svp928

Terrific shots Dennis!
I live here, and couldn't go- had to work.. bah..
So, thanks for showing me what I missed....

SharkSkin

Great shots, Dennis! Excellent work with the low shutter speeds/panning. What part of the track were the last few pics taken on? I had a hard time finding good vantage points where I could pan properly so I mostly stayed with higher shutter speeds. Most of the vantage points that weren't taken were either at holes in the fence or behind too-tall fences. I looked for Gerry and Sara but I guess I worked around to turn 2 a bit too late, around 6:00.

I'm still sifting through about 650 shots from the race, also a bit over 100 from a private shoot I did that morning. I've done the first cull from about 750 shots, and finished tagging and captioning the photos last night -- should be able to get at least a few posted tonight, I'm going to start with the class winners.

Here are some mind-boggling numbers to chew on; several records broken last weekend.

Car #16, Lola B09 86 Mazda(LMP), Dyson/Smith/Meyrick, 15th Overall(Mechanical, 220 Laps) 3rd in Class, Qualifying Time 1:12.338(New Qual. Lap Record), Best Race Lap 1:14.262(New Race Lap Record)

Car #55, Oreca FLM09(LMPC), Tucker/Bouchut/Wilkins, 3rd Overall(229 Laps) 1st in Class, Qualifying Time 1:18.212, Best Race Lap 1:19.343(New Race Lap Record)

Car #52, Oreca FLM09(LMPC), Mowlem/Papadopoulos/Lewis, 32nd Overall(Accident, 107 Laps) 5th in Class, Qualifying Time 1:17.800(New Qual. Lap Record), Best Race Lap 1:20.563

Car #54, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup(GTC), Pappas/J.Bleekemolen/S.Bleekemol, 9th Overall(219 Laps) 5th in Class, Qualifying Time 1:26.934(New Qual. Lap Record), Best Race Lap 1:27.279(New Race Lap Record)

Looks like the race will be televised on CBS, Saturday 1:30-3:00pm.

gersar928

Dave: Was that your phone # on my phone ? No way I could hear it ring. Sara and I would have been hard to spot as our eyes were the only thing out in the cold wind. Damn, it was freezing. Good race though.
Gerry

IcemanG17

Sweet....I love this pic....makes me think more brake cooling is needed..I know my M3 got the brakes VERY hot on track!!

Dennis K

Those were taken from the inside of Turn 5. If you remember where the Audi corral was, they opened that up to the public by the end of the race. That's my favorite place for pans.

SharkSkin

Hi Gerry, yes I tried calling but figured you wouldn't hear but might have the phone on vibe. Oh well... would have been cool to hook up.

Dennis, sounds like we started shooting at about the same time, but I started off at turn 2 looking south, moved to a spot between 3 & 4, then between 4 & 5 before heading up to the corkscrew. Too bad I missed you too. Anyway, great shots!

I have about 8.5GB of photos to upload from the race, another 1.4GB from the morning shoot... will do it from work tomorrow where we have a nice backbone connection. For now, here's a peek.

Based on the spacing of these two cars, I'm guessing the Lola passed the Porsche just out of turn 11:



This Lola was eating the #1 Patron HPD alive, I watched him for a few laps gaining several seconds(a bit more than 1 turn) per lap. He would have taken it if not for mechanical issues I think.



I should be able to post more tomorrow. You can click the images for larger pics and stats.

mark kibort

You cant do ANYTHING about that kind of heat. think about it, 500hp with some big hunk of iron or aluminum (i.e. the engine) to go 60-120mph in about 4 seconds, but 120 to 60mph in about 1-2 seconds! Well over 1000hp to decel that car, with only 4 little 14" disc of iron! blowing a little 120mph of air on the rotors, aint going to do much.

what im amazed at is the brake bias for the BMW vs the porsche. (no glowing rear rotors on the porsche in the same section)

SharkSkin

OK, finally have a minute to post pics...

The whole shebang
Picks

I culled the obvious duds and bulk-processed the rest after setting up the captions. Over time I'll pick through and get rid of the OOF shots.


First, here are the record-breakers:

Car #16, Lola B09 86 Mazda(LMP), Dyson/Smith/Meyrick, 15th Overall(Mechanical, 220 Laps) 3rd in Class, Qualifying Time 1:12.338(New Qual. Lap Record), Best Race Lap 1:14.262(New Race Lap Record)




Car #52, Oreca FLM09(LMPC), Mowlem/Papadopoulos/Lewis, 32nd Overall(Accident, 107 Laps) 5th in Class, Qualifying Time 1:17.800(New Qual. Lap Record), Best Race Lap 1:20.563




Car #54, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup(GTC), Pappas/J.Bleekemolen/S.Bleekemol, 17th Overall(219 Laps) 1st in Class, Qualifying Time 1:26.934(New Qual. Lap Record), Best Race Lap 1:27.279(New Race Lap Record)




Car #55, Oreca FLM09(LMPC), Tucker/Bouchut/Wilkins, 3rd Overall(229 Laps) 1st in Class, Qualifying Time 1:18.212, Best Race Lap 1:19.343(New Race Lap Record)




Now the class winners:


Car #1, HPD ARX-01c(LMP), Brabham/Pagenaud/Franchitti, 1st Overall(237 Laps), 1st in Class, Qualifying Time 1:13.09, Best Race Lap 1:14.441




Car #55, Oreca FLM09(LMPC), Tucker/Bouchut/Wilkins, 3rd Overall(229 Laps) 1st in Class, Qualifying Time 1:18.212, Best Race Lap 1:19.343(New Race Lap Record)




Car #54, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup(GTC), Pappas/J.Bleekemolen/S.Bleekemol, 17th Overall(219 Laps) 1st in Class, Qualifying Time 1:26.934(New Qual. Lap Record), Best Race Lap 1:27.279(New Race Lap Record)




Car #45, Porsche 911 RSR(GT2), Bergmeister/Long, 5th Overall(227 Laps) 1st in Class, Qualifying Time 1:23.484, Best Race Lap 1:23.959




And some other photos from the day(Click picture for larger version and stats):

The only 928 I saw in the corral: