Miller Motorsports Park

[Steve Robinson]

I went to the practice session for the American Le Mans Series event in Tooele, UT. My brother and I have been following sports car racing for 40+ years and this was our first live event in a long time. I took the Canon 1D Mk II N and a rented EF 400mm f/5.6L. It was great fun to be among the cars and drivers in the paddock and to watch them during the practice runs.

RocketSports Racing Jaguar XKR.

Robertson Racing's beautiful sounding Ford GT.

Corvette Racing's very LOUD C6R GT2.

Risi Competizione Ferrari F430.

More HERE.

 

[Asher Kelman]

I went to the practice session for the American Le Mans Series event in Tooele, UT. My brother and I have been following sports car racing for 40+ years and this was our first live event in a long time. I took the Canon 1D Mk II N and a rented EF 400mm f/5.6L. It was great fun to be among the cars and drivers in the paddock and to watch them during the practice runs.

Steve,

OOPS! I thought I answered already. Sometimes I get so lost n day dreaming about what I see that I imagine whats' in my mind has already been sent off!

This one picture is the most interesting to me. A racing Jaguar!

RocketSports Racing Jaguar XKR.

I'd love to know how much Jaguar DNA remains in the car?


Did you have special access to be able to set up in the paddock? Were tripods allowed and did you use a gimbal?

Asher

 

[Steve Robinson]

Asher, the ALMS has the paddock open to the public at no charge. Passes are needed for the pit lane and out beyond the fences near the track. Even so there is still some pretty good views of the cars out on the track and entering and leaving the pit lane. I didn't use a tripod or monopod although some of the guys with those really big white lenses were. The GT cars, like the Jag, have modified street car chassis and stock block engines. Most of the mods are for safety but a street car would never survive the pounding a race car gets running at full speed. The short races are 2 3/4 hours and then there the are 6, 12, and 24 hour races to run as well. Good fun if you're into to it. There was a pretty exciting ALMS race up in Lime Rock, CT, today as a matter of fact.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Asher, the ALMS has the paddock open to the public at no charge. Passes are needed for the pit lane and out beyond the fences near the track. Even so there is still some pretty good views of the cars out on the track and entering and leaving the pit lane. I didn't use a tripod or monopod although some of the guys with those really big white lenses were. The GT cars, like the Jag, have modified street car chassis and stock block engines. Most of the mods are for safety but a street car would never survive the pounding a race car gets running at full speed. The short races are 2 3/4 hours and then there the are 6, 12, and 24 hour races to run as well. Good fun if you're into to it. There was a pretty exciting ALMS race up in Lime Rock, CT, today as a matter of fact.

So, Steve, today, who on earth makes the Jaguars that are racing? Is Jaguar behind them. I'm not sure who owns that brand? Are there relay drivers?

What about official photographers? Is it that anyone can come to the practice but for the real race it's limited to digicams? At the horse Racing in Los Angeles, I was escorted off the side of track for not having credentials, LOL!

Asher

 

[Asher Kelman]

Robertson Racing's beautiful sounding Ford GT.

This must be expensive. How is it financed for a team that does not win? Do they get a basic salary for entering and entertaining the paying crowd?

I went to the practice session for the American Le Mans Series event in Tooele, UT. My brother and I have been following sports car racing for 40+ years and this was our first live event in a long time. I took the Canon 1D Mk II N and a rented EF 400mm f/5.6L. It was great fun to be among the cars and drivers in the paddock and to watch them during the practice runs.

So, you've been doing this for 40+ years! Well you must have made some buddies and have a lot of good stories to tell. Where are the pictures of the two of you over the years and the denizens you have come to know. I'm sure you must meet with a bunch of guys each time!

Asher

 

[Paul Abbott]

I really like the third photograph with the C6, it's sharp and it looks a great spot. Did you get any other panned shots?

The watermark in your image really does spoil the look of the picture though.

 

[Steve Robinson]

Thanks Asher and Paul.

Asher you'll definitely have to have credentials to be on the other side of the fence. Anything on this side is fair game. There is always a lot of money in car racing. The sponsors want their names on TV win or lose so I guess it's worth it to them. Plus a lot of sponsors are involved in the sport themselves. Unfortunately we've been away from racing for many years and so we haven't any close acquaintances now. My negatives and slides from the past have been lost somewhere over time. The great thing about digital is the ability for long term storage.

Paul, I do have a few more images on my SmugMug page. I actually found 400mm to be too long at the vantage points I was able to get to. Maybe I'll have to rent a 100-400 next time.