DPerceptions

Sunset Thursday at Road Ameica. The calm before the storm (©2010 Darren Pierson)

Kick Ass!  I have never been to this park, so I am quite excited to get out there tomorrow and shoot.  Its always a blast to attack a new track.  I have no idea where or why to shoot tomorrow, I get to spend the entire day thinking outside the box.  Hopefully I won’t come back with the same tired imagery that many have produced before me.

As we were setting up camp, listening to the sounds of the pits across the track, I was watching a cloud formation roll in.  The sun was very low and it illuminated the stands nearby.  Suddenly I could hear the distant echos of screaming racing engines.  Tomorrow, tomorrow…..

#17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 GT3 RSR: Bryan Sellers, Wolf Henzler (Darren Pierson)

Mid-Ohio, the land of the photographer trailer/media center with no internet connectivity. Are they mad at us? Was it something we said? Why can I not upload any of my files?

The Thursday photo meeting in the trailer was the usual excitement. Well, not really, it was scheduled for under the Goodyear Tower and then changed to the photo trailer (sorry, the non-working SSID was media_trailor). I was late, but since nobody shot at me or anything, I assume I didn’t miss out on any new instructions. Files needed uploaded, but the wi-fi had not yet been installed or turned on so I went out into the Ohio sunshine to photograph some sports cars on the track. The late afternoon light was particularly nice and not many people had been allowed into the track yet, so the background distractions we few. The sun was in the perfect place to shoot from the most interesting parts of the track so I went out and played. While out there, I noticed some people shooting from really bad directions. Sometimes you have to go out out shoot, sun angle be dammed. Other times, you can go to where the big glowing orb is your friend. I find it strange to watch photographers shooting into the sun when they don’t have to. Weird.

#8 Drayson Racing Lola B09 60 Judd: Paul Drayson, Jonny Cocker (Darren Pierson)

Friday consisted of two practices and then qualification. I missed morning practice. I am a bad man. Beautiful gobs of warm morning light and giant blue skies….I missed it. Had things I needed to take care of, I suck. Sorry. I did however, show up in the photo “trailor” in a vain attempt to upload my Thursday files. Nope, the connection was up and down. Mostly down. Always slow. Not a media center. Why bother? Up, down, up, dead, dead…..Are they doing this on purpose? What?! Drayson grabbed the pole in quali? How and Why? Very cool. You have to love Paul Lord Drayson’s efforts. He just wants to get out there and race. Qualification over and I am going back to camp; there is an elm there with a better signal to noise ratio than the connection at the photo “trailor”.

#8 Drayson Racing Lola B09 60 Judd: Paul Drayson, Jonny Cocker (Darren Pierson)

Saturday, race day! Clear and not completely hot. Nah, it was hot, but not Lime Rock hot. Mid Ohio races ALMS on Saturday because Der Danika says so; annoying, but not so annoying as Long Beach. The crowds on the Grid Walkabout were not too heavy, so I headed out so shoot some of the cars on the grid. Mid-Ohio starts the race on the back straight, so there isn’t really any place from which to shoot the start. I decided that the best place for me would be the flag stand over the start-finish line. It wasn’t the greatest spot since the LMP cars were single file by that point, but the GT and LMPC classes were fairly tight coming out of the last turn. I think I got some decent shots from the stand, but I will look for a better place next year.

Race Start at 2010 Sports Car Challenge at Mid Ohio

#55 Level 5 Motorsports Oreca FLM09: Scott Tucker, Christophe Bouchut (Darren Pierson)

Skip forward to the end. Chris Dyson is leading the race. The snake/shark bit team was winning….finally. I thought it best to go to the Highcroft (where were they in this race anyway?) pits to watch the last few laps. Watching Brabs and Marino yelling at the monitor, encouraging Simon, was great fun although it did not help. In the end, Dyson was triumphant. Risi also continues their winning form and Level 5 was back on the top spot of the podium.

Next time we will be writing from the other RA, Road America. Join us for some fun. Thanks for reading and looking. My Mid Ohio Sports Car Challenge gallery is available online at DPerceptions.com

2009 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid Ohio

We are sitting in a campground near Mid Ohio listening to the rain drumming on the roof. Why does it seem to rain everywhere we go this summer? It even rained in the desert when we were in Utah. Whatever, shooting in the rain makes for more dramatic photography. Also, I brought my camera’s rain gear, so take that you water! Not sure what to expect out of this year’s race weekend, last year we camped at the track in a tent. Wednesday night (tonight) was freeeeeeezing and it rained Thursday and Friday quite a bit. Saturday was cloudy and then clear, so the race was quick and fun. I have seen weather predictions indicating similar events for this year. Maybe we can skip the downpours though.

2009 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid Ohio

I have mentioned in other posts that I am not too keen on the ALMS/IndyCar weekends. Mid Ohio seems to be the worst of those as the IndyCar fans drive me bonkers, I feel like I am at a NASCAR race some of the time. We will see how it goes and I will tray to stay on my side of the fence.  I really like shooting here even though I HATE photo holes.  Hopefully nobody bought their lawn chair.  EDIT: It has been pointed out to me (fairly) that some tracks don’t even have photo holes.  I prefer holes over no holes, but it seems that the photo holes are often just exactly not quite where they should be.  Similar to the mystery of who decides where the photo stands are placed.

2009 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid Ohio

Look for Thursday images to go online Thursday night at DPerceptions.com

#32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: Bret Curtis, James Sofronas (Darren Pierson)

After the desert heat of Utah, we were looking forward to the cool mountain breezes of Eastern Connecticut and the alpine majesty of Lime Rock Park. Silly us. Friday started out well enough with partly grey skies, but the day kept creeping towards monsoon season. The 1st practice was slightly wet and damp, but afternoon practice and quali were full wet conditions. During qualification, I was standing in the pit lane watching a small river run across my shoes. The conditions on track had to have been horrendous for the drivers.

#37 Intersport Racing Lola B06/10 AER: Jon Field, Clint Field (Darren Pierson)

The rain on Friday finally let up towards the end of qualification and as the times started to drop, David Brabham went out and laid down a monster time and took P1 pole.  My entire body was soggy, so as soon as the grid was set, we headed out from the track to our campsite nearby in New York.

#1 Patron Highcroft Racing Honda Performance Development ARX-01c: David Brabham, Simon Pagenaud (Darren Pierson)

Lime Rock apparently had an issue in their park, because they no longer allow people to bring dogs.  Last year, we stayed inside and were bummed not to have our girls with us. This year, we have been traveling with them so we had to find a place nearby.  We ended up staying at Rudd Pond State Park a few miles away in New York, which was really nice and tranquil until the three cop cars and two ambulances and a flatbed pulled up at the campsite next to us.  Apparently, our neighbor had been going around stealing things from other’s tents and had been caught.  Not sure why it took so many vehicles or what the ambulances were for since he seemed to go quietly.  It was quite odd, normally you assume your camping neighbors are on the level and trust that your belongings are safe.  In our case, it helps to have locking doors and two german shepherds with us as well.

Saturday, race day, was forecasted as hot with a 40% chance of thunderstorms.  We didn’t see any rain, but they did get the hot part right.  I was looking forward to putting on my black fire suit and standing out in the sun, this was going to be a great day.  This season, the ALMS decided to do away with morning warmups, not sure why exactly, but until Lime Rock, on race day, we had no chance to shoot the cars in morning light.  I assume since the Northeast Grand Prix is only two days:  two practices and quali on Friday and the race on Saturday, they brought back the warmups to have cars on the track.  For whatever reason, it was good to be shooting in the morning sun.  I did hear talk in the media center that they were considering reinstating the morning warmup sometime this  season, I hope that they do.  The fan walkabout on the grid looked to be too crowded, so I skipped it and went straight to turn one to shoot the start of the race.  Turn one at Lime Rock is an enigma as there isn’t a convenient way to get there.  Essentially, you have to use a pedestrian bridge to cross over the front straight to get to the outside of the track.  Before you are completely off the bridge, you have to climb over the railing using the bars as ladder rungs and jump down onto the ground.  Once down, you follow the armco down to a break where the runoff area starts and cross over the track to outside turn one.  At the start of the race, as soon as the last car passes, we have to run across the runoff and get behind the frontstraight armco.

Northeast Grand Prix 2010 Race Start

 If we don’t cross back on the 1st lap, we have to stay at Turn One for the entire race, not fun.  Lime Rock is under 2 miles, so there isn’t much time to do this.  I imagine it looks rather odd to see 20 photographers all running across the track at once.  Getting back out is the reverse except you jumped down, so getting up to the 1st rung on the railing is no easy task especially if you are holding cameras and lenses.  As I type this, I realize that an easier way to get out there, you could cross the cold track from the inside T1 flag stand, but what would be the adventure in that?

#61 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT: Mika Salo, Pierre Kaffer (Darren Pierson)

#37 Intersport Racing Lola B06/10 AER: Jon Field, Clint Field (Darren Pierson)

My plan was to shoot the start and then work the pits through the first stop, after that, I was going to shoot around the track until about forty-five minutes to the end and then go back to the pits for the finish and podiums.  I’m not sure why I planned it that way, since it caused me to have to wear my fire suit for the entire race, something that wasn’t exactly pleasant in the heat.  At one point, I was standing in pit lane, leaning against the pit wall in front of Level 5, trying to find some shade, sweat pouring down my face.  The IMSA pit boss walked up to me in much the same condition and said, “Funny that so many people think we lead glamorous lives out here in the pit lane”.  Did I mention it was hot?  There had been so many yellows, that nobody was pitting and I started to worry that I was wasting time and needed to get out on the track.  Finally a few cars came in and I got my shots and left to shoot from the slight coolness of the trees.   I found an area near a new fan viewing spot that I though might yield a good look and shot there for a while.  All too soon it was time to head back to the heat of the pits for the finish.

#6 Team Cytosport Porsche RS Spyder: Greg Pickett, Klaus Graf (Darren Pierson)

The finish was actually pretty exciting since I could hear Hindy on the PA and for once actually had an idea of what was happening.  Klaus Graf had the CytoSport Spyder in the lead, but to me the surprise was Gunnar Jeannette running in P3 in an LMPC car.  He actually ran out of gas on the last lap and lost his overall placement but still won the LMPC class.  I really enjoy shooting at Lime Rock, hopefully you can see that in my images.  We are headed North to Mid Ohio, hope to see you there as well.  My entire Northeast Grand Prix image gallery is online at DPerceptions and is available for viewing and purchase.  Thanks for reading and looking!

#62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT: Jaime Melo, Gianmaria Bruni

I thought I would try something different this race.  Thought I might post about it while the sounds of the cars were still in my mind.  We are currently hiding in a parking lot of an RV park.  Not a place we would normally stay as we like trees and distant neighbors, but it does have a few compelling offerings such as full hookups.  We have been off the grid for about a week, so its nice to plug up, run the A/C and charge the batteries.  They also advertised Wi-Fi; a thing I was planning on using to upload the final Sunday images from my last cull.  They do have Wi-Fi here, if you mean they broadcast a SSID and that you can connect to it.  If you define Wi-Fi the same way we do by meaning: Once you connect to a router, you can both stay connected to it for longer than 1 minute and that when you are connected you can go out into the internet; I would have to say they do not provide Wi-Fi.  Luckily, or perhaps merely typically, we have our trusty Mi-Fi, Bob with us.  Bob rules, he kept us online at the Grand Canyon even when we had no cell coverage.

We arrived at Tooele from Bryce Canyon on Thursday afternoon just in time to see the GT3 practice while setting up camp.  Our spot was on Momentum Mountain and we could see the entire track sans the Attitudes which were behind a viewing hill.  A great view.  I will go ahead and offer praise of the facilities at Miller Motorsports Park, their infrastructure is second to none.  The media center and the attention from the staff is unreal, they actually seem to like the idea we are there.  Not that any of the other tracks we visit are cruel and unusually mean, more like all the other tracks need to send their staff out to Miller’s for a briefing.

Friday morning started off with a fun and exciting 7:30 am photo meeting, after which, I went back to the RV for more coffee and to work out the shooting schedule.  I always like to warm up by shooting some of the support series so I went out for the Cooper Lites and Patron GT3 practices.

NGT GT3 Hops the kerbs in the Attitudes

My timing came back fairly quickly so I was into the shooting groove in time for the 1st ALMS practice.  To say Miller Motorsports Park is a vast place situated inside a vast emptiness would be accurate.  To say you cannot bring enough glass to this place would also be true.  Having quantified both of those truisms, a 300mm on a DX body is often perfect.  With a 500mm, you often have to climb hills or back up to properly frame a shot.  Last year, I kept moaning that I needed a 500mm; this year, I had to keep kicking myself to not crop out the mountains in the background.

#99 Green Earth Team Gunnar Oreca FLM09: Gunnar Jeannette, Christian Zugel in the Attitudes

After all, cars on a track can be anywhere, but cars on a track with mountains in the background cannot be in too many places, at least on this continent.  An adage about cows and grass keeps coming to mind.

Saturday arrived and I decided I would shoot the afternoon practice and qualification from inside the track.  By inside, I mean out in the middle where there is not much armco, no shuttles bringing you water, sand, heat and once you are across the track, you are in there until it goes cold again.  In this case, I was stuck out there for a couple of hours.  At one point, it started raining these HUGE drops of water.  I looked up into the sky and there was not a cloud in sight, weird.  The rain stopped pretty quickly, and did not cool anything off….it was hot, I am telling you.  Shooting from the inside was a good choice, there are some great opportunities there and I think most photographers don’t make the effort to go out there.  Shooting something othert than cars on 2 wheels bouncing off the kerbs in the Attitudes was fun.  The disadvantage of Miller’s being so open is that you have to work really hard to keep trucks, campers, signs, port-a-potties and other un-photogenic items out of your backgrounds.  Angle, depth of field and panning are your friends here.

#1 Patron Highcroft Racing Honda Performance Development ARX-01c: David Brabham, Simon Pagenaud heads into Sunset Bend

<rant> While I am thinking of it, can I ask that whomever or whatever organization places the photo stands trackside either actually look at what can be shot from the stands or ask a photographer to help them? </rant>  To recap, Saturday was a great shooting day and I found several new opportunities.

Sunday:  Photo meeting at……….8:30AM!!!!! how strange, usually race day meetings occur before sunrise, Sebring was particularly dark.  I get to sleep in, hooray.  Nope, house batteries died Saturday night before I could finish uploading my files, so I was at the media center bright and early at 7am for power and internet.  Drag.  The photo meeting went as usual, we were told not to get run over and where we could go.  Later, the people who actually needed to know these things showed up.

Fire suits and Utah summer sun are not friends, thankfully there was a huge grey cloud overhead for the grid line up and starting ceremonies.  Soon after the 1st few laps, the sun came out and I began baking in my black suit and helmet.  I started the day by shooting the pits and grid then went out to Sunset Bend for the start.  After a few laps, I went back to the pits to shoot there for a while.  Its unreal standing next to a car as it blasts back out of its box, the exhaust wash is incredible.  Ok, its stupid and insane to be 2 feet from a race prepped F430 as it drops and slams out of its pit.  Stupid, really stupid, but fun.

#02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari F430 GT: Ed Brown, Guy Cosmo

I shot pit stops for about an hour and then went out to the Attitudes to finish up before the podiums.  Last year, we had this plywood riser from which to shoot the trophy presentations, it was rather flimsy and actually broke during the podium ceremonies.  This year they provided us a nice solid 6 inch high riser. Pretty useless, but at least we didn’t have far to fall.

Podium Ceremony Class Winners at the 2010 Utah Grand Prix

Miller’s is a great facility to visit and I suggest you do so.  I heard that next year the race was going to be a six hour race.  Since they do not have lights, I am betting for an early start.

Thanks for reading and looking!  My entire Utah Grand Prix Gallery is available at DPerceptions MotorSports Photography.  See you at Limerock.

Darren

2009 Utah Grand Prix Risi F430 pits during friday practice

I am posting this from the Grand Canyon while we are having morning coffee.  Technology can be a groovy thing, can’t it?  Rather than flying out like I did last year, we decided to bring the entire family and make a holiday out of it.  We have traveled through, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and finally Arizona.  Tomorrow, we head north from the Canyon and up into Utah.  Part of the trip so far has been trying to see as much of Route 66 as is left.  Sadly, most of it has been consumed by time and I40, but there are still many interesting detours.  We also took a detour in Louisiana to see the site where Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed and riddled with bullets.   Its been a fun and interesting trip.

Cadillac Ranch

No trip through Texas would be complete without a stop at Cadillac Ranch.

My coverage of the race will begin on Friday at www.dperceptions.com, and I really cannot wait as I feel some of my best work came for the track last year; excited to tweak my shots and to find new ones. I was unable to make it out to Laguna Seca, so it has been quite a while since I have been out there with the circus. Here’s to hoping for less mayhem on the start this year. See you soon!

2009 Utah Grand Prix Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud celebrate their win

Long Beach.  Long flight back.  Not so bad going out, where did your day go coming home.  Its a street course, something I used to like; now I am not so certain, narrow lanes affording little passing.  Then there is the whole issue of the “main” series, the parade and posturing.  I grew up in Illinois not terribly far from Indy, so the 500 is definitely something that I still appreciate.  No idea why, though, it was killed in the mid 90′s when the most recent split happened.  Yes, Paul Tracy won and was rooked; I’m a believer.  Things seem to be better on 16th Street now though, new blood, old blood, a 2010 season with fewer ovals, turning right, you know…racing.  Then again, I was there, sorry ABC shills;  there were more people in the seats for the ALMS race on Saturday than the IndyCar race on Sunday..

Ok, enough bitching about IndyCar.

We flew into the Long Beach Airport (recommend) on Thursday afternoon and made it to our hotel around 3:54.  Not quite in time for me to cab back over to the convention center for the 4PM photo meeting.  On one hand, I had nothing better to do than sit by the bay drinking Cucapá Chupacabras and eating ceviche all evening.  On the other, I was now faced with a 6:15Am photo meeting.  It didn’t really matter since the time zone killed me.  I was in bed around 8PM California time and back up at 4:30AM. The Passport Bus system didn’t start running until 6AM, so I had a cab waiting for me in the morning dark.

The Long Beach Convention Center is a huge place and I doubt I would have easily found the meeting if I had not run into Adriano Manocchia who showed me around the place for a bit.  Could this place be any more cavernous and winding?

6:15AM photographer meeting

I shot a picture with my BlackBerry so you could the glamorous life of photo meetings.  Having no real idea of where to go shoot after then meeting, I followed some good advice and headed to T11.  The light was great, but I was outside the track and was not really liking the angle so I headed up the front straight to aquatint myself with T1, the Fountain Area and the rest of that side of the track.  I imagine there might be a good shot or two in the street canyons over by the back straight, but I never made it over there as it did not look terribly interesting on the map.  I spent a good portion of my Friday learning some of the holes and vantage points on the course; thinking about where the sun would be later in the day.

#45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR: Jorg Bergmeister, Patrick Long

Long Beach weekend  is pretty heavy for ALMS.  Friday morning practice, Friday afternoon qualification, Saturday afternoon race.  Not much time to acclimate to a very slick and demanding street course.  Not sure why they do it to be honest.

Since the race was only 100 minutes, I reasoned that I would not have time to shoot in the pits so I decided to work them during qualification.  Similarly to Sebring, the light was long and colorful during quali.  Also similar to Sebring was the extremely boring quali session.  Again, the only highlight was the LMPC class battle with Christophe Bouchut and Gunnar Jeannette trading fast laps.  I find it odd that the qualification can be so uninteresting when the race itself is full of excitement.  Hopefully that will change as the season burns in.

#99 Green Earth Team Gunnar Oreca FLM09: Gunnar Jeannette, Elton Julian

Saturday was race day and I started the afternoon by shooting the start from atop the T1 walkway.  Half of the walkway was dedicated to pros, half was sold to people who wanted the “pro” experience.  My wife, Kim, commented later that half of the people shooting from above T1 left after the 1st 5 or 6 laps; I guess if you are paying to be up there, you need to get your shots.

Race Start #007 Aston Martin Racing Lola B09 60 Aston Martin: Harold Primat, Adrian Fernandez

I spent most of the ALMS race working the inside of the last few turns as I was liking the light on T9 and T10.  I got some great shots in the hairpin, but had no idea the Pagenaud made that great pass on the final lap until I watched it later on the internet.  Happily, the hat dance was modified from Sebring and went much more quickly.  Unhappily, Long Beach did not let fans into the area to watch, so again, very few live people saw the trophies handed out.

Podium Ceremony GT Class Champagne Battle

Thanks for reading and looking!  My ALMS Long Beach Grand Prix Photo Gallery is available for viewing and instant download at DPerceptions Motorsport Photography.

-Darren

Sebring Corner Worker

To me, Sebring is the start of the racing season.  Certainly we follow the Dakar and watch every televised minute of the 24 Hours of Daytona, but somehow they feel more like warmups.  Sebring is where it starts.

Last year, our spot was too close to the zoo and we ended up surrounded by people who, I am fairly certain, had no idea they were attending a motor race.  We did not make that mistake in 2010 and had a spot secured in the competitor paddock.  MUCH better. On one side we had a gentleman who treated us to an impromptu bagpipe exhibition and on the other a fine group of people, one of which was running in the IMSA Lites….er, Cooper Prototype Lites.  We had driven down Wednesday morning after taking a day break from Amelia and had quite a checklist upon arrival at Sebring:

1. Acquire Credentials
2. Locate shipping/receiving to pick up package
3. Pick up golf car
4. Locate RV spot
5. Park and unload
6. Start fire for St. Patrick’s Day Brisket
7. Drink Dark Beer

We had most of this accomplished by 5pm, so we practiced #7 for several hours.  I think we got it right eventually, but since the photographer meeting was at 7AM the next morning, it seemed sensible to stop and go to sleep.

The photo meeting was the same usual excitement…don’t get run over, don’t go into pit lane unless you are orange, don’t put your gear on the wall.  That sort of thing.  Common sense.  The only people who need to be told these things are the ones who don’t show up for the meetings.  The ones who go out onto the track in sandals and shorts or try to go into pit lane during the race without a fire suit.  Don’t get me wrong, the meetings are important for safety.  We often are told about no shoot zones and tweaks to the regulations.  I just often think the people who most need the information are in bed asleep while I am up and wondering where the coffee might be.  I continue to digress, on to the cars.

Sebring is not the most scenic of tracks.

#16 Dyson Racing Team Lola B09 86 Mazda: Chris Dyson, Guy Smith, Andy Meyrick

For the most part, its a tunnel of RVs and banners.  You have to work a bit to either completely mask the backgrounds by shooting really tight or by shooting at a low enough shutter that you blur out the scenery. There just are not many places where the background isn’t the thing you consider first.  This year, I started out shooting morning practice from just past T1 and continued to T4.  I really hate photo holes, but there are some good opportunities to be had in T4 if you frame correctly.  The hairpin is a mess to shoot from the inside and can have a very distracting background from the outside so I tend to shoot from just past the hairpin.  I guess I am saying that an iconic background from Sebring will require an effort.

In case you don’t know, Sebring races into the dark, so we as fans/photographers are allowed the great spectacle of night practice.  As a photographer, this means gobs of really long, colorful light followed by increasing ISOs and frantic wishes for the existence of a 500mm f2 lens (hopefully costing less than a kidney transplant).  Night practice is great, its a glimpse at Le Mans.  I love it.

#007 Aston Martin Racing Lola B09 60 Aston Martin: Stefan Mucke, Harold Primat, Adrian Fernandez

Friday brings more practice and qualification.  I shot quali from the pits.  Quali was the pits.  The Peugeots (the diesel class) sandbagged around and drilled everybody.  Essentially, the leaders in each class went out, ran a few hot laps and then parked it waiting for someone to better them.  Boring.  The lone exception to this was the newly formed LMPC class where the #99 of G.E.T.G. Racing battled the #95 Level 5 offering back and forth to the checkers. Gunnar Jeannette took the pole with a .182 advantage.

#99 Green Earth Team Gunnar Oreca FLM09: Christian Zugel, Gunnar Jeannette, Elton Julian

Saturday, race day:  6:45AM photo meeting, pipers walking by in the dark, people trying to park their cars on top of each other. Forget the Pit Walkabout, too many people.  Head to T1 45 minutes before the start to hold your place.  Parachutes, flyovers, driver parade, recon laps, NAIL IT.

You don’t actually know much about the race while you are shooting.  A 12 hour race certainly affords you the time to check in and regroup, but unless you can listen to the Midweek Motorsports Anoraks howling away, you don’t really know that much about the race.  Cars just disappear, sometimes in a ball of expensive Ferrari flame.   You head towards the start/finish near the end of the race and pantomime at the other people waiting there…who’s in the lead?

The Hat Dance is annoying too long.  By the end of the podium ceremonies, when they gave trophies to the premier class, LMP1, all of the fans were gone.  40 nonplussed photographers on a creaking stand and a few team members were all that was left to see the champagne.  That needs fixed.  Maybe at Long Beach.  See you there!

#07 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDI FAP: Marc Gene, Alexander Wurz, Anthony Davidson

All of my photographs from the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring are online for your viewing and download.  I have coverage of the American Le Mans Series, Cooper Prototype Lites and the Patron GT3 Challenge available.

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