Le Mans 2009

[Toby]

A few of my pics from last weekend, C&C welcome :)

1.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7053.jpg

2.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7055.jpg

3.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7066.jpg

4.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7067.jpg

5.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7090.jpg

6.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7102.jpg

7.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7140.jpg

8.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7143.jpg

9.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7165.jpg

10.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7185.jpg

11.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7214.jpg

12.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7216.jpg

13.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7230.jpg

14.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7246.jpg

15.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7254.jpg

16.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7257.jpg

17.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7276.jpg

18.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7284.jpg

19.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7286.jpg

[Toby]

20.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7289.jpg

21.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7304.jpg

22.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7357.jpg

23.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7377.jpg

24.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7386.jpg

25.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7391.jpg

26.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7400.jpg

27.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7453.jpg

28.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7457.jpg

29.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7506.jpg

30.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7510.jpg

31.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7514.jpg

32.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7547.jpg

33.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7565.jpg

34.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7575.jpg

35.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7587.jpg

36.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7841.jpg

37.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7884.jpg

38.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7940.jpg

39.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7979.jpg

[Toby]

40.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7985.jpg

41.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_8015.jpg

42.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_8040.jpg

43.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_8096.jpg

44.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_8099.jpg

45.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_8144.jpg

46.
http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_8168.jpg

[Toby]

Arg, have inadvertently exported them all in AdobeRGB rather than sRGB so they're all looking a bit duller than they should - will sort it out later tonite.

[Jonny69]

NO! This picture (http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7165.jpg) means I was either standing next to you at the Drayson garage or no more than two people away. I was there taking the same pictures :D

What lens/lenses were you using to get in that close for all those shots?

Great piccies by the way, got to get mine online at some point.

[cheets]

Looks awesome, do you camp there? Are those funky single seaters faster than F1 cars.

[Toby]

NO! This picture (http://www.iconia.org.uk/pics/lemans2009/IMG_7165.jpg) means I was either standing next to you at the Drayson garage or no more than two people away. I was there taking the same pictures :D
Arg! If only we knew what each other looked like, totally forgot you were going or I'd have suggested meeting up somewhere.
What lens/lenses were you using to get in that close for all those shots?
The pit lane shots were all taken with the Canon 10-22mm, an utterly bonkers lens which I love. The rest are mostly a mixture of that lens and the Canon 70-200 F4 IS.
Great piccies by the way, got to get mine online at some point.Thanks and please do, would love to see some more.

On another note, we very nearly bought the farm on Sunday morning!

I'm sure you're aware of Benoit Treluyer's crash in the Pescarolo Peugeot just after the Dunlop bridge in the small hours of Sunday morning. Well we were basically in the line of fire. We'd clambered up the bank behind the catch fencing as you can get right up to the catch fencing there since it's not a proper spectator spot. We were looking the other way when we heard an almighty bang and immediately looked left to see the car flying straight at us. We instinctively ducked and turned away and scrabbled down the bank a few feet as the crash continued and felt bits of debrit and gravel raining down on us!

The aftermath was a mess. The car had bounced along the top of the armco, making three large dents in the process and taking out the marshalls' gantry, which was laying in a twisted heap by the catch fencing. There was bodywork everywhere and the front right wing was laying right in front of us with the number 17 on it, so I immediately knew which car it was.

As they attended to the remains of the car (basically the safety cell with the engine still attached, all other bodywork pretty much destroyed) we caught a glimpse of the driver's helmet before the tarpaulins went up and he appeared to be "lolling" about a bit which didn't look at all good. We were most relieved to find he was ok later on.

There was no warning at all. No screeching of tyres before the first hit. If it had come into the armco just a few feet higher it may well have cleared it and gone straight into the catch fencing that we were immediately behind and I'm quite sure we'd have been seriously injured or killed if that had happened.

A very sobering experience and certainly the closest I've ever been (or would ever hope to be) to a major motorsport crash.

[Toby]

Looks awesome, do you camp there? Are those funky single seaters faster than F1 cars.

Yeah we camped in Houx which is behind the pit straight on the inside of the circuit so only a 10 minute walk to the track.

The "funky single seaters" are the prototypes, falling into the two LMP1 and LMP2 classes. They're faster than F1 cars at the top end but not through the corners as they weight 50% more and have slightly less power but are still staggeringly fast.

[Toby]

Colourspace now sorted, damn that looks better! :)

[Toby]

Some footage of Benoit Treluyer's crash has finally appeared:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6upFvKLkDw

[Flibster]

Some footage of Benoit Treluyer's crash has finally appeared:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6upFvKLkDw

Holy crap!

I heard that he'd had a nasty crash - but I didn't see any footage of it.

[Toby]

Read above - we had ring-side seats!

[Jonny69]

Ah right I see where you were hiding now ;)

Those shots in the pits, how did you manage to get in so close with a lens that wide then? I didn't see you jump over the barrier :D

[Toby]

Was literally right up to the barrier and "zooming in" to 22mm a lot of the time. Once at the barrier itself, if you leaned over as much as possible then things were fairly close. For the shot of Tiff, he was probably two feet from me.

Also very happy with the shots inside the museum as I was using a monopod for stability with long exposures down to 1/6s in some cases. The lens really helped here as I could get right up close to stuff yet still fit it all in, which prevented people walking in front of me. My mates were having to back off to fit stuff in which inevitably means people wander in front whilst you're trying to take the shot.