Chasing the action
Chasing the action
- May 8, 2026
- Posted by: Sitefun
- Category: News
David Hammatt’s Action99 stunt tracking empire is the outfit behind some of the movie world’s most thrilling chases and stunts. His chosen camera car? A W12 Bentayga.
Crewe, home of Bentley Motors, is unusually quiet. The footpaths and roadways that criss-cross the plant, usually so full of activity, are deserted. So, it’s a goosebump moment when the sound of a 4.0-liter V8 engine at full throttle breaks the silence. Filming of FULL SEND, the thrilling launch video for the 666PS Bentley Supersports, is underway.
At the heart of the action is Travis Pastrana. One of the world’s top stunt drivers, Pastrana is behind the wheel of a rear-drive Bentley Supersports, all driver aids disabled. In his hands the 666PS Bentley drifts, spins, and pirouettes, inch perfect, balanced on a knife edge between triumph and disaster. Pastrana, whose CV includes multiple motocross and freestyle gold medals (as well as a long, long list of broken bones) isn’t performing in some purpose-built arena. He’s hot-dogging the most driver-focused Continental GT ever inside the place where it was created.
Pastrana’s stunt driving captures the maverick essence of Supersports. But how to keep up, let alone catch it on video? It’s going to take another Bentley. That’s where David Hammatt, owner of a very special Bentayga, comes into the story.
EXPERTISE IN EXHILARATION
David Hammatt is the professional’s professional. Son of a film stuntman, Hammatt runs Action99, one of the film industry’s go-to outfits for action sequences. Heists, getaways, clifftop chases…Hammatt has filmed them all. And after 36 years in the business, he’s learned one thing – quality pays.
While rival outfits use mainstream SUVs or pickups, Action99’s all-singing, all-dancing stabilized camera arm is mounted on a W12 Bentayga. Yet somehow it looks perfect for the role. To minimize reflections, the Bentayga’s original metallic orange paintwork is covered with matte black wrap. Purpose-tailored covers block the lights, and the massive articulating crane is mounted on a reinforced roof platform made to Hammatt’s own specification. Add the Bentayga’s all-terrain capability into the mix, and the result is a camera car with star quality.
It’s hard work on a shoot. You’re sitting in that vehicle for up to fifteen hours a day. The professionals in this industry deserve the best. I just think let’s do it in style.
MADE TO MOVE
The Bentayga – nicknamed ‘Armtayga’ – looks like a cross between an assault vehicle and something you’d see on a distant planet in a Star Wars movie. The roof-mounted arm and camera can rise from ground level to roof high in an instant, and it takes just over three seconds for the arm to complete a full 360-degree sweep around the car.
The arm is separated by shock absorbers at the fulcrum so that the counterweight doesn’t transmit any vibrations to the forward structure. The camera itself sits in a carbon fiber three axis gyro-stabilized remote head that’s built to handle high-speed moves with zero vibrations. This setup delivers cinematic stability and control – even at speed on rough ground.
Inside there are four workstations plus the driver’s seat. Each operator has a solidly mounted screen and joystick controls, enabling them to place the camera exactly where the director needs it. Meanwhile the director observes the action on their own high-definition screen.
Open the trunk and you see the fourth workstation. A laterally mounted carbon fiber race seat gives the focus puller a perch, and they too have their own screen and controls. Every bracket and fitting is built for purpose and beautifully integrated into the Bentayga’s interior. As 120mph offices go, it’s the business.
THE FULL SEND FEELING
Though David Hammatt acknowledges that the winged B gives Action99 valuable visibility within the close-knit film industry, there were good rational arguments for choosing W12 performance. For action sequences, a tracking car needs power. As he explains: “Take the Crewe shoot with Travis Pastrana. We’re crawling at walking pace as we set ourselves up for the take. Then when Travis goes into the drift he powers out, and I need to match him for pace so I can be where the director wants for the shot. With the Bentayga, there’s so much in reserve… I’ve got loads left in my back pocket.” Whether the sequence demands walking pace or full-throttle acceleration, the Bentley’s agile, responsive chassis delivers, every time. David Hammatt admits he didn’t just choose the Bentayga for its twin-turbo 6.0-liter W12 or its 48-volt active anti-roll suspension, useful though both are for his line of work. He values the Bentayga for its reliability and its supreme comfort, too.
“It’s hard work on a shoot. You’re sitting in that vehicle for up to fifteen hours a day. The professionals in this industry deserve the best. I just think let’s do it in style.”
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