A1 Grand Prix- now Sunday!

[MCWB]

Some of my pics from today (click thumbnail to enlarge, then click to enlarge again if desired), the rest of the gallery is here:

Adrian Sutil (Germany)



Adam Khan (Pakistan), absolute comedian. This is one of six lockups at the same corner (turn 6) in six consecutive laps.



Allan Simonsen in this gorgeous Ferrari 360GT came from 25th to 4th in 40 minutes during this afternoon's 1hr 'endurance' race.



Stop tailgaiting me aight!



Leanne Tander in F3.



My mate Adam Khan, don't tell me he's locking up again? This time at turn 2, twice (or three times?) out of 4 qualifying runs.



Will Davison with a small lockup at turn two.



Click here to see the rest of the gallery!

These cars are superb to watch, it'll be a great day tomorrow, if you're thinking of going get your arse out there!

[Catcha]

great shots, after seeing how hard it is to get a full frame of the car in the middle of the shots while they are moving at insane speeds , yours are spot on in the centre.

[Jeff]

Great shots thanks for showing the action.Those of us that can't get there can only get second hand thrills.

Jeff

[BBJ]

Bloody beautiful matey, done a great job at these pics, how i wish we had car racing like this down this way in SA. I think they are all great, not much i can say other than i love them all.
pat on the back for u

[Glen]

Trent, thanks for sharing for those of us who couldn't make it

[Slider]

Great shots Trent. Would have loved to have been there, especially after the fun of Indy just recently. Looks like some top cars

[drifter]

Very nice shots .That Pakistan car was one of the best presented cars as far as paint job ( maybe cause your mate Mr Khan needs it repainted after every practice session )

I was out there yesterday as well .Couldn't make it today though. Must say the cars are as ugly as sin in the flesh. Great to see an international series out here at EC . Hopefully it comes back for the next few years .

[waspo]

Mate, you've done a great job with these shots! What lense/s did you use for them?
Cheers, Jase.

[Paul]

I had a great day out with Trent, Barry & Raskil, took loads of shots (680 gulp!) and got very sun burnt!
Here's some of the better shots from today, all taken on a D70 + 70-200VR, ISO200, Shutter Priority ranging from 1/200 to 1/500 depending on image with EV ranging from -0.3 to -1.0, WB set to sunny/cloudy
Hope these show up okay otherwise I'll link them straight to my website

South Africa

http://paulquinn.smugmug.com/gallery/943350/1/43243659

Ireland

http://paulquinn.smugmug.com/gallery/943350/1/43243664

New Zealand

http://paulquinn.smugmug.com/gallery/943350/1/43243658

Brazil

http://paulquinn.smugmug.com/gallery/943350/1/43243668

Austria

http://paulquinn.smugmug.com/gallery/943350/1/43243672

USA

http://paulquinn.smugmug.com/gallery/943350/2/43243685

France, winner of both races

http://paulquinn.smugmug.com/gallery/943350/2/43243693

Japan's car in perfect condition

http://paulquinn.smugmug.com/gallery/943350/2/43243684

Now scrap metal.

http://paulquinn.smugmug.com/gallery/943350/2/43243690

[MCWB]

More to come, but here's my ones of the Japanese crash:




Click on the thumbnails below for bigger:

[ozczecho]

MCWB - awesome. Not only at the right place at the right time but a great capture. I was wondering if anyone here would catch it. Well done.

[ozczecho]

 BTW - Bit of a safety issue for these cars the way the tyre came off....

[drifter]

Holy cow ! What a great catch . Awesome . Well done .

[Catcha]

MCWB that shot is a money making shot there ????? should sell it to the papers

[MCWB]

Ben, yup I've already emailed it to the SMH, but not holding my breath. Anyone have contacts? To be honest though, the thrill of snapping it is worth it without the $$$; I shoot for fun, and this was way fun, so I'm happy.

[antman]

Great series at the end.

Is he one of those Kamakaze drivers - must have got some "divine wind" inspiration.

[Digidegs]

Great shots from one and all. Well done.
Could not make it and peeved that it was not on TV either. Only next Sunday.

Cheers
Albert

[leek]

Great shots from one and all. Well done.
Could not make it and peeved that it was not on TV either. Only next Sunday.

Cheers
Albert

Ah... but it was on TV... Fox Sports 2... I watched it all

[shaunus]

MCWB, if the SMH doesnt use that sht their stupid, i would send it into auto action and motorsport news

AWESOME SHOT

[Glen]

Trent, great, great capture

[Slider]

Fantastic Trent. You would have to be happy with that

[Catcha]

Ben, yup I've already emailed it to the SMH, but not holding my breath. Anyone have contacts? To be honest though, the thrill of snapping it is worth it without the $$$; I shoot for fun, and this was way fun, so I'm happy.

Totally agree if you had to make a living out of action photography, you hope to hell it gets published. But if it does bonus, if not its a real keeper.
Again fantastic capture, its all about timing

[Jeff]

MCWB as everyone else has said great series of shots. We certainly have some talent in this group.
Well done.

Jeff

[BBJ]

Trent, mate that is a cool shot and yes it would make a great shot for papers and hope you manage to get it used. I looked at Getty's and see other also got shots of the crash, not a shot like yours but more when the car is tumbling loosing all its bits. I think you all did a great job and can see will we be turning some good sport photogs out of you all.
Well done to all of you and truly amazing pics Trent, i too like you didnt expect anything from my pics but anything is a bonus.
Well done hope it works out.
Cheers
John

[sheepie]

Trent - I think you have some dust bunnies in that crash pic

WELL DONE - was sitting here at home when it happened and all they could show us was the final bit of the crash and thought - I bet one of our guys got it! And yip, you lot didn't disappoint! Looked like a good day for crashes.

ALL - there's some great shots amongst all of this, thanks for giving us a better view of the happenings. Just wish I'd have been able to get out there... Oh well - next time (fingers crossed).

[MCWB]

 LOL Leon! Thanks for the kind comments guys, glad you enjoyed the pics (especially for those who were unable to go). Seriously fun event, with some seriously bonehead moves at turn 2!

Some more on the Sunday (click thumbnails to enlarge):

Mexico and Russia have an argument:



Germany and Mexico have an argument:



Here's Paul:



Looking forward to seeing your shots Barry, Alan and Paul!

[Glen]

Trent, you must have been at a very interesting spot or A1 is closer to smash em derbys than F1. Tremendous captures

[MCWB]

Trent, you must have been at a very interesting spot or A1 is closer to smash em derbys than F1.

I'll lock in C, "Both" please Eddie!

Seeing as though you guys are enjoying these, here are some of the support races:

Formula Ford airtime:



Ex-Tim Schenken Brabham BT36 1971 Formula 2 car. Its brother (ex-Graham Hill, Damon's dad) was also racing; this team was managed by Ron Dennis (McLaren F1 team principal).



Damn these Historics are cool. They're on at Wakefield Park on November 26-7 too if anyone's interested.



Neil Bryson's yummy Ferrari 360 Challenge locks up.



D'Arcy Russell dives down the inside of Marc Cini. 8 L of V10 grunt certainly has its advantages!



Allan Simonsen's $750 000 Ferrari 360GT. Sex on wheels.



Chris Alajajian in his spectacular Renault F1-lookalike F3 car.

[barry]

Trent, congratulations on some well taken shots, especially the Japanese pile-up.

Certainly the action at turn 2 made for a good day.

Here are some of my shots.

Members Paul, Trent and Alan. Shot is a bit noisey. The fisrt shot of the day, inadvetantly taken on ISO1600.


One of the many incidents at turn 2.


And the aftermath on turn 2.

[sirhc55]

Well done guys - all of the shots are awesome

[robboh]

Very nice shots .That Pakistan car was one of the best presented cars as far as paint job ( maybe cause your mate Mr Khan needs it repainted after every practice session )
I was out there yesterday as well .Couldn't make it today though. Must say the cars are as ugly as sin in the flesh. Great to see an international series out here at EC . Hopefully it comes back for the next few years .

Yeah, there are a few rather scary drivers in this series. Though, there does seem to be a VERY high incidence of wheel locking, so I wonder if they dont have particularly good brake balance. I forgot the race was on on Sunday
As for ugly?? They are butt-ugly on TV, Id hate to see them in real life then!!

To those who posted pics, great shots.

[BBJ]

I agree, you have all done very well at this event, what catches my eye is the use of monopods. I know i am bigger than you guys but it the lens and body really that heavy? I gather i am used to walking around taking all my shots hand held with the sigma lens and not sure what dif in weight would be. I walked around with the 300 F2.8 and that weighs 2.8kg lens alone. Anyhow still great shots loved them all well done fella's.

[Glen]

BBJ, are you politely saying they are a bunch of wimps? (I will just skulk off and hide my monopod)

[Paul]

John,
I used the monopod for about half the shots I took during the day, It helped me have rest from holding up the lens all the time.
As you've said it's not a big lens compared to your 300mm but every bit helps when your new to taking motorsport pictures.
One thing I found was that panning was a lot easier hand held, I felt the pod was a little bit restrictive when doing a longish pan.
Next time I'm going to try and hand hold it a lot more, I might get a few more action shots
Here's a few more from Sunday

One of the "Pro" Photograhers


This guy is maybe not a "Pro", wonder how he got his press pass?


Adrian Sutil (Germany) after crashing out


Oops!!


Czech Republic car not parked in Parc Ferme

[Glen]

Paul, you would say only half the time now, wouldn't you I think BBJ should confirm with Trent and Alan independently how much time you three each spent podded up.



I can see on future photos "sorry it's blurry, but taken the blokey way - no pod"

[Paul]

Ah Glen you have to many spies keeping a tab on me!
I just measured the weight of the D70 + RRS L plate + 70-200VR
Total weight is 2.6kg
Looks like I'm off the gym to do some exercise!

[barry]

Make it 4 out of 4. I used a pod too and I used it all day.

Barry

[Jonesy]

wait a minute, BBJ is that a MONOPOD i see...


oh and how is your new Benro pod going
sorry mate... couldn't resist

[Alpha_7]

Jonesy its a trick of the angle, its not a monopod to support the camera, its to anchor those tyres in place, don't want then rolling down onto the track, well anchored tyres are a must for safe racing

[Jonesy]

Jonesy its a trick of the angle, its not a monopod to support the camera, its to anchor those tyres in place, don't want then rolling down onto the track, well anchored tyres are a must for safe racing

Oh I see it now, thanks for pointing that out, safety is very important

[BBJ]

Jonesy, that was before i broke it at Phillip Island, but yeh that is also the 300m not the 70-200.

Paul, yes this is what i found at times, and now still use it only when i have the 300m on but yeh got a new monopod now and well i still love to hand hold all my shots. I find myself at times now colapsing a couple of sections on the pod and hold and shoot that way.

Anyhow still done well with all the pics u guys took.

[Glen]

Well picked Jonesy, looks like we all wimp it 50% of the time. Having met Trent and Paul many times I should confirm they don't seem like wimps to me

[BBJ]

Jonesy, the new pod well what can i say for the time i have used it seems ok although it did creep down on me a bit last friday and i didnt think it was so short as in if i didn't have the ballhead on it i would be bending over a bit as i couldn't get it to eye level without the ball head. I thought the other old pod i have has a lot more lenght to it.

Paul i forgot to mention, when i was at Phillip Island i seen a photog there using an old film camera that looked ancient with some real crappy small lens on it. I thought wow still using film and yes i was shocked.

[Raskill]

Sorry it's taken so long to post any images, between work and wife my spare time has been limited, though I am not complaining!

Had a great time on the Sunday at the races, it was great to meet more of you guys. I must confess my monopod got a solid workout, that Sigma lens can get heavy after the first 700 shots.

The days racing was very eventful, with every accident during the the A1 GP on our bend, so we were treated to some good spills.




Austria decides to drive through Japan...



You try figuring out what to focus on when this lot comes round the bend...



Formula Holden didn't disappoint either.



This one taken using the 2xTC with the sigma. fairly happy with it.



Just caught this out the corner of my eye. Not as good as some pics I've seen though



All sorts of cars...

Had a great day. Hope the other guys did to. Thanks for your company folks, sorry I didn't get a chance to shake hands at the end of the day.

[Glen]

Alan, those last two capture racing quite well. The accident is a tremendous capture

[barry]

Alan, great shot of the Japanese car.

Barry

[drifter]

More awsome shots guys . Great catch raskil on the japanese guy .
Shots #3 and #4 are F3 . Formula holden aint around anymore ( they renamed it F4000 from memory.

[Raskill]

More awsome shots guys . Great catch raskil on the japanese guy .
Shots #3 and #4 are F3 . Formula holden aint around anymore ( they renamed it F4000 from memory.

Just thought I should show my age

Thanks for the comments folks.

[MCWB]

Formula holden aint around anymore ( they renamed it F4000 from memory.

Correct, Formula Holden is now 'Formula 4000 powered by Holden' (hey, it's not as bad as 'Bridgestone presents the Champ Car World Series powered by Ford' ); but the cars Alan shot are actually Formula 3 cars.