As the sun started to come up on sunday morning I really got a sense of how strenuous these long races are on the men and machinery. The cars emerge from the cold of night scarred from battle. The rear body panels of the BMW here are pretty wrinkled and covered in rub marks and exhaust soot. The battle until the checkered flag between Star Works and Michael Shank Racing was brilliant and made for a great first Daytona experience.
The party atmosphere of the Daytona infield is not unique in american racing. The same sort of thing can be found at Sebring in the infamous Turn 10 and Green Park areas. There are some strange groups of people to be found, like the monks who all carry goblets and periodically raise them to the sky while yelling “OH SHIT!”. There is also a herd of cow-costumed race fans that roam the grounds during the week of the 12 hour race.
The addition of Sebring as part of the World Endurance Championship meant the Audi R18s were present this year. These cars are a spectacle to watch. They make no noise, yet are supremely fast.
This combination often catches me off guard while shooting, as they come by un-announced at such different pace than the rest of the field.
They obviously had no real contest for the 12 hour race as Peugeot had pulled the plug on their racing program before the season began, however the the great weather and large field of cars made this year an unforgettable experience.
In addition to the new R8s in Grand-Am, ALMS saw a few new competitors in the GT ranks this year. The SRT Viper was brought out for the first time at Mid Ohio and ran a slow race, but this year was most likely just for development of the car.
The car looked pretty mean and will hopefully be competitive in the coming years.
While it’s speed was a bit lacking through the season, the Lotus Evora run by Alex Job Racing was a favorite of mine to shoot through the year. I really like the shape of the car and the livery they those. The engine sounds pretty ace as well.
The Aston Martin Vantage ran two races and was very quick. Darren Turner put the car on pole at Laguna Seca. I am of the opinion the at the Gulf livery is a bit over done, but I will let it slide with this car because it’s pretty fantastic.
The GT2/GTE class in ALMS was probably the strongest part of US racing this year. The field was wide and varied and the racing extremely close with each car showing it’s strengths at different stages of the season.
