Memories from 2013

What a year 2013 has been.

The highlights? Sebastian Loeb’s mesmerizing Pikes Peak run will certainly be something I tell my grand children (or anyone else who will listen) I was there to see, and hear, in person. Formula One in Singapore certainly stands up at the top as well. It is a city and race venue that has to be seen to be believed. NASCAR roaring around the tight oval at Martinsville. Indycar’s turbo madness bouncing around the confining walls of St. Petersburg’s street circuit. A weekend with an inspiring young up & coming driver named Michael Johnson at Mid Ohio. Watching history unfold with MotoGP rookie Marc Marquez swinging like a jungle monkey on his Honda racing bike at Circuit of the Americas to take his first premiere class win. Lamborghini race cars roaring  around Calabogie while I dodged bears, deer,  moose and porcupines in the Canadian wilderness. And of course the grueling Sebring 12 hour race watching the Audi R18’s dance around the flat Florida runways. Each photo below is a memory. Each race a unique challenge in it’s own way.

I’m so fortunate to have the support of people who genuinely appreciate the art of pointing a camera at a racing car. Chief among these supporters are the team at Road & Track. The wonderful people who run and are involved with the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series. James Moy, Russell Batchelor and Laurent Charniaux who never failed to provide endless laughs in the Formula One paddock and for the opportunities they have provided. Andy Hone (and his addiction to Frank Sinatra) for the amusing company on road trips around the US. The Getty Images team. Greg Tracey, Chris Nazarenus & Mitsubishi for their continued support on Pikes Peak. Al Merion and Rick Dole for the extra this and thats to shoot during the year. Brecht for putting in a good word for me. Rizzo and the Circuit of the Americas team. Racersites. JP & Brett with QC Exclusive. RM Auctions.There are so many more I’m sure I’m forgetting.

It never ceases to amaze me the number of people out there who help me push from one month to another, and the level of support they show in a variety of different ways. Lastly I’d like to thank my family and friends around the globe. Without these people, my life would be getting on a plane going from one place to another. But as it turns out, it always seems like I’m going on a vacation to see friends…and there just happens to be a car race involved.

Long may that be the case.

Happy New Year.

Winter testing is amazing. The light can be stunning at times. Especially in the late afternoon. Testing usually goes until 5pm, so the last 10 minutes or so can be worth your effort to go somewhere nice on track where you might get a chance to shoot these curvy cars running their last laps of the day. Nikon D3s, 135mm, 1/3200, f5 © Jamey Price / James Moy Photography

I enjoy testing. Not everyone does, but it gives you a chance to be up close and personal with the cars without tons of media, fans, and team personnel in your way. It's low key to say the least. As the cars tear off down the track for the installation run, it's always fun to stand at pit out and watch launch practice. Paul di Resta in the Force India was one of the first cars out this particular morning. It has always made the hair on my next stand up listening to the intense sounds. Nikon D3, 18mm, 1/80, f14 © Jamey Price / James Moy Photography

The pit lane is much more open and free during testing then it is during a GP weekend these days. So being close to the cars during pitstop practice can make for some interesting images. Sergio Perez was still coming to grips with his new Mclaren and did quite a few stop and goes in his box. Nikon D3, 14mm, 1/30, f14 © Jamey Price / James Moy Photography

I've always loved open wheel racing for the fact that the super hero, Alonso in this case, is there for all the world to see. The Spaniard's colorful helmet is in stark contrast to his bright red machine and I've always enjoyed photographing him at work. Nikon D3s, 400mm, 1/1000, f2.8 © Jamey Price / James Moy Photography

What will I always remember about this day? It was damn cold. That's what I'll remember. It was cold and dark all morning but never really rained. Then it came down in buckets for about half an hour in the afternoon and threw down enough water to make for some more interesting images than the dull drab we had all morning. Nikon D3s, 550mm, 1/30, f10 © Jamey Price / James Moy Photography

Light like this is every photographer's dream. It had rained prior to the start of testing for the day, and I saw the clouds starting to break up and spots of sun were poking through the clouds around the track. So off I headed to a spot I knew would be backlit and hoped that there would still be enough water on the track to make this exact kind of image. Nikon D3s, 550mm, 1/8000, f6.3 © Jamey Price / James Moy Photography

This is one of my favorite images of 2013. The deck viewing area above Barcelona's pit lane is perfect for this image. I work with the photo team that provides images for Marussia, so I wandered to the bottom of pit lane knowing that new boy Max Chilton would be practicing pitstops during the afternoon session. I wanted to do something with a slow shutter speed, so I set the camera, leaned out as far as I could and fired away as he came in for a quick service. Nikon D3s, 28mm, 1/15, f22 © Jamey Price / James Moy Photography

Road and Track kindly asked me to join them in Geneva for the motorshow. The Lamborghini Veneno was to be unveiled at the VW Group dinner and it was certainly the highlight of the show. I'll probably never see one in real life again since only four will be made. Nikon D3, 14mm, 1/200, f10 © Jamey Price for Road and Track

I waited for an hour and a half for this photo during the Geneva Motorshow. Photographers and journalists were packed against the Ferrari stand's glass railing like sardines prior to the cars unveiling and as Luca Di Montezemelo spoke about the car's name and what it means to Ferrari, two men lifted the silk sheet off of the car unveiling it to the world. I think the image was worth the wait. Nikon D3 16mm, 1/500, f2.8, ISO 640 © Jamey Price for Road and Track

2013 was my first time covering the 12 hours of Sebring. Frankly I don't plan to miss another one as long as I live if I can help it. The track is a pleasure to photograph, especially in the morning during pre-race warmup. 2013 was the last time Le Mans prototypes will be able to race in the 12 hour contest due to the merger of ALMS and GrandAm, so the glimmering #1 Audi bouncing along the concrete slabs during morning warmup is a particularly special image. Nikon D3s, 700mm, 1/40, f14 © Jamey Price

One of the things I enjoy about going to a new track I've never visited is finding something different than what I've seen come out of there before. The big spanish oak trees that line Sebring can be useful for making an interesting image. It was challenging due to the speed and angle of the cars to my position, but I managed to get a few sharp images from this spot. Nikon D3, 14mm, 1/15, f22 © Jamey Price

To date, I think this image has been shared and viewed more times than any other I've taken. At about the half way point of the 12 hours of Sebring, a Viper GT car missed the braking point and speared off the track. As he slowed it down and made it back toward the tarmac he went through a very dry dusty patch of run-off, which showered the car with Florida dirt. I just so happened to be in the right place and right time and picked up my long lens and snapped 3 photos. This was the second of the three. Nikon D3, 500mm, 1/1250, f4 © Jamey Price

Dario Franchitti is an Indycar name that will live forever. The multiple Indy 500 winner sits here doing his pre-race ritual to get in the zone before the first Indycar race of the season in St. Petersburg. Nikon D3s, 17mm, 1/800, f4 © Jamey Price