Tag: Fanatec gt world challenge

Indy 8 Hour 2023

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.

joel

Ferrari 296 GT Breaks Through

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.

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

 

The Color of Racing (Liveries)

If you had a race car, put a number on it and painted it white, it would still be a race car, Maybe a very fast race car. It just would not be very interesting to look at. Now imagine every other car in the race were painted exactly the same, things would be kinda of dull. In the past most cars were painted one color. This was usually the color that represented its manufacturer (with maybe a stripe or two). Through the following years, cars began to become more colorful. Later still graphics and liveries began to be more multi color, and more complex graphic designs began to appear.

Here we have an example of an iconic logo that all race fans will immediately recognize.
Here we have an example of an iconic logo that all race fans will immediately recognize.

Today with the advent of vinyl wraps, you can adorn race cars with just about anything you can imagine. This could be anything from a sponsor, to the team itself, or even a cause or charity. However sometimes you are locked into whatever your sponsors logo dictates. If you are lucky you can find a way to incorporate it into something artistic and tasteful. If not you could end up with a very ugly haphazard looking design. Some teams have what have become iconic liveries, and sponsors have to tailor their logo to fit them.

This extremely colorful livery has the name “Sparkle Farts” not my idea.
You must be joking.

Here are some examples of what I feel are well done liveries. Some are lucky enough to not have to worry about a sponsors design, and are able to do their own thing. I often tell people the photographers dirty little secret is that it is not always the fastest car on track that gets the most pictures, it’s the best looking.

Joel

A good example of a sponsor logo becoming the livery.
A good example of a sponsor logo becoming the livery.
This short lived series (Saleen Cup), used some of the most famous liveries from racing history on each car.
A livery that shows support for a cause.
In past years Porsche GT3 Cup (now Porsche Carrera Cup) was known for some very clever liveries.
In past years Porsche GT3 Cup (now Porsche Carrera Cup) was known for some very clever liveries.
In past years Porsche GT3 Cup (now Porsche Carrera Cup) was known for some very clever liveries.

Unpublished #1

Every photographer I know has them, lots of them. Images that were taken at an event but were never posted or published anywhere. If you are like me, many have never even been edited. So when I am going through archived folders and run across one or more I think are worthy of publication, I copy them to a folder named hold for processing. Then from time to time when I am looking for something to post online, I go to this folder first. Most times I find what I need there. With that said I am going to start a new recurring series titled Unpublished to highlight some of these images, so they can finally see the light of day.

I have taken many shots go this Jaguar, but none that I thought were more than just average and not worth doing anything with. But somehow I miss this one.

This is one of my more unique images, but if you are going to shoot driver change practice, get permission first as I did. A guy who came along after while I was reviewing my shots did not asked. He learned a few new German swear words.

Here we have an interior of one of Blackdog racing’s McLaren’s shot in the first year of them operating them.

Joel

The Original Lizard Returns

Original livery on a 2016 Porsche.

After having seen various iterations of their race liveries over the past years, many of us have longed for the return of the iconic Flying Lizard liver of the past. Well in 2023 we will get our wish. The beloved red and silver traditional livery will return on the number 46 Porsche 911 GT3 R (type 991.2). They will run a full season schedule in GT America.

From 2021, one of many different liveries we have seen over the years.

In addition they will run a multi car GT4 campaign with two Aston Martin Vantage GT4’s. One in a black, yellow, and white color scheme. Carrying the number 2, and driven by Jason Bell, with the other car in orange and black and carrying the number 8, will be co driven by Elias Saba, and Andy Lee.

I am sure for many fans it will be a welcome to see this livery again.

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

Ferrari Prominence and Triarsi Competizione

In following sports car racing, one of the trends that is watched with interest is the constant change of cars from season to season. It can be both fun and heartbreaking to watch as you anticipate what car various teams will be using from season to season. Different manufacturers rise and fall in prominence each year, and you feel a bit sad if it’s one of your favorites that begins to fade. This is also true of series and regions. Cars that are widely raced in Europe, may have a smaller presence in the U.S. and vise versa. At one time Aston Matins were few on most grids, now they are pretty much ubiquitous.

Myself as a Ferrari lover, had noticed a downward trend in their use here as compared to Europe and Asia. 2022 saw a bit of a change in trajectory compared to the last few years. In part this can be attributed to the emergence of Triarsi Competizione. With two to three entries per race in Fanatec GT World Challenge North America, and as a major player in Ferrari Challenge, they seem to have ignited renewed interest in the 488 GT. I can’t help but feel the the new 296 GT3 will spark even more interest in the brand, and we should see the prancing horse once again prominent on many future grids.

Sample of entry prominence by Series (in no particular order)
– FANATEC GT Europe: AMG, Audi, Mclaren
– FANATEC GT North America: AMG, Lamborghini, Acura
– FANATEG GT Asia: Audi, AMG, Porsche
– IMSA: Porsche, AMG, BMW,
– British GT: AMG, Aston Martin, McLaren

This may not be 100% accurate, I’m just doing it from memory. It is just meant to show the variety of makes, and where they are popular. We are now in a new year, and there have already been announcements of teams switching to different brands. And so it goes on, and will continue to.

Joel

Speed and Sport Shorts: Tough Shots 1 (Rain)

When shooting motorsports much of what you shoot can be considered tough shots, but there are those situations that require a great deal more work and patience. Those who normally shoot slower moving, or stationary objects don’t appreciate the challenge of shooting really fast moving targets. You have track, lock onto, compose, and capture a subject that will only be there for a few seconds or less. Even with all of that there are other variables that make things more challenging. In this first post we will discuss one of them, rain.

Unlike NASCAR or IndyCar on the oval tracks, sports car racing doesn’t stop for rain unless it is so hard that it forms large puddles on the racing surface. Otherwise they switch to rain tires and continue. For the photographer this means putting on rain gear, covering your camera with a protective covering, and most likely standing in mud or a puddle to get the shot. While it can be very tough conditions to shoot in, the results are very rewarding.

So while the fans put up umbrellas, or run for cover, you will see these intrepid individuals covered in plastic carrying large cameras headed in the other direction, into the rain to try to capture what may be some of their best shots of the year.

 

Joel

FANATEC GT World Challenge Road America

One of the disappointments I have in covering motorsports is that I am limited in how far I can travel. Being a small independent outlet, all expenses come out of pocket. This year was particularly hard. But this is something I knew when I embarked on this venture, and I just have to endure it. It just saddens me though that I only get too cover some of my favorite series once or twice a year. This is especially true when it comes to sports car racing in general, and GT racing in particular.

This past weekend I got to see the form of racing I like best, GT3 and GT4. Road America is a perfect venue to showcase the FANATEC GT World Challenge America. Four miles, fourteen turns, and changing elevations provide the perfect place to show off the capabilities of both cars and drivers. I’m always happy to see a healthy field of cars on track. The GT4 class not only had a good number of entries, but offered a true Battle Royale throughout the entire field. While Stevan MCaleer and Eric Filgueirus drove their RS1 Porsche Cayman to victory by a healthy margin of 15 seconds in race 1. Race 2 would be more closely contested with only 8 seconds separating the top ten finishers.

Among the other truly enjoyable battles, was the battle in the TCA class between the Mini of JCW and the two Subaru BRZs of TechSport Racing. These three cars stayed bumper to bumper throughout the race, with the mighty Mini coming out on top with a pass in the final laps. At the location where I was shooting from, most of the people around me were focused on this battle.

As for the premier series, GT World Challenge North America, there was plenty of exciting racing as usual. If you are any kind of sports car fan, there is no way you can dislike this series. Top marque’s and drivers whats not too like. It was a weekend of highs for some, and lows for others. Winward Racing swept both races, Top series contender Crowdstrike / Riley MotorSport had nothing but bad luck. A DNF in race 1, and a strange incident with a hood in race 2. Both of these occurred on lap 1 of each race. In the second race George Kurtz and Colin Braun would soldier on hoodless to finish one lap down, but salvage some points. Series leading K Pax Racing while not having an ideal weekend, did what they could and overall managed to have a fair weekend and retain their points lead. The original field was thinned somewhat due to incidents in practice and qualifying. One of the more notable was the number 13 Triarsi Ferrari which fell victim to the kink, as did a few others that weekend.

There was but one disappointment for me. That was in GT America. It was not due to the quality of racing, and I enjoyed seeing Andy Pilgrim victorious again. It is in the length of these races. This was one aspect of the original Pirelli World Challenge I did not like. I like the concept of this series which allows for slightly older GT2 and GT3 cars to still compete. I like the idea of GT3 and GT4 cars on track at the same time. However in many cases just one full course yellow can take away as much as half of the race. This sentiment was echoed by many fans I talked to. It may just be my opinion, but I believe these races should be at least 50 – 60 minutes so that even in the event of a caution, we get to see more racing action. This not withstanding it is a fantastic class with lots of action when under green flag conditions. One of the most anticipated things was the Calloway Corvette. Having Corvette on track with all the other top GT3 contenders just seems right. I haven’t heard if Chevrolet was planning to make a true GT3 version of the current model, but if they do it would be well received.

All in all it was the expected great racing weekend (despite the weather man being wrong every day). As for me there is no place I would have rather been but trackside.

Joel

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