I am by no means a BMW fan. But this 1973 CSL is one that just screams vintage sports car racing.
So here’s just a little thought exercise. You are not at race track, nor are you watching racing on TV. Someone says “vintage sports car racing”. Now what image or images pop into your mind. Ah yes, I can hear the wheels turning. The trick is not to think, but let your mind react to the phrase.
For me there are a few images that come to mind. One is of a car that is not even one of my favorites, but still says vintage sports car racing. If the phrase was just vintage racing, then none of the cars in this article would come to mind. However by narrowing it down to a specific catagory, then you come up with completely different results. British sports car racing yields yet another set of results.
So, I will show you what I came up with and let you ponder what you came up with.
Joel
This 1968 Alpha Jr. has always been a favorite of mine. With an attractive front end, and rather pedestrian rear end, it just looks at home on a race track.I’m sure more than one of you came up with a Shelby. That would only be natural as this 1965 Shelby CSX was designed for this purpose.
When you are shooting an event, it’s easy to not see details in what you are shooting. Things are coming at you so fast you don’t have time to focus on the nuances. The other day I was going through a folder of images I shot at a vintage event a year ago at Blackhawk Farms Raceway, when I came across a shot of a Mini painted with the British Union Jack on it. So I decided to edit it for social media use. While looking for the best shot to use, I noticed there was something very different about some of the shots.
In hindsight I guess I should have noticed that the car seemed to be coming back around to where I was shooting fairly quickly. It wasn’t until I found a rear shot that that I discovered that the other car was in fact a Wolsely with the same livery. From there it was a trip to Google to find out just what a Wolsely was.
Wolsely Motors was founded in 1901 by (of all people) Vickers Armaments. Makers of the famed Vickers machine gun which was used by the British in both world wars. The most obvious difference is the front grill. From there you start to notice the other subtile differences. But overall there really aren’t that many. The car in these shots are 1960s vintage, but not having the entry list, I’m not sure exactly what year. So here’s to the Wolsey. The car I never heard of until recently.
Doing last minute travel prep, and thinking ahead to this weekend. FANATEC GT World Challenge and International GT Challenge, team up once again at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy 8 Hour. I was looking through the entry list, and see that last year’s winner the Craft Bamboo team are back to defend their victory. Looking at the drivers of this Mercedes AMG, it’s not at all surprising that they are a favorite. There is Maximilian Götz, Jules Gounon, and Raffaele Marciello, who has to be one of the top 3 GT drivers in the world. As always in an 8 hour race, anything can happen. However barring any unforeseen circumstances, they are the ones to watch.
There was much fanfare at the launch of the Ferrari 296 GT3. It looked to be a worthy successor to the very successful 488 GT. However its first outings were less than stellar as they seemed to struggle to find proper race pace. All that was to changed at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. I watched the qualifying for that race, and was amazed as the Ferrari out paced the entire field in every sector. They not only went on to win the race, they set the first sub 7 minute lap with a 6″58.7 lap time.
Meanwhile in the U.S. racing series, they still had not broken through with a win. That changed August 19 at Road America with a pole position start, and a race win. Manny Franco and Alessandro Balzan drove the Conquest Racing 296 GT3 masterfully in both qualifying and in the race. As a Ferrari fan it was also a good day for me. They went on to duplicate their feat the next day, and sweep the weekend.
Meanwhile in Europe, A 296 scored double podium at ESTORIL by winning first the 6 hour qualifying race, and the 12 hour main race. And it goes on from here with many series having plenty of racing left in their seasons. As more customer cars become available next year, I hope to see more of them on grids throughout various series, especially here in the U.S.,and many more podium finishes.
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 GT3JDC Miller MotorSports – Porsche 963Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian – Hyundai Elantra N TCREra Motorsport – ORECA LMP2 07Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian – Acura ARX-06
Is there such a thing as pure automotive beauty? Of course there is, that’s a silly question. Though the years car companies such as Ferrari have proven this numerous times. It’s easy to marvel at the beauty of todays sleek stylish cars, but it is also easy to forget, or take for granted the style and beauty of their past works of automotive art. Most peoples vision of a Ferrari is the 308GTS from the tv show Magnum PI, or the 348 Testarossa from Miami Vice.
Scuderia Ferrari was founded by Enzo Ferrari 1929, and while under the banner Alfa Romeo brought them fame and their first racing success. However by 1938 the relationship soured and Alfa absorbed all of the Ferrari assets. They also fired Enzo Ferrari and imposed a four year ban on him being able to race under his own name. Undeterred, in 1939 Ferrari went to work anyway on the Tipo 815. After the war years of 1939 – 1945 Ferrari was on track under their name with the 125 S. This year also saw them score their first success as a company with six wins. Although their fortunes have been up and down through the decades, with some of their best years coming between 1957 – 1965, they remain very competitive wherever they race today. Their new Hypercar Prototype has already already won The 24 Hours of Le Mans, and has been on the podium in most of the other races they have participated in to date
Here today we will take a glimpse at some lesser known Ferrari’s. I feel very luck to have had the opportunity to shot these amazing cars recently. It is always a thrill for sports car lovers to see such beauty on track, at speed, in their element.
Some years ago while on my way to attend my first vintage race, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I thought it might a bunch of guys with vintage cars driving slower than race speeds just showing off their cars. I figured at best I would come away with some nice shots of unique old cars. The reality however was completely different, and very surprising. Not only did they race at full speed, they did so as if the cars had just been made. Sliding, spinning, and bumping and beating on each other as if that model years class championship was on the line. I was hooked at once.
However (for me anyway) the best was yet to come. About halfway through the morning a class of of cars I did not know existed came on track. The per war class consist of cars made from the beginning of auto racing, up to about 1955.
1912 EMF Racer
It’s at this point I have to tell you a little something about myself. I have been a huge history buff since 5th grade. I spend my Sundays when I’m not on the road watching history documentaries on one of six different streaming channels I subscribe to.
So seeing these beautiful old cars, many of which I have only seen in pictures, on track in front of me was truly amazing to me. Most of the photographers I shoot vintage events with like the later model faster cars. But for me (in my head) I try to imagine what it had to be like back then to see something go that fast for the first time. You have to remember in the early part of the 20th century a fast horse could keep up with a locomotive. So if you lived in a rural area, had had not seen a train before this would have amazed you to see.
Buick (unknown year)1911 Lozier1916 Hudson
Now we fast forward to 2023. I was attending the SVRA Speed Tour event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I saw on the schedule that there would be a pre war class, and assumed it would mostly consist of cars I had seen in the mid west before. But you always hope you will catch a few new ones. To my surprise, it did not have any cars I had previously seen. The cars were from a group called Ragtime Racers, the majority of which consisted of cars from 1909 to 1938. For me this is the ultimate in vintage racing. Cars from the very inception of auto racing. One offs, limited editions, and modified early production cars. Most hand made, with the limited number of tools available for automobile production. Many of which were modified or repurposed tools from other disciplines.
1912 Packard1909 EMF 301911 EMF X
I hope I get another opportunity to see these marvelous machines again in the near future.
Yet another exciting qualifying session, with a few surprising results. Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou had been the fastest in practice, but only Palou made the fast six with a fourth place grid position. The front row will consist of pole winner Colton Herta with Graham Rahal next to him. While pole position doesn’t guarantee victory, it gives you the opportunity control race strategy at least at the beginning of the race.
Another Independence weekend and once again the NTT INDYCAR SERIES rolls into the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course for the Honda Indy 200. Also competing are the Road to Indy ladder series, Indy NXT, USFPRO 2000, and USF 2000. As last year Pato O’Ward tops the first practice with Alex Palou close behind. If you look at the past winners of this race, it is anybody’s to win. While there there have been several multiple winners, there has not been a back to back winner since Scott Dixon in 2011 & 2012. However it turns out, it is sure to be exciting and eventful. The same holds for the other series.
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?
