of the weekend with LMP driver Ian Aguilera piloting the piece, and the first art car to win one of the Radical races outright. Ian even jokingly pressed on to say that he couldn't be "more proud" to have beaten one of Max Verstappen's e-sports teammates.
But the pressure of getting things completed hasn't driven himself down either. This SR3 car at least had some planning ahead of race day, Ian explaining that he was ultimately being given 3 months to complete the piece which had its driver standing on the top step of the podium. However sometimes you will meet people that may not be the most organised in life. As pictured below, he cringed at the fact that he was given only one week to complete the livery for this Jaguar which still holds the wear and tear from its run around the track to this day, and even as fantastic as if he had been given a larger timeframe amongst the sleepless nights.
All in all, it would be a pleasure to meet Ian who couldn't be more of a down to earth person considering the value of his artwork within the racing community. And if you can't recognise him while he's painting because you can't see his face, then the paint that always covers his hands and clothes are a dead giveaway if you see him wandering about the Autosport International venue.
PopBangColour can easily be found on social media via Instagram (@popbangcolour), X (@popbangcolour), Facebook (@popbangcolour) and TikTok (@popbangcolour) if you want to check out more of his awesome work. If you disagree, I think you might need to turn the brightness up on your device and try this article again.
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