DPerceptions

Saturday September 26, 2009 5:30AM EST-Race Day-Pounding rain on the roof of the RV.  I jumped out of bed and went outside to gather up our chairs and tables and make sure everything was under the awning and dry.  Back into bed, I contemplated my slightly damp state and wondered if I could get any more sleep before leaving for the 7:15 photographer meeting in the Tower.  As I was beginning to doze off, I heard a thump outside followed by another thump.  Looking out the window, I realized that the awning brackets had come apart and it was hanging sideways and banging against the side of the RV.  Wonderful.  Kim and I went outside into the dark downpour and jumped through a series of hoops that got the awning back together and stored away in its holder.

6:15AM – Soaked to the bone an decidedly awake, I made coffee and culled files before the meeting.  I threw on my raincoat, grabbed my travel mug of coffee and headed out into the deluge to find our golf car.  Several times during the drive to the tower I drove through 6 inch deep rivers of clay.  Nearing turn 10, I was amazed to see that many of the tents pitched on the downhill had been overrun by the waters.  One particularly large tent had been set smack in the middle of a small river and had over a foot tall berm of mud piled against it’s side.  The river flowed across the road, down the hill, against the tent and around it into a storm drain further down the hill.  Yikes!  I was at that point very appreciative of my dry sleeping area.

Peugeot 908 #07 leads the Audi R15 #2 though T12 during morning warmups for the 2009 Petit Le Mans

7:15AM –  As I reached the tower the rains came down even harder.  I ran into the meeting forgetting my coffee in the car.  So far this morning had been pretty annoying.  The photography meeting went as usual except there were so many photographers it was nearly impossible to hear and most of the people speaking did not remember to use the PA system they had set up.   Those meetings are somewhat odd.  Essentially the same rules exist at every track, the only differences are certain areas being red zones (no go) during the race as opposed to during practice or qualification.  Sometimes there are a few clarifications or they give us the new combinations for the gate locks.  There are always a few people who need to complain about a course worker denying them entry to an area or some other gripe.  Essentially, the meetings are held to help inform the people from area media and people who are new to shooting racing.  These are also the people who don’t seem to show up for these meetings.  You can usually tell who they are when they try to get into the pits while not wearing a fire suit.

10AM – After breakfast and more coffee, I had a pre-race meeting to attend and I shot the tail end of the warmup in the last of the morning rains.  We then headed to the front straight to join in the grid walk.  Even in the rain (it had by this time slowed to a drizzle) the grid was packed to hilt with fans.  In fact it was so packed, I gave up and headed down to turn one to get my spot for the start of the race.  The skies continued to rain off and on pretty much up until the ~11:15 reconnaissance laps.  When the cars went by us in turn one behind the safety car for the first time the track was still wet to the point where you could see the rear tires throwing up a large splash of water.  The rain had stopped, so I prepared to shoot the first lap of the race.  Turn one at the start of the Petit Le Mans can be a daunting place to stand.  Even behind yards of gravel, a tire barrier and finally a concrete barrier, I was ready for cars to come sliding my way.  I prepared one camera to shoot wide and fast in case someone decided to come through the gravel at the start of the race and the other to catch the cars as they came down the last of the pit straight.  A huge fog appeared out of turn 12 and the leaders headed our way.

Three wide at the start of the 2009 Petit Le Mans. Allan McNish goes wide on the outside to take the lead

I continued to shoot turn one for several laps as the rooster tails died down and a dry line started to form. The rain was gone and the race was on.

I was going to cover the pits for the first part of the race, so I left turn one and headed up to the tower to put on a fire suit. Here is one of the few good points of the rain and cool weather; it makes wearing a fire suit in Georgia in September almost bearable. I hit the pits a little after Noon and a few cars had already switched over to dry tires. I watched the Matmut Oreca team refuel and throw on slicks. There was still enough water in their pitbox to cause the car to slide on its way out. I heard over the radio almost immediately that Lapierre had had an off and on, so the track, while drying, was still quite wet in places. Over the next 20 minutes or so, all of the cars came in for slicks, so the pits were a very busy place to be.

The Matmut Oreca AIM pits for fresh tires during the 2009 Petit Le Mans

I had been paying particular attention to the new Drayson Lola all week as the car was completely new to both me and the team. My pit notes showed that Lord Paul Drayson was supposed to be the third driver into the car, but somewhere around one in the afternoon, Paul put on his helmet and jumped into the car after Jonny Cocker finished the first stint. I must admit that I did not pay much attention to his times, but he seemed to be holding his own. About an hour later he got out and gave the car over to Rob Bell. You could tell how elated Paul was as he jumped out of the car and started running around hugging everyone. He was smiling from ear to ear.  This was great to see, the sport needs more people who are as openly enthusiastic as him.

Lord Paul Drayson in the Drayson Racing pitbox - 2009 Petit Le Mans

The rains came and went; usually nothing more than a few drops. Several cars were having problems, mostly with crashes and offs. About 2:30 Kim came down to the pits to pick me up for some lunch. We went back tot he RV and ate while watching the race unfold on television. Then it started to rain again.

Red Flag

As we sat watching the rain come down outside we listened to the Radio Le Mans guys valiantly scramble to fill airtime.  They did an exceptional job of informing and entertaining during the lull in racing.  However, I couldn’t keep the same feeling I had during the 2005 US Grand Prix from creeping into my head. I remember standing with Kim in the front straight at Indy, mouth agape as all of the Michelin shod cars pulled into the garages. I was hugely frustrated, but had been warned the day before by the Williams Team. Much like Indy, I knew the rain was coming, but hoped it would pass.

BMW Rahal Letterman M3 #90 in the rain at the 2009 Petit Le Mans

What most people still don’t seem to understand was that we (Georgia in this case) had over 20 inches of rain the week before the race, there was nowhere for this new rain to go.  The ground was full, there was nothing the track could do other than wait.  I think IMSA, ALMS and Road Atlanta got it right, the red flag and the final checker waved 5 hours later.  At no point in between was it the track in any condition to hold a walk, let alone a motor race.  As a fan I was bummed, but understood.

Once the officials threw the checkers, we jumped into the golf car to head down for the podium ceremonies.  The trophy session (or hat dance as it is called) was obviously subdued, but the Peugeot guys did seem to makes sure McNish was completely soaked with champagne.  I am sure he was appreciative.

The P1 Podium Ceremony at the 2009 Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda6

One of the most amazing bits of the week were the fans.  We have been going to Petit for years and even through the rain, we have never seen so many people at the track.  I can only assume this means good things for the future of sports car racing.

Thanks for reading and looking! My entire 2009 Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda 6 gallery is available for viewing and your use at DPerceptions.com

Friday morning was another beautiful fall day in Georgia.  On tap was morning practice, the driver autograph session and in the afternoon, qualifying.  Personally, I’m not a collector of signatures.  I do have a few that I have kept: Jim Leyland, Ross Brawn, James Weaver, Efren Reyes.  I even have a poster from Laguna Seca signed by one David Hobbs, but I bought it for the poster, not the autograph.  At any rate, the ALMS fans seem to love the session and I think its a great opportunity for people to get close to the drivers, something most series are lacking.  The autograph session is perfect for grabbing some fan interaction shots as well as providing time for impromptu driver portraiture.  Yes, you can shoot the standard “driver sits up and smiles” shot, but that’s not what I am meaning.  If you are patient and pay attention to the light and the gaps in the lines of people, sometimes you can walk away with a keeper.

Adrian Fernandez during the Drivers autograph session at the 2009 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta

Its also a great time for team interaction as the PR people and principals are out and about. Unless the car was shunted durning morning practice or the quali setup has not been found, the mechanics are a bit more relaxed and you can often find interesting bits to photograph in the garage that you might not have contemplative access to during other times of the week.

The Audi driving suits being aired out prior to qualification for the 2009 Petit Le Mans

With the session over, we jumped into the cart and headed back to the RV for lunch and file download/culling . Many people think that since there is no film involved, photography is now a breeze. While some things have certainly become more simple, such as instant preview (I sold my 2 1/4 Polaroid back years ago), the reality is that I have never had to do more work to obtain the final product. I suppose the real problem with public perception of photography is that most never had to learn the discipline of exposure and focus. Most never processed film, printed contacts or spent untold hours in the darkroom dodging and burning a print. Today, the GWC or MWC merely looks at the viewfinder on the back of the camera, pushes (hopefully) the right button, instantly sees the results and later uploads the original jpeg to Facebook and calls it a job well done. Enough of my rant, back to the racing.

GT2 qualification was first and as it progressed, I became more and more confused. Roberston Racing’s GT40 was constantly at the top of the charts.  Don’t misunderstand me here, I am fully in support of the Robinsons and admire their tenacity and determination.  I have talked to David Robinson in the pits numerous times and he is incredibly open and down to earth.  But what was their car doing at the sharp end of the grid?  Granted, Road Atlanta is a power track and David Murry (the quali driver) was an instructor here, but the fact remained that they were outrunning the Flying Lizards, Risi, the P&M Vettes and even the similarly shod RLR BMW M3s.  An additional surprise was the Riley-Corvette of LGR running in second place.  Unless I am mistaken, that corvette had not been on track since the fire at Long Beach months ago.  The GT2 part of the race was going to look very different at the start.

The Robertson Racing GT40 with David Murry at the wheel takes the GT2 pole for the 2009 Petit Le Mans

For Prototype qualification, we went back up to turn 10, but this time I was shooting from outside 10a in the triangle by the tunnel. This isn’t the greatest spot to shoot from since you are at track level and there tends to be quite a bit of distracting bits in the background. This means you are either shooting pretty tight or really slowly; usually both. The Peugeots seemed to have the legs on the Audis for most of the session and it ended that way with P1 pole going to the 07 of Minassian/Lamy with the 08, 2 & 1 following up. The Dyson Lola Mazdas continued their positive streak with the 20 of Leitzinger/Franchitti/Devlin taking P2 pole.  The #16 Dyson was running an alternative fuel and was not eligible for points.  The Cytosport RS Spyder of Pickett/Graf/Maassen continued their impressive short season with a 2nd place on the grid.

The Team Cytosport Porsche RS Spyder crests the hill past T10 and heads under the Suzuki Bridge at Road Atlanta

With Quali over, we headed back to camp to detox, retox, eat and retox some more.  Tired of shooting, we watched the Jetta TDI cup qualification from the Hill and then went back to culling files.  I will finish this post in Partie Trois – Tres Petit Petit.  Thanks for looking and reading! My entire 2009 Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda 6 gallery is available for viewing and your use at DPerceptions.com

Nonstop rain for what seemed like 2 weeks.  Atlanta flooded.  Then the sun came back, it was Wednesday September 23rd; time to head up to Braselton for Petit Le Mans.

When we arrived at the track, we had the usual document dance to attend: credentials, golf car, get the RV into the track, pick up photo vest, you know; the entry drill.  We always land the RV in the same spot and this is conveniently very far away from most everything.  After parking and a quick setup of camp, we had just enough time for lunch before practice.  Since our space on the back straight is somewhat near turn six and seven, I decided to start out shooting on the outside of seven.

Allan McNish in the #2 Audi R15 at Road Atlanta

For those of you who do not know, seven is reached via a hike through the wild kudzu fields of Northeast Georgia.  Its worth the effort, since the inside of 6-7 can be shot by pretty much anybody with a small bit of length.  Doesn’t mean they will shoot it well, but the track is exceedingly close in that area.  Road Atlanta is somewhat like Miller Motor Sports park in that you cannot show up with too much glass.  The long stretches are begging for 400mm, 500mm glass; expensive things.  My reaction times were off, I was rusty.  I had not shot speeding cars since Mid Ohio in early August.  Slow moving pedestrian type photography obligations had kept us from Road America and Mosport.  My slow pans were horrible with a keeper rate of ~1 out of 6.  Still, I came out of Wednesday with several images which I count in my most strong from the week.  Plus, the sun was out.

Rock & Roll Union Jack on the back of the Drayson Lola

Thursday was again a beautiful example of a fine fall day. Blue skies with big puffy clouds. Neat to look at and groovy to float in your pictures but a nightmare for metering.  Previously, at the WERA Cycle Jam, I had found what I thought to be a good spot and angle from which to shoot in the turn 10 complex.  After coffee & a bagel, we loaded up the golf car and headed up that way just before the start of the morning session.  A word to the wise, bring your ear plugs.  Especially bring your ear plugs if you are going to be standing next to the Suzuki bridge. The sound of a screaming race engine at full song is rather loud.  Put that noise in a sounding chamber like a tunnel and you reach a new level of loud.  I shot from my newly acquired perch for quite a while, working on selective focus and slow pans.  It is a good spot and I will keep going back as I don’t think I have gotten it quite right as of yet.  There is an angle or a viewpoint that I can almost see in my mind that I have not locked into the camera.

Cytosport RS Spyder goes under the Matmut Oreca

While there, I did see a new spot to try next time.  I am always looking for a new vantage point all the while trying to perfect the known locations.  This can easily become a problem as I have heard more than one photographer complain about being unable to come up with something new while at a very familiar location.  After shooting from the bridge berm for a while, I decided to try shooting from the area next to the flag house at the beginning of T10.  I am not to sure about that spot as there are so many signs and cars on the tunnel road.  I pulled out a few from there, but nothing terribly exciting.  Maybe it would be a better place at night, but the area is so small that it would crowd quickly.

After lunch, my plan was to shoot practice from the pit lane as I was in need of a perspective change.  Its easy to forget that there are drivers in these cars and that there are hoards of mechanics, engineers and other people waiting for their return.

The Dyson Mazda #16 waits in the pitbox during Thursday practice for the 2009 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

I shot the crews for what seemed like a very little time when suddenly everyone was rushing to the monitors.  I was in the Patron pit at the time and could not see their monitors very well so I moved next door to the Flying Lizard team just in time to see a replay of Scott Sharp’s barrel roll.  It was really creepy to see his car destroy itself like that.  More amazing was to watch him immediately climb from the wreckage and look around at the damage.  Needless to say, with 500 feet of fencing to replace and bits of Acura everywhere, the rest of the practice session was scrubbed.  As far as I know, no one was hurt which is a testimony to both the construction of the car and the safety measures at the track.  We had quite a while before night practice so back to the RV for food and liquids.  For a lark, we decided to actually watch the Patron GT3 race from the Hill but I ended up shooting it as well.

I had decided to shoot night practice from T6 and T7.  Normally, there is a long period of twilight during Night Practice where the very low sun and glowing skies make for fantastic opportunities.  Due to the Patron crash and subsequent repairs, the schedule was quite off.   So this year, night practice was completely in the dark.  There are not too many places you can shoot at Road Atlanta in the dark.  Night practice is great fun, I cannot imagine what it is from a driver’s perspective, tearing through the Georgia night in and out of brightly lit areas, flashes going off……Have I mentioned how many flashes were going off?  OK, I’ll admit I have used a flash shooting racing at night.  I didn’t like the way it looked and have since then sworn it off in favor of honing my low light skills.  The crowds for Night Practice were amazing, literally hundreds of people lined the fences in the skid pad area.  In T6 they were 4 and 5 deep.  Luckily, I was on the other side of the fence and had an unobstructed view of the cars.

The Falken Tires Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in Turn 7 at Road Atlanta during night practice for the 2009 Petit Le Mans

This post is becoming a bit long in the tooth, so I will finish this part and post Friday and Saturday soon. My entire 2009 Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda 6 gallery is available for viewing and your use at DPerceptions.com

This morning while running through our checklist for Petit, I started thinking about how necessary a golf cart is at Road Atlanta.  At most races held there, you can use your car, but during the Petit Le Mans week, there are just way too many cars and people at the track.  In fact, there are way too many golf carts at the track as well and all of them look the same.  Apparently this can cause a bit of confusion to people who cannot read the assignment sticker on the front.  Over the years, we have come up with several ways of IDing our car such as flags, banners, beer coolers, hood ornaments…..

The best year by far however was 2007 when I had some rally style name signs made for the car.  Forgot to have our blood type put in with them though; wish I would have remembered that.

This year’s race is looking to be one of the best in recent years with the addition of several LMS P1 teams such as Audi, Peugeot & Drayson. Images from the track will be posted in my 2009 Petit Le Mans Photo Gallery.

Hope to see all of you there!

EDIT: Some how this post is now the #9 Google search result for golf car rental for Petit Le Mans.  Since I try to be a good internet citizen, here is Mid Florida Golf Car Rental Website.