Saturday: 125 and 250 practice and 2nd qualifier, MotoGP qualifier
After the freezing rain of Friday, even the clear skies Saturday morning did not convince us. We packed up the cameras, lenses, fleeces AND rain shells. Hell, the VIP Village suite would be open, so we could leave whatever we didn’t need there!
We had breakfast in the suite, met a fellow racing fan/photo geek and exchanged comments on where to get good pictures. The VIP Village had a “planned” pitwalk just around lunch time, so we got all the gear together and went to find good vantage points.
In trying to find our way to a recommended spot, we took a wrong turn. We ended up at a security gate which led to the outer access ring road around the track. There were all sorts of signs about who had access, so we ASSumed we would be turned back, but “ya never know until ya try!” Jack and I bluffed our way onto the outer ring access road for the track! The security guy never even waited for us to reach the fence. He opened the gate and we went thru. Photographers access!!! Life can be soooooo good sometimes.
We’d only planned for a short excursion to take photos during the practices, but with photographers access to the service roads, we spent the WHOLE morning shooting pictures. It was a really good thing that we both had 4GIG cards in the cameras! We both shot a TON of pics.
I have to critique my own shots…
For the most part, the framing is not bad, the composition is not bad. My big problems were (1) I had a short(er) lens (than Jack – whose photos are WAY better than mine). I was using a 24 to 105mm zoom. This did not get me as close to the track as the 100 to 400mm that Jack was using (I can hear Jack’s voice…”It is a poor craftsman that blames his tools.”), (2) my technique for getting the RIDER in focus is extremely BAD. I haven’t figured out how to get a good, sharp rider and bike, instead I usually have really crisp backgrounds and fuzzy riders (Examples). Practice, practice, practice.
At the end of the MotoGP practice, we were on the back straight of the track (in front of the “D” hill). Apparently, this is a “showboating” place. Many of the GP riders followed Hopkins’ lead and wheelied up the hill past the crowd. This is the stuff you NEVER see on the broadcasts. I managed a few wheelie shots (Wheelies).
Needless to say, we spent the whole morning on the service road, playing photographers. HeeHeeHeeHee. We were basically left alone by security so we wandered around to different points on the track, took photos and felt EXTREMELY pleased with ourselves. We got more shots during the 250 2nd qualifier as we headed back toward VIP Village. We made it back *just* in time to go on the pitwalk (Pitwalk Photos here).
VIP Village pitwalk is usually a good time. It is after GP practice, most of the garages are open, crew guys are frantically stripping down the machines and rebuilding them, skinny girls in very little clothing are posing, and occasionally you actually get to see one of the riders. Besides, it is a perk of being in VIP Village, so it is a “don’t miss”.
The afternoon brought more incredible photo opportunities. We must have walked most of the track. We saw more all the classes come out for practice or qualifying. We walked most of the inner and outer service roads. Most of my pictures have the problems mentioned above, but here they are anyway. Be forewarned, this web page is BIG – about 90 photos.
Saturday evening had, yet another, scheduled social engagement. This time it was a “Charity GP” dinner and auction. Julian Rider (announcer on EuroSport and ?founder? of SuperBike Planet) was the auctioneer, and most of the items were motorsport oriented. (Jack bid on and won a PolePosition baseball cap for me that was autographed by Alex Hoffman!) All around a great day was had. I didn’t even mind the HUGE blisters that I got from walking the track, ‘cuz let’s face it, it was WORTH IT!! 🙂