Tag: Michelin pilot challenge

IMSA Indy Test

Porsche Penske Motorsports – Porsche 963

Testing is an essential part of auto racing, and there are many reasons why teams do it. Baring any unforeseen problems, most testing is done in the off season. However if you are moving to new equipment, and it is late in arriving, you could find yourself behind the eight ball compared to other teams.

But these are not the only reasons for testing, and not the only times it is done. If part way through a season your car is performing as well as you feel it should, you schedule test at various tracks. Most test sessions are private, and may only consist of one team. Others may be in conjunction with teams. They are however open test that take place before certain big races. Most are open to the press, and maybe a few fans.

Crowdstrike Racing by APR – Oreca LMP2 07

Such a test took place recently at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was for IMSA cars participating in the upcoming race to take in September of this year. For this test there was a very good reason. IMSA has not been to Indy since 2014.That was at the time of the IMSA Grand AM merger. The cars of today are a far cry from those that were there in 2014. The top prototype class has evolved from the Daytona prototypes of that time, to the DPi cars, to the new GTP Hybrid cars. I have no doubt that even for drivers who were there in 2014, that there will be a bit of a learning curve.

BMW M Team RLL – BMW M Hybrid V8

Thirty three cars participated in the test, from GTP, LMP 2, LMP 3, GTD and GTD Pro. There were cars from the Michelin Pilot series who had their own sessions. There were very few mishaps, although it take the #60 Acura a few laps to figure out turn 12. Otherwise the day I was there was quite smooth. I am sure those who were there now have the basis of a notebook to work from on how to set up their cars for race weekend.

Wright Motorsports – Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
Paul Miller Racing – BMW M4 GT3
JDC Miller MotorSports – Porsche 963
Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian – Hyundai Elantra N TCR
Era Motorsport – ORECA LMP2 07
Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian – Acura ARX-06

Joel

Speed and Sport Shorts: Tough Shots (Eye of the Driver)

This is something I try to do every chance I get. So what makes this a tough shot? First you have to have the right conditions. Most preferred are early morning, or late afternoon. During these times the low sun shines directly in to the car. At these times most drivers tend to have their visor either partially or fully up. Another condition that will offer this kind of shot, is cloudy and heavy overcast. In these conditions many drivers will wear a clear visor for better visibility. Second, you have to be able to get close enough to track side to see directly into the front windshield of the car. It doesn’t matter if it is on a strait or curve. Both offer unique views, and expressions on the drivers face. Third you must have a long enough lens to zoom in tight on the driver.

What is it I like about this shot? In the drivers eyes you can see focus, determination, and intensity. You will see them looking at the apex of an upcoming turn. Glancing in the mirror to see who is around them. Also a calmness of a person at work going about their job. What ever the expression is, it fascinates me, and I often find myself looking at these shots for long periods of time trying to determine just what they might have been thinking at that moment in time. After all isn’t that what still photography all about, capturing moments in time?

Joel

 

Motorsports in Black and White lll

While not the ultimate, I consider this image a good subject for black and white because it has only one distracting element in the background.

Once again we revisit one of my favorite subjects, Motorsports in black and white. His time we will look at subject matter. Which of the photos you have taken will look compelling in black and white. When you look at black and white photos of the past, shot by some of the greatest photographers such as Ansel Adams, Gordon Parks, and Walker Evans, you can’t help but think that the subject matter seems to have been made for the medium in which it was shot. After all color film had been around for some time, and these photographers could well have afforded to use it if they were so inclined.

Landscape, portrait, and street photography are some mediums that benefit most from black and white. Motorsports is quite a different matter. Just any old shot shot from anywhere trackside will not translate well into black and white.

As much as I like this image, the fence in the background is just a bit too much for my taste.

When I go through shots from an event, I look for certain criteria to determine if I can produce a compelling black and white image with it. The first, and most important is how many, or few distracting elements are in the foreground, but mostly in the background. Second, is it a dynamic shot that will draw peoples attention. Or will it just look like a car on a track. Third is the color, and livery on the car or bike. Wild multicolor liveries will just turn into a mess leaving the viewers eye wandering looking for a focal point which they will likely not find. So I tend to avoid these. Every so often I will look at a shot on the the cameras screen and know right away that I will convert it to black and white.

Here we have an image that I would never consider for black and white because there is just too much going on both on the track and in the background.

As with most things about photography, it’s all up to the eye, and taste of the person who presses the shutter. I can only offer my own personal views and options.

Joel

2022 Favorites (The year that was)

With it now being 2023, this seems like a good time to take a look back at 2022. The year was its usual mixture of both excitement and disappointment. But as I look at the overall, there was far more good than bad. I also got to make some new friends, and see some old ones I haven’t seen in awhile. What I present here are some of my favorite shots from last year, in no particular order. For photographers, what constitutes a favorite is not necessarily the most technically excellent shot, but the one that speaks to us and gives us the feeling that we accomplished something a bit little special. In most cases the average viewer may not agree, but this is why I call it favorites not best shots. As usual starting a new year I have no idea what is to come. For 2023 I will do as I always have and try to improve on what I have done in the past, and become better at my trade.

So I hope you enjoy what is presented here, and here’s to new opportunities in the future.

FANATEC GT World Challenge – Racers Edge Acura – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Ferrari Challenge North America – Aaron Weiss – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Moto America – Mathew Cunha / Hunter Dunham – Road America
Road to Indy, Indy Lights – Stingray Robb – Road America
OPC Michigan City Grand Prix – Husky Chocolate / Australian Navy – Michigan City Indiana
SCCA Blakhawk Regionals – GT2 TA Mustang – Blackhawk Farms Raceway
FANATEC GT World Challenge – Triarsi Ferrari 488 – Road America
Honda Indy Grand Prix – Josef Newgarden – Mid Ohio Race Course
FANATEC GT World Challenge – Turner Motorsports BMW – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Trans-AM by Pirelli – Matthew Brabham – Mid Ohio Race Course
Moto America – Richie Escalante / Suzuki – Road America
IMSA Lexus Grand Prix- Acura DPi – Mid Ohio Race Course
FANATEC GT World Challenge – Crowdstrike AMG – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Lamborghini Super Trofeo – Shehan Chandrasoma – Road America
Sonsio Indy Grand Prix – Josef Newgarden – Road America
Weathertech Sportscar Weekend – Pfaff Porsche – Road America

Robert Wickens: Climbing to the Top Again

One never knows until it happens to them how they will react to adversity. Without going into the psychology of it, the responses can vary widely from those who give up immediately, and just shut down and decide it’s all over for them, to those who try to overcome it and then give up feeling it is too hard. Then there are those who from the start are planning how they will overcome or beat the obstacle put before them.

From 2005 on Robert Wickens career was on a steady upward trajectory. From Formula BMW, through various European formula series, and DTM before eventually ending up as a test driver for Schmidt Peterson racing. His big IndyCar break came when he had to drive the number 7 car in practice for the Kohler Indy Grand Prix at Road America. Driver Mikhail Aleshin, after competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was not able to get back into the U.S. in time to start the race weekend due to visa issues. It was announced later in 2017 that Robert would be joining the team full time for the 2018 season.

I won’t go into the details of Robert Wicken’s 2018 Pocono accident as this is widely known, and not the focus of the story. What astonished me most is the extent of his injuries. This is what makes his come back all the more amazing. In spite of this, shortly after awakening in the hospital, he told the world he would race again, and win.

Through much painful work (which he kept everyone updated on), he managed to get strong enough to test drive Michael Johnson’s Hyundai Veloster with hand controls at the Mid Ohio Race Course. Johnson was another paralyzed driver who drove for Bryan Herta Autosport and had given them a podium finish with co driver Stephen Simpson.

It has now been three years of hard work recovering from the 2018 accident that left him paralyzed, and as he told us then he would race again, and win. In his first race back, driving a Hyundai Elantra for Bryan Herta Autosport, he and his fellow Canadian driver Mark Wilkins scored a podium finish in the Michelin Pilot series at Daytona. But if he has taught us anything, it is that just being on the podium is ok, but it is not a win. With the amount of determination he showed just to get back racing, you knew it was only a matter of time before he would win outright. Saturday June 25th 2022 Robert fulfilled his dream of being a winning driver once again finishing first in the TCR class with Mark Wilkins. He followed that up with a win at Mid Ohio, this time with Gabby Chaves as his co driver.

There is no way of saying how far Wickens will go from here, but the level of determination and perseverance exhibited by this one man is nothing short of inspirational. How many of us can say we could do the same? How many of us would even try? Who knows – I can’t even answer that question myself. What I do know, just from a brief talk on the false grid at Mid Ohio, is he expects to win every time he climbs into a car. When I asked him how he felt about the race that day, without any hesitation he said “we will win, that’s what I’m here for”. There was a confident matter of fact look in his eyes when he said it that told you he truly believed it. Oh, and yes, he did win that day.

 

Joel Love

Rob Edgcumbe

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