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

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

Farewell to Prototype Challenge (Sort of)

Besides the DPI class, we say farewell to the Prototype Challenge class, Again. I wrote pretty much the same story in November of 2017. That was when the open cockpit PC cars which were based on the old P1 design were phased out. 2023 will see the end of the current Prototype Challenge series.sort of.

IMSA is debuting a new series known as the VP Racing Sports Car Challenge. It will consist of 10 sprint races over five weekends, and will feature current LMP3 cars and GT4 cars. While the LMP3 cars will keep their current designation, the GT4 cars will be designated as GSX. These will be single driver races with no scheduled pit stops. Drivers must have either a bronze or silver rating.

While I understand the concept of the series, I’m still a bit puzzled about the logic behind it. If there is a similar series running anywhere else in the world I have not seen it. But not being on the inside, I am sure the is a sound rational behind the development of such a combination. As time passes, I’m sure I will come to understand it better.

joel

A Fond Farewell to DPI

Change is a natural part of motorsports. Every year brings new cars, new teams, new drivers etc. However sometimes these changes are quite large, and ushers in a new era for a particular series. The last time this happened in IMSA, was 2017 with the entry of the DPI Prototype class. After the mishmash that came with combining the original P1 class and Daytona prototypes of the old Grand-AM, it was an exciting and welcome change. Since it’s inception it has provided a consistent number of entries, and some of the best prototype racing we have had on this side of the pond for some years. Gone were the days of only 2 or 3 prototype cars per race. Sure, even in DPI, cars came and left, and so did teams, but the field size remained healthy and consistent.

So with that said, we now bid a very fond farewell to the DPI era. Having brought us many hours of great racing, it will be missed. But it is not a sad farewell as what comes next promises to be every bit as exciting. The new GTP (LMDh in Europe) looks to be a new chapter in prototype racing which will carry the series forward worldwide for many years to come.

This however is not the only class leaving next year. I will cover that in the next post. I will leave you with a few of my favorite DPI shots through the past years.

Joel

Motorsports in Black and White ll

Black and White motorsports photography while once the norm is now a speciality form of photography. Many try it, few do it well. In this day and age fo high megapixel color photography, black and white gets relegated to a seldom used, or just lost art form.

When considering wether too process a photo for black and white, the first thing you have to understand is that not every shot will look good in this medium. Shots with busy and distracting backgrounds will not work. Next you have to consider the subject matter. Dark blue, green, and black cars or bikes are likely to lose a lot of detail in conversion, and just look like a badly underexposed image. Packs of multiple vehicles close together will leave the viewers eye wandering trying to find the main subject of the shot.

When going through your work, look for shots with one or two subjects isolated on a relatively clear background. This will take the viewers eye directly to the main subject. From there they can explore the rest of the image. If the background is slightly blurred, that makes it even better. Overcast and rainy days also lend themselves well to black and white. All in all you should choose your subject matter carefully.

As for tools, any image editor will give you good results as long as you take the time to learn what you can do with the tools at hand. Spend some time experimenting with sliders and filters to squeeze the most you can out of your software. Just selecting convert to black and white from a preset menu will give you mediocre results at best. I’m partial to NIK Filters Silver Effects for black and white conversion. There are several other stand alone, or plug in programs out there, but this is my personal favorite. So all that is left to do is jump into the deep end, and see what you can create.

Article inspired by Kurt Roussell @ Fast Car Photos.

Joel

MotorSports in Black and White

Black and white photography in motor sports seems to have always been a matter of necessity more than choice. At the origins of auto racing it was pretty much all there was. Photography and racing are two technologies that grew up side by side. In later years as color film became more prevalent, and less expensive, it was only natural that many photographers would take advantage of it. But in being able to present it to the public at large there was yet another more important hurdle to overcome, printing.

To bring the news and action of racing to the interested masses required the ability to write the story as well as publish photos from the events. At the time auto racing began, it had not been that long since the ability to print photos in magazines and newspapers had been invented. Half toning, a process of using dots of ink of varying size and intensity to form a picture, had only been developed in the 1890s. This allowed publications to use actual photos instead of illustrations to present the news. When it came to sports, and auto racing in particular, the only other limiting factor of the day was the camera equipment available at the time.

Large box shaped cameras of the earliest days required a tripod, and a very brave soul willing to stand mere inches from speeding cars to capture the action. What we are able to do today (and from farther away) with our digital cameras, and 500mm lenses would probably seem like alchemy to someone from the 30s wielding a Graflex Speed Graphic with a fixed focal length lens.

In today’s world, black and white photography in motorsports is a very much overlooked tool of the trade. When you look at old racing publications of the 50s through the mid 80s you will notice that only the cover, and a few center pages are in color. This was mainly due to the printing cost as well keeping the publication’s need to keep the magazine at a reasonable price. So most of the ordinary shots were relegated to the black and white pages. Those thought to be the best were given the color pages.

Today we have the luxury of choosing the shots that are best suited to black and white. We have the ability to make exposure and lighting adjustments to enhance the image and mood we are trying to convey. What we can do in a few hours of post production on a computer, would have taken days with chemicals in a darkroom. Thus we get to use it more as an art form. While this was the intent of all photography at one point, the demands of the commercial world soon beat that out of us. While black and white in motor sports is largely overlooked, when it is used, it is often done with mediocre to abysmal results. Mostly because the photographer doesn’t take time to learn the tools they have at hand, and many don’t take time to determine whether the shot is well suited to to the medium. When done correctly, the results can be quite stunning. Tools such as levels, curves, dodging and burning can go a long way toward adding contrast, and breathing life into what may otherwise be a flat image.

Landscape and portrait photographers were among the first to fully understand the power of black and white photography. Color film became available in 1904, yet many chose to stay with black and white. Looking at the work of Ansel Adams, Walker Evans and Gordon Parks and trying to imagine them in color yields disappointing results. I’m sure they understood that the very essence of photography was the difference between light and shadow, and color could not adequately portray this.

So what’s a photographer to do? My solution is to make a cup of coffee, find a comfortable place to sit, and re-read one of my books on the basics of photography. Not digital, or film, just photographic technique. This normally resets my brain, and makes me think a bit more before I shoot.

Joel

IMSA Mid Season

As the IMSA WeatherTech Sports car Challenge heads into the final stretch, things couldn’t be tighter. With the points standings close in all classes, now is not the time for errors.

DPI: The closes race is in the DPI class with only twenty points separating the top five contenders. While Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya in the number six Acura sit atop the driver standings, a recent surge by Tristan Nunez and Oliver Jarvis in the Mazda has moved them into striking distance. With this small of a margin, one bad race could be disastrous.

 

LMP2: There is a dead heat between Matthew McMurry, Kyle Masson, and Cameron Cassels. With this being the case it truly is a case where no one can afford to make a mistake.

 

GTLM: There is  just over a twenty point swing here with Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor of Porsche leading followed closely by their teammates Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet. However both Corvette and Ford team drivers are very close behind especially since the 67 Ford of Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook just broke the Porsche two race win streak.

GTD: This is the only class with a clear gap between leaders and second place. Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher enjoy a thirty point advantage over Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley. Judging by by last weeks run this may not change any time soon.

All in all the next four races should be be quite exciting and eventful.

Juncos Racing Update

I wrote an article previously on two teams that compet in the Road to Indy series and had moved up to the top tier IndyCar series. One of these teams was not done yet, and decided at the end of 2018 to expand into the IMSA WeatherTech Championship with an entry in the competitive Prototype DPI class.

Since their entry into American racing Juncos Racings’ mission has been to find and develop the most promising and talented new drivers for the series in which they compete. Their current crop of drives for the IMSA series consist of successful young talent just ready to make that next step to the top of the motorsports ranks.

– Kyle Kaiser: A name known from the Juncos Pro Mazda and Indy Lights Program.
– Rene Binder: A third generation racer with Extensive European Racing Experience.
– Will Owen: From USF2000 to Pro Mazda to European Le Mans, and now WeatherTech.
– Agustin Canapino: From 2014 to 2018 he has been winning championships in his native Argentina.

With this being their first year, it is only natural to look at this years results a learning experience with expectations of much better things to come.

Patron and Extreme Speed Motorsports

If you attended an American Le Mans series race in 2010, the one thing you couldn’t avoid seeing was the name Tequila Patron. As series sponsor there name was everywhere. They were also team and car sponsors throughout all of the different classes. While they relinquished the series sponsorship to TUDOR in 2014, they remained a big part of the series as a team sponsor. First sponsoring the Highcroft Honda HPD ARX-01e, it would later be Extreme Speed Motorsports who would become the primary benefactor of their sponsorship dollars. In hindsight I guess you could say it was inevitable. After being acquired by the Bacardi corporation who has never shown any serious interest in U.S. motorsports it has been decided to no longer sponsor the EMS prototype team after this season.

One of the unavoidable facts of racing is that sponsors come and go as the need suits them. After all it is their money. Teams are in a constant struggle to find the dollars needed to keep going and remain competitive. We can only wish Scott Speed and his EMS team the best of luck in finding new sponsorship, as a consistently competitive and winning team, it should be possible. We hope they will return to the series in 2019.

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