CHAMP Car anyone??

F45 · April 14, 2007

Sharpshooters,

Here are a few images from the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix which took place here last weekend. Great fun and as always, great people!
Off to Barber Motorsports Park next week for more Superbike racing (ooooh baby). Enjoy these and of course, all comments are welcomed and appreciated :nod

gus · April 14, 2007

Excellent ! Really great set there. #2 is only missing the sound

TassieD · April 14, 2007

Hi there Chris,

These are a great set of images. I agree with Gus on #2 its definately my favorite of the bunch.

wxwax · April 15, 2007

Gorgeous shots. The only thing I wish is for more of a feel of Vegas. Love the everything you try here, Chris.

nipprdog · April 15, 2007

great series and nice variety. I like #2 the best, also.

ironic that the traffic lights are red.

F45 · April 15, 2007

Thank you very much everyone for the comments!

Gus,
The sound is still ringing in my ears from being so close to that shot ( I forgot my ear-plugs!).

Nipprdog,
I think the red lights add a finishing touch to the image too.

Wxwax,
Almost every photog a the event had the same complaint...not enough Vegas scenery. The course actually went around the downtown core because of the "Fremont Street Experience", which is only a street for pedestrians now.
The strip and most of the iconic Las Vegas sights were actually blocked off by all the required logistics such as paddock location, pits having to be right next to the start/finish straight etc. but all in all they did a fantastic job in course design...just a bit more work required for scenic shots!

asylumxl · April 15, 2007

they are awesome! so fresh and different to most photographs from motorsport photographers

. good stuff!

crgphotographer · April 16, 2007

absolutely fantastic shots there!

did you have media access, or did you find a way to shoot between a fence?

ps. go will power!

mr peas · April 16, 2007

Awesome fotos. They spent a lot of money on that race here. They had to remove the center dividers and all those palm trees for goodness sakes! Love the pan shots, I love it when people drag their shutters! Cool images. Nice to see another Dgrinner from LV.

moose135 · April 16, 2007

Great shots Chris! You got some terrific captures there. I only wish these guys ran closer to me - with Nazareth gone, I may have to go to Watkins Glen to catch the IRL crowd this year.

ian408 · April 17, 2007

These are pretty cool shots. I like the close ups and especially those
with motion.

Could you compare the course to San Jose? In SJC, it's pretty cramped for
the drivers and spectators.

As for ear plugs, I just got a set of something similar to these.
It's nice because they function both as a speaker and block a fair amount
of noise (of the wind/helmet variety).

Seamus · April 17, 2007

great pics, I really like no 2.

dbaker1221 · April 17, 2007

WOW these are fantastic

mr peas · April 17, 2007

ian408 wrote:

These are pretty cool shots. I like the close ups and especially those
with motion.

Could you compare the course to San Jose? In SJC, it's pretty cramped for
the drivers and spectators.

As for ear plugs, I just got a set of something similar to these.
It's nice because they function both as a speaker and block a fair amount
of noise (of the wind/helmet variety).

\

San Jose is my hometown, the downtown course is very much the same at the downtown course here. I'd say about three car lenghts at from street to street, very cramped indeed. I'd say they're very much similar (including the prices for tickets, yowza!)

They cleared the middle dividers to make room for the course, which aided in making it larger. Lots of work and money was spent on that race. I dont remember if they hauled away the center dividers in dtSJ though.

maczippy · April 17, 2007

mr peas wrote:

\

San Jose is my hometown, the downtown course is very much the same at the downtown course here. I'd say about three car lenghts at from street to street, very cramped indeed. I'd say they're very much similar (including the prices for tickets, yowza!)

They cleared the middle dividers to make room for the course, which aided in making it larger. Lots of work and money was spent on that race. I dont remember if they hauled away the center dividers in dtSJ though.

The first year at SJ was good - I was shooting with LAT and the cars jumping the tracks was quite something (hearing the gearboxes chunk out the tarmac was another...) IMO I feel the San Jose course lost some of the spark from the initial event...(I think Iposted some on here oddly enough).

Andrew

F45 · April 18, 2007

Thanks very much mates!

Crgphotographer,
Yes, I did have media credentials...and I found a way to shoot some of the images through the fence!

Mr peas,
Both of us living in Las Vegas means we should meet up some time!
I'm not scheduled for any more events in Las Vegas this year but maybe one day we can meet for a quick lunch and talk shop! I've only met a couple of photographers here in town who are into racing.

Ian408,
I haven't been to Long Beach before so I couldn't compare the races. I'm originally from Toronto and have been to the Molson Indy (now Toronto Grand Prix) a few times, so compared to TO the Vegas race is very similar but Toronto offers more back drops with the Princess Gates, CNE and Lake Shore Blvd. The course in Las Vegas seemed to be a little wider which makes for a better race but hard to tell how the fans' areas would compare. My guess is that any race in a big city's down town core would be cramped! BTW, thanks for the ear-plug tip!

everyone!

ian408 · April 18, 2007

maczippy wrote:

The first year at SJ was good - I was shooting with LAT and the cars jumping the tracks was quite something (hearing the gearboxes chunk out the tarmac was another...) IMO I feel the San Jose course lost some of the spark from the initial event...(I think Iposted some on here oddly enough).

I think you're right. I know the city spent a lot of $$ on repair. Especially
for the light rail crossing

CHAMP Car anyone??

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