BEHIND THE SCENES>> ULTIMATE GRAND TOURING PT1
Sorry guys for the tardiness of my May editorial. I've been traveling non-stop all week and am now writing this story from the comfort of Nelson, New Zealand where I'm on a self-imposed retreat for the next few weeks.
The launch of the new Team NFS venture, my new responsibilities on the Need for Speed gaming franchise and the continued evolution of Speedhunters means that I've been fighting critical burn-out for the past two months. So I'm taking some time to rest and recharge in beautiful New Zealand.
But before we look at what's upcoming this May together, I want to recap my own observations from Silverstone last weekend.
Silverstone of course, was the occasion of round two of the newly christened GT1 World Championship.
I may be a big fan of drifting, but in all actuality, I've only been following this new form of motorsport for the past four years or so. My interest in International GT racing goes back several decades right into my own childhood and I'm pretty sure that part of my DNA is formed around this type of motorsport.
So as you can imagine, I was pretty excited to see a big pack of GT1 machines attacking each over around Silverstone.
Last weekend also the maiden event for the new Team NFS FIA GT3 European Championship program with Schubert Motorsport.
I hope you
like how the car has turned out….
Here is a shot of the Z4 as I saw it for the first time on the Thursday before the race weekend.
The car itself is full of all sorts of interesting aero design details like these ridges along the wheel flares.
Here is another shot of the front flares. You can also see the little vortex generating flip-ups under the BBS logos.
The Z4 GT3 is quite the muscle-bound little racer and packs a serious punch with its M3 sourced V8 engine.
Check out Patrick Soderlund's new helmet design. I think Andy Blackmore has done a stunning job with the look/feel of this new racing team.
A quick look at the steering wheel.
I also HAD to go and check out the Sumo Power R35 GT-R race cars. They certainly look the part. Check the logo above the MOTUL sticker :>
The next day we arrived at the track early, got our media passes and immediately started shooting in the pit lane. Here's a photo of Will Roegge shooting video of the Sumo Nissan.
Here's Vaughn Gittin JR and I walking down the pit lane. Vaughn was a guest of Team NFS at Silverstone as a bit of a racing culture exchange program. We decided it would be cool for him to see Patrick Soderlund's Team NFS BMW in action and later in the year we'll return the favour with Patrick coming to the US to see some drifting.
This was our first taste of the 2010 GT1 cars and we weren't disappointed. This high strung Lambo is a perfect example of what the GT1 World Championship is all about.
It seems like when I go to a Formula D event, I know half of the people there, but this is far less the case with GT events. I'm just finding my way in this world. John Brooks on the other hand is THE MAN in GT circles. He knows everyone! We ran into him on his way to shoot some track side action.
Walking down the pit lane, you get a chance to see the GT1 machines up close and personal. You of course have to have your wits about you to stay out of the way of the race cars and the crews.
Trudging to the outside of Copse, JR and I got our first chance take in the cars going full speed.
Ahh the joy….
Check out the sky in this shot. Linhbergh has already waxed lyrical about the crazy skies from last weekend so I'll just let the image do the talking.
Returning to the pit lane. JR and I had a look at the GT3 Mustang. JR is going to present his own driver blog about the Silverstone trip next week so I'll let him show you more details about this crazy car himself.
A shot of Patrick, who was in good spirits and feeling pretty relaxed.
Here is another Silverstone guest of ours: this is Marcus Nilsson, a new Executive Producer on the NFS franchise. He was taking in the sights and sounds of international GT racing for the first time. He was previously involved with the Battlefield games.
Film-Maker Will Roegge is currently at work at this weekend's Formula D Atlanta event, but a week ago he was shooting GTs in the UK.
I can't wait to see what he comes up with. If his Dubai film is anything to go by, I'm sure it will be magic.
Linhbergh in action one week ago.
For the first GT3 practice session we went down to the top of the Hanger straight to see the cars at speed.
One car that immediately caught my eye was the Alpina B6 GT3.
These are big, masculine cars; loud and obnoxious.
You gotta love any machine which is as brash and ballsy as these supercharged coupes.
Our little Team NFS car on the other hand was the smallest machine on track.
It went about its business with a throaty snarl; a little ball of agile aggression.
The GT3 cars aren't as fearsome or aggressive as the GT1 machines, but are pretty fun to watch none-the-less.
… You literally have all the top GT marques on on the track. Here we have an Aston Martin DBRS9 tracked by one of the Audi R8s.
It's a pity there is no real proper GT3 Championship in North America, as these amazing machines really should be hitting tracks all across the continent.
We headed back to the media center and met up with Patrick Soderlund. He's looking at my photos of the Team NFS BMW from the day before. In looking at his face, it's hard to know if he likes what he sees!
Fast forward to the next day and we see the second Schubert Motorsport BMW Z4 GT3 being pushed to the grid.
Wow…
Will and Linhbergh having a cloud appreciation moment.
We then got set up trackside for the first GT3 race. We decided to shoot from the top of Chapel Curve.
I sometimes wonder if the Speedhunters crew have perhaps just too much fun shooting cars… The Silverstone corner marshals must have been wondering who these jokers were…
Race start! The GT3 field is unleashed.
Having seen the series last year at Adria in Italy I was expecting a lot of bad tempered racing, but for some reason the field was pretty polite.
Time to practice some John Brooks style slow shutter techniques.
Hmmm…. Too Abstract?
Here's the other extreme of camera technique: fast shutters which freeze the action. Look closely and you'll see the air envelope rippling off the surface of the car.
A "negative space" style photograph. I took this snap in the new Arena Complex which offers photographers amazing open "barrier free" access to the track. There is literally nothing between you and the cars in some spots! It's all perfectly safe, and makes for some great shots.
Poor Vaughn was trying to conduct his US business concerns while we were track side. Not sure if the person on the other side of the phone could hear him!
Some more shots of the Alpina.
Nasty.
This Gallardo was fast, but somehow wasn't doing much for me…
The new GT3R on the other hand was pretty impressive. I think the sound of the N/A engine has a lot to do with it.
There was only one Ferrari on hand in Silverstone. You can see the disturbed air coming off the rear wing in this shot.
This R8 is from the United Autosports team. The livery gives an clue as to the nationality of the team… yep.. American.
We were shouting "MERICA!!!" at the cars each time they went past which was getting some sideways glances from the other photographers… Oops… And I'm a Canadian no less, I should know better… oh well.
Back soon with more observations from Silverstone.
:R
Silverstone GT1-GT3 Coverage on Speedhunters
