WEC qualifying at Silverstone
Endurance Racing
What is it about endurance racing that pulls you in. Other races have drama, but this has a way of connecting to the people, the teams, their hard fought wins, and their heart breaking losses made worse after they have raced for hours through ling days and even longer nights.
It is a marathon and not a sprint, where just finishing is celebrated.
Cars, their drivers and support teams are pushed to their limits, tested and tested again.
Flying Free
Which is why, early on a chilly August Saturday I am standing on the Luffield terrace surrounded by like minded fans and photographers to watch the last of the free practices, the futuristic looking cars roaring into sight, warming up for the day.
In the Pits
In my favourite playground for the qualifying session, where drivers and their teams aim for the fastest lap to set their grid position. Overlooking the pitlane you have a birds eye view of the pits. It feels close to the action as drivers change, and cars are marshalled in an out of their garages.
The Proton Dempsey team show how it is done. With a 4th at Spa, then wins at Le Mans 24 and at the 6 hours of Silverstone, they are the ones to watch in the Pro Am class.
And that was us done. Competing events on race day and the need to get a flight means we watched the race online. Next time.
Kit
Nikon D800, A Zeiss Otus 28mm F1.4, my go-to favourite lens and with manual focus. Shooting over the pitlane, 'blind', I was pleased that some shots were crisp., my regular Nikkor 70-300mm, which I have had for years, it is a great workhorse for panning. Not too heavy, and a good enough range.
Leica C-Lux, my pocket camera. Useful for surreptitiously taking pictures, or for holding a light weight camera at length over pit-lanes.
