Tag: MRA

HSR Sebring Classic 12.

 For the second weekend out of three, I found myself at theSebring International Raceway. This was my first coverage of an HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing) event, so I had a little to get used to, but the event brought out plenty of cars for me to work with.

 There were several that I recognized from the SpeedTour event, and several more that I had not seen before.  While it did feel like a “Porsche-fest” at times, there was plenty of variety to go around.  There were some Ferraris, Datsuns, even a Morgan!  More on that one later.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Race Groups

 The HSR groups were set up in a way that cars with similar historic significance and/or performance expectations ran together, just as you might expect.

The following information was taken from the HSR website (and condensed for space):

Group 1 – Pre-War / Early Post-War as produced and raced thru 1955.
(No Group 1’s were at this year’s Sebring Classic 12).

2 – Vintage Production / Sports Racers / SCCA modifieds, etc.

3 – Historic Production / Sports Racers as produced and raced thru 1985.

Group 4 has 3 different sections, 4A, 4B and 4C:
4A – Vintage / Historic / Modern Formula (Open Wheeled).
4B – Historic Formula.
4C – Modern Formula (Open-Wheeled).
(No Group 4’s were at this year’s Sebring Classic 12).

Group 5 has two sections, 5A and 5B:
5A – Classic Big-Bore Production.
5B – USRRC (US Road Racing Championship) / FIA World Sportscar. Championship Coupes.

6 – Historic Prototypes / Modern Sports Racers.

7 – Historic Sports Racing Cars.

8 – Post-Historic FIA Group 4/5/6 IMSA GT.

9 – Modern Era GT1 / GT2 / GT3 / Trans-Am.

10 – Modern Cup / Challenge Series / GT4.

11 – Modern TCR, Production, Street Stock.

HSRNC – HSR NASCAR Classic.

PC – HSR Prototype Challenge.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Practice and Qualifying.

 For the first two days, these classes ran test, practice and qualifying sessions.  Groups 2 and 3 ran together, as did groups 5 & 8, groups 6 & 7 and groups 9, 10 & 11.  These groups all participated in the Weathertech Sprint races, with practice and qualifying on Thursday, Sprint Race 1 for each group set on Friday, and a second sprint race on Saturday morning.  Run in a similar fashion were the NASCAR Classic and Prototype Challenge groups.

Classic 12 groups

 On Saturday after the lunch break, the festivities began for the HSR Sebring Classic 12, starting with a fan walk at noon. The Classic 12 groups were lettered A, B, C and D, with groups A and B running together.  They were grouped together as follows:

A – Early FIA Era 1952-1972.

B – Early IMSA GTO/GTU Era 1973-1993.

C – Prototypes IMSA/FIA LMP/DP/WSC/Modern/Current GT1/2/3.

D – Early GT3, GT4, World Challenge, Porsche Cup, Ferrari Challenge.

 If this all sounds a bit confusing, well it is a lot to take in.  Over the decades there have been many different sanctioning bodies with various classes depending on the year, engine size and other determining factors.  The names of some series changed over the years along with the specs for the cars contained within them.

 To organize all of this, the HSR has created these groups for the Classic 12 to closely, or as closely as possible, balance the performance on track based on the expectations of each car.  The groupings for the Classic 12 were further condensed, such as putting Groups 2 and 3 together and calling it Group A, taking some of the Group 5 and some of the Group 7 cars and calling that Group B, and then packing all of the above into one “A/B” group. 

 Group C had a similar set up, combining (in general) HSR Groups 6, 7 and 9 into one unit, and Group D did the same for Group 10 and 11 cars.  This is a simplified version of things, but I have done my best to convey the information without putting you completely to sleep.

 Having outlined all of this, and returning to the weekend’s schedule; after the fan walk on Saturday the Classic 12 racing sessions began.  It was not organized as a 12-hour, green to checkered flag race like the 12 Hours of Sebring.  These were historic race cars, some of which have become very expensive to operate as well as commanding astronomical prices on the open collector’s market, and no one wants to see these beautiful machines taken to bits. 

 The Classic 12 is run in stages:  The three groups (A+B, C, and D) get 4, 1-hour stints.  That’s 3 groups x 4 hours = 12 hours.  To start things off, the A/B set ran for an hour (actually 42 minutes with an 18-minute gap), then Group C, and finally Group D to complete round 1.  They repeated this twice again on Saturday for a total of 9 hours out of 12.  Finally 3 hours would be run on Sunday afternoon.  

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Day 1, Thursday, March 6, 2025.

 The 12 Hours of Sebring race was scheduled to run one week later, so things at the famous racetrack were set up a bit differently than they were at the SVRA event a couple of weeks before.  Once I picked up my vest and drove over the bridge into the paddock side, I noticed that most of the parking areas were completely roped off.  In the infield, fans and caravans were already showing up. 

 There was absolutely no (OK, almost no) parking on the paddock side except for an area on the airfield end of the paddock.  I found a spot by the turn 17b corner marshall stand, but had to drive in and out through a small gap between the fence and pallets of gas bottles that the VP fuel station guys had set up.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Golf Cart Hire.

 Once I picked up a cart, I was mobile for the weekend and ready to tackle the job of getting around.  Sebring doesn’t allow photographers to use personal vehicles on the circuit road, and for good reason; in many areas there isn’t enough room for two vehicles to get by each other. 

Safety trucks, corner marshalls and even the facility forklifts use the roads, so to avoid the added congestion we were limited to golfcarts and e-bikes.  I could have opted to use my car from the spectator areas and walk through the gates, but my knees are still recovering from an injury, so I thought it best not to risk it.  If I tried that, I would have to hike along the circuit roads—in some cases considerable distances—from the walk-in gate to the spot I wanted to shoot from. 

Not only that, but the amount of ground I can cover moving along the circuit road with a cart is unmatched by using a car and hiking.  For Saturday alone, I covered the track three times over to get those shots with the correct lighting and from different positions than the first two days.  This could not have been done any other way effectively, and I knew it.  Renting a golfcart wasn’t cheap, but then again, neither is knee surgery.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Groups 2/3 practice.

 The first shot of the morning was a beautiful, baby blue 1964 Ginetta G4 driven by Les Apple in the Group 2/3 practice session, right at 8am.  The next few cars to go by were a trio of Porsche 944’s; a 1986 turbo, an ’88 S2 and an ’84 model 944.  After that there was a ’66 Ford Mustang followed by a 1969 Porsche 911 and two ’72 models.  Although it didn’t show up on the official entry list, there was another Ginetta, this one a 1961 G4, driven by Michael Oritt.  I shot the entire session from the inside of 17b, not far from where I parked.  It was a  nice place to warm up.

HSR Group 2/3 Practice Fast Lap:
02:23.903 | David Agretelis | 1972 Porsche 911 S/T

Groups 5/8 Practice.

The 2/3 practice lasted thirty minutes, with a ten-minute gap to Groups 5 and 8. Driving the cart around the track, I noticed that all the openings where I could dash onto the circuit road two weeks before were now completely blocked.  They fenced off the “cross-over,” which allowed for a quick transition from one circuit road to the other on the east end, making it completely unusable. The only access gates were one rolling gate at turn 2, on the driver’s left, and a swing gate between T11 and T12 where a safety truck was parked. Although that one wasn’t marked on the map, I used it all weekend. I also found another gate outside T17b, but even that one had been partially roped off. More on that one in a bit.

 During the Group 5/8 practice, I drove along the fence line until I found that swing gate and went through it.  I stopped at the photo holes in the catch fence and used them for the start of the session.  There are actually two photo holes, and each had a slightly different vantage point looking back up the track at turn 10.  A third one, in the middle of the other two, was usually occupied by a corner marshall, but it’s easy enough to shoot through it at an angle if they aren’t waving any flags through it.

 The first car to go by was a nice 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302R, bright blue with black accents.  Next through were some Porsches, and then the second fastest car, a sleek GTS1 class 1993 Olds Cutlass Supreme, with a bright yellow and red paint scheme.  The only thing that was faster was the #01 ’72 Porsche 911 RSR (GTO class), with classic Gulf orange and blue color scheme with orange flames on the side.

 Before the session ended, I drove a little closer to turn 7, the “Hairpin”, and the big sponsor banners.  The long, sweeping “Gurney Bend” (Turn 6) gives way to a straight which ends at the “Hairpin,” a 90 degree right turn leading into the Fangio Chicane and then up to T10 (Refer to my Sebring SpeedTour report for a more in-depth explanation for some of these turn names; for the remainder of this report I will use the description with the turn number once, and then refer to them one way or another after that).

 Every 100 feet or so provides a fresh, new background to work with.  I like to use foreground objects as well (at Sebring, that means concrete, Armco and tire walls).  I found a good mix of all of it in that area, including large stretches of trees across the track and an industrial access road.

 I spent the last few minutes of the session at the inside apex of the Hairpin, standing next to a corner marshall stand and in front of a 12-foot photo tower.  I was still using the banners as a background when the session came to an end.

HSR Group 5/8 Practice Fast Lap:
02:12.760 | Kenneth McKinnon | 1972 Porsche 911 RSR GTO

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Groups 9/10/11 Practice.

 Next up on the schedule was the practice session for Groups 9/10/11.  My position had been working well, so I continued to shoot from it, but this time rather than using the banners as the background, I used the famous Seven Hotel.

The nice thing about this turn is how close the cars come to the barrier; less than twenty feet from the rumble strip to the Armco, maybe even less than that.  I had to switch to the 24-105 wide angle zoom, as it was definitely too close to use the 100-400mm telephoto. 

This worked out well, because I like using a lot of texture and context in my racing photos.  In that location the hotel, the discolored rumble strip in foreground, and the trees in the distant background all come together to build a scene that is much more than just a “car-on-the-track”. 

The story becomes more about what is happening, where it is taking place and what’s around it, all the while displaying the rough character of the track.  By including all of these things I can stitch together a feeling for the viewer of actually experiencing the event, and that is, in the end, what I always try to accomplish.

 Aside from the immediate surroundings close to the turn apex, there were also a number of vantage points to be discovered both up- and down-track.  Moving a little further up-track put me closer to the walk-over bridge, with the “Sebring” logo prominently featured on the side.  I could grab some long focal length front-end shots with that bridge behind the cars, or I could whip a fast motion pan as they got ready to hit the binders and head into the apex.  Another option was to switch lenses and use more grass and sky. 

 Moving down-track gave a nice rear-car shot using the banners and trees in the background.  In the end, it was all about what sort of shots I was trying to pull down, and this one general location had a very versatile offering in the way of shot possibilities.

HSR Group 9/10/11 Practice Fast Lap:
02:08.360 | Ryan Dalziel/Tom Herb | 2021 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3

Groups 6/7 Practice.

 Working through the practice sessions, groups 6 and 7 hit the track next.  These groups included some very nice examples of historic Can-Am and other series. 

Chris Ronson Jr. and Chris Ronson Sr. drove the #54 “Flex-Box” entry to the fastest lap of the session. Although the official entry list listed it as a 2004 Carbir CS2, it is actually a 2013 (or 2014) Oreca FLM09. Created for the Le Mans Prototype Challenge, CORE Autosport previously owned it and Colin Braun and Jon Bennett drove it. In 2014, they secured 4 wins, 2 second-place finishes, and clinched the series championship. 

Dominick Incantalupo drove the car at the Sebring SpeedTour in 2023.  Incidentally, Ryan Dalziel, who piloted the Mercedes AMG to a fast lap in the previous group’s practice session, was also on board with CORE Autosport for five rounds of the American Le Mans series in their #06 Oreca, a sister car to this one.

 I captured the car both at ground level and from the top of the photo tower.  The tower shot is nice, and showcases the look of the rumble strip, blue and white with many tire marks.  However, I prefer the low-slung ground level hotel-in-the-background pan with the rumble strip and hint of grass to illustrate just how close they come to the railing. 

HSR Group 6/7 Practice Fast Lap:
02:08.042 | Chris Ronson Jr / Chris Ronson Sr | 2013(14) Oreca FLM09

NASCAR Historics Practice.

 There was a short pause for track inspection before the NASCAR Historics took to the track.  I moved to a spot just up-track and outside “Kristensen Corner,” (Turn 3) for this session. 

The straight leading into this corner is a spot of heavy braking, which body-flexes the front of these cars right down to the deck.  Spinning his Chevrolet Silverado NASCAR Truck, Joe Nemechek brought out a yellow flag. I took the opportunity to move closer to “Turn” 2, just past a big advertising banner that was stretched over the track.

This is basically the same shot, with a slightly different background.  More speed coming out of T2 means I can get away with a faster shutter speed and still get that smooth look of a well-executed pan shot.  Other things at my disposal there were the tire barriers, and the 300, 200 and 100 ft pylons leading into T3 on driver’s right.

 Ryan Gemmell’s #6 yellow and black Camry screamed past with every lap, taking up the ribbon of track turn by turn.  Almost 2.5 seconds faster than the next, he not surprisingly produced the fastest lap of the session.

HSR Group NASCAR Classic Practice Fast Lap:
02:07.635 | Ryan Gemmell | 2009 Toyota Camry

Classic 12 Group D Practice.

 The first of the Classic 12 practice sessions (Group D) was on tap after the NASCAR Classics.  I stayed in the same general area for the start but moved around a couple of times trying to vary the look. 

After about 15 minutes I drove up to turn 1 and shot from the outside.  I had the choice of shooting through fence holes looking down the front straight or panning with Rolex banners on the concrete barriers. 

I captured a nice rear-car shot from the pan location. You can take all these shots from outside the spectator fence. I’m unsure of the ticketing needed to get in there since it is on the paddock side, but you don’t need a media pass. In fact, I covered the SVRA event at Sebring in 2023 without a media pass, so the track is very workable in that respect. Even the best brake rotor shots I took could be done from the RV camper area just across the fence (you may need a ladder and a 2.8 lens for that). I suspect that the areas are open to walking traffic over the bridges from the Green Park side, but cars would likely need some kind of parking pass.

According to the live scoring and timing site, there were three separate practice sessions for Group D, but only one was ever listed on the schedule. As a result, I do not know with any certainty which is correct, so I will not list a ‘fastest lap’ for this session. I can tell you that Colin Dougherty drove the #92 2008 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup car very fast, as did Tom McGlynn in his #8 2016 Porsche 991.1 GT3R/3.8. Another car, a 2016 KTM GT4, set a blistering pace, piloted by the team of Jerome Bocuse, Franco Valobra, and John Houghtaling. No one else was close.

Classic 12 Group C Practice.

 The last session before the lunch break was the Classic Group C practice starting exactly at mid-day.  This group contained the prototypes, including the very fast Cadillac Dallara DPi entries.  The #44 1985 Jaguar XJR-7 was one entry that I was thrilled to see. This car is one that I remember watching back in my first years as a race fan, as well as the XJR-9’s that came after it. They were some of my favorite race cars in any series, and remain so to this day, especially the XJR-9, with its deep V-12 growl, no other racing engine has ever come close to matching that sound (maybe the F1 V-10’s.) 

 I wish there had been more of these mid- to late-80’s and 90’s Group C / GTP cars at the event, but I can’t imagine how expensive it is to run them, and to risk damaging or totaling a priceless machine like that would  be unconscionable.  As a driver or owner of one of these cars you have to pick your battles, and these days I guess that means saving it for the tracks of California or Daytona. 

 A late addition showed up on Sunday morning; the Konica-Minolta 2017 Jordan Taylor car.  Not a car from the 1980’s, but it’s still a thrill to see any of these prototype level cars racing.  I missed out on so much racing in the late 1990’s and 2000’s, but I can make up for it in a way by catching the historic series such as HSR and SVRA now. 

 For Group C, I decided to find that gate outside of turn 17b, allowing me to shoot from outside the turn as well as moving along the driver’s left side of the front straight. 

Most of that length is a bit useless for most photography to be honest, so I only used it to get down to turn 1.  Getting to the gate involved sliding under a flagged cord and moving a barrel that was placed exactly in the way.  Once inside the area, I drove down the circuit “road” (more like a wide, grassy area) a little past the turn and looked back.  What I saw was exactly what I had expected; a great view of the cars coming out from under the bridge on their way to the front straight. 

Bumps are on both sides, and these are significant enough to toss the cars around. Sometimes, and with the right car, they can cause a wheel to catch a little air, especially with the Porsches.  This class contained some of the fastest ones at the event, so if there was any chance of catching a tire-hop or two, this would be it.

 Besides the tire hop, there are other options from this vantage point involving a wider context, such as including the bridge, palm trees, corner marshall shacks and banners in the shot (even my car, it turns out).  I spent time trying to catch them hopping, because zoomed in these shots tend to be “car on the track” shots, and if there is no hop they all end up looking similar and sometimes even motionless. 

There was a good bit of tire wall on the 17a side that was visible, and the near side barrier showed up nicely as well.  When I could, I crouched down and caught the top of that tire barrier, very out of focus, like a hazy, undefined dark area providing some visible foreground.  As long as there is something in the shot besides track surface it looks good; add a little tire hop and it gets even better.

Classic 12 Group C Practice Fast Lap:
01:49.518 | Eric Foss / Pierce Marshall | 2017 Cadillac Dallara DPi

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Track Vibes: Enjoy the Lull.

 I had planned on going through the paddock at lunch, but instead I enjoyed the calm of mid-day and the lack of noise, staying under the canopy of the cart and taking in some water and a few snacks.  A group of World War II fighters took off from the airfield next to the track and circled around.  I couldn’t tell what two of them were, but one was definitely a P-51 Mustang. Did the pilot know there were Mustangs flying along at ground level as well?

 I have noticed it before, but a track of this size—this track in particular—has such a serene vibe going on during the breaks.  If you listen carefully, you can hear the sounds of everything going on, some things that are at a considerable distance.  There’s always the drone of a small motor or generator running somewhere.  Sometimes it’s a car or motorcycle in the infield.  Sometimes it’s machinery running inside one of the manufacturing buildings across from turn 13.  These sounds are muted because of the distance most of the time. Small warblers were everywhere, and there was a good supply of Osprey building nests on top of the lights.  One of the corner marshalls told me that they had one of the Warblers “trained” by feeding it so it kept coming around.  The bird doesn’t care what you call it so long as the treats keep comin’.

 I came to turn 3 because this is where I wanted to capture the A/B practice.  Inside the turn there is blue and white painted Armco and tire barriers.  There is a set of bleachers on the outside that shows up in the photos, along with other odds and ends, including the catch fence which looks great (as long as it’s on the other side of the track and not obstructing it).

Class 12 Group A/B Practice

 The first car out was the brilliant gold and black 1975 Toj SC205 driven by Richard Bradley and David Porter.  Right behind it was the David Agretelis Porsche, and then the #62 Chevron B31 driven by MHP Peters /  Mitchell Eitel.  Travis Engen made an appearance in his gorgeous Lotus 23B (one of several things that he drives besides the Audi R8 super car). 

 The Armco barrier on the inside apex to T3 figures prominently in several of the photos in this session.  I have developed a habit of including such things rather than excluding them; for me, it opens up the story, and any time I look through photos of cars on racetracks I can always spot the ones at Sebring.  There is just a look about it that I have not seen at any other track.  The same thing appears at Road Atlanta; an overabundance of unmistakable character and details unique to the facility.

Classic 12 Group A/B Practice Fast Lap:
02:10.155 | Peters / Eitel | 1975 Chevron B31.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Prototypes Challenge Sprint Practice.

 A quick 10-minute pause, and then the prototypes were out for their Challenge sprint practice session.  This group of prototypes is full of high end, familiar entries such as the Cadillac DPi, the Meyer Shank Acura formerly driven by Thom Blomqvist, Helio Castroneves and Oliver Jarvis.  The #02 Cadillac also has a former driver pedigree with the names Earl Bamber and Ryan Hunter-Reay.  The Riley Motorsport entry, kept in its neon orange and blue livery, is very visible and recognizable even without names.  

Of course, the Audi R8 of Travis Engen needs no introduction; it’s accomplishments can be seen in part by looking at the banners running along the pit structure on the front straight.  Just look for the years that portray “Audi” as the winning car.  Travis had just been on the track in the Lotus and now pounded out more laps piloting the prototype.

Prototype Challenge Sprint Practice Fast Lap:
01:52.553 | Pierce Marshall | 2017 Cadillac Dallara DPi.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Sprint Race Qualifying, All Groups.

 At this point, the daylight practice sessions were finished, leaving only the 3 night practices.  That means most of the drivers were gearing up for their qualifying sessions, starting with Group 5/8.  Each group set (2/3, 5/8, 6/7, 9/10/11, NASCAR, Prototypes) had qualifying for their sprint races to be held Friday.  There were also a couple of other things going on Friday; the GTM/HS/PM B.R.M. Chronographes Endurance Challenge race and the SascoSports International/America Challenge race.  Add to that the qualifying sessions for the Classic 12 groups and it was going to make for a very full day.  For now, on Thursday, sprint race qualifying was at hand.

  As for me, I had to retreat to my car for a while, and I spent some time sitting in the media room where I plugged in my spare camera battery.  More on that later.  I ran out of water, which was not good.  At this point I left the track because I couldn’t find anyone selling water; none of the vendors were really set up at that point. 

I returned in time to catch the Group 9/10/11 qualifying session from the Turn 10 area.  I worked in the same general area through 2/3 qualifying, and then the prototypes came out again.  For that, I drove past T7, to the walk-over bridge at the end of Gurney Bend (T6).  There is a bit of clutter beyond the catch fence in that area, so an otherwise nice shot might look a bit clumsy.  Using the bridge helps with that. 

The background may not be the best that the track has to offer, but you can easily get some good angled shots at speed, and with good cropping techniques most of the unwanted clutter can be removed without sacrificing that which is useful.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Top Sprint qualifiers:

5/8: | 02:16.451 | Jim King | #94 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.
6/7: | 02:08.485 | Chris Ronson Jr/Sr | #54 2013(14) Oreca FLM09.
9/10/11: | 02:03.736 | Littlejohn / Evans | #144 2019 Porsche 991.2 GT3 R.
2/3: | 02:23.485 | David Agretelis | #166 1972 Porsche 911 S/T.
NASCAR Classics: | 02:03.927 | Ryan Gemmell | #6 2009 Toyota Camry.
Prototype Sprints: | 01:50.602 | Pierce Marshall | #02 2017 Cadillac Dallara Dpi.

Nightfall at Sebring: Practice Sessions and Glowing Brake Rotors.

 I can’t remember now where I was for the dinner break; most likely I was sitting in the cart somewhere thinking about the night practices and where I needed to be.  Earlier in the day, I took a trip around the course looking for light poles; this may have been that time.  I thought that maybe on the Turn 10-Turn 15 side there would have been some great lights, but as it turned out, not so much, at least not sufficient for the equipment that I have. 

My only 2.8 lens is a 200mm and that is just too long for most spots on that side; I was really close to the racing line and even my 105mm was too much for some of the longer prototypes.  Most of my side pan shots in that area were at the 70mm focal length, giving a decent amount of space on either side of the cars for cropping purposes.  Anything larger was just too tight in the frame and I was clipping the front or rear of the car.  That’s a real heartbreaker when the shot is nice and sharp.

 I started out on the east side down-track from Tower Turn (T13), at the only spot I could find that had lighting from the inside (driver’s right).  There was a light on driver’s left but at that point I had committed to a circuit road and getting over there in time wasn’t going to be an option. 

The lighting wasn’t strong enough for my 105 lens (which has an aperture of f5.6 at that focal length) so I changed to the 200mm and tried some angled shots.  The lighting was a bit better, but I couldn’t let the cars get too close or the frame got too crowded.  This isn’t the best scenario for glowing brake rotors, and the shots are less than spectacular.  I had to make a choice, and fast.  I tried to use the other side of turn 13 but it really wasn’t what I was looking for. 

Finally during the Group C session I made my way up to Turn 7, and met with some success.  Still, the results were not what they could have been. Great glowing discs, but very dark and noisy shots and not much else.  Not the quality that I needed.  My last shot of the night was at 8:05PM, just short of the end of Group C.  I decided that if I can’t get the shot I want during Group C, then Group D wasn’t going to work either.  It had been a long day, and I needed to prepare for the next one.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Day 2, Friday, March 7, 2025.

 On Friday, I arrived at the track just before 11am, catching the last three laps of the BRM Endurance Challenge.  This was another day I would be starting inside Turn 17b where I parked my car every morning.  The cart was still where I left it, and I had plenty of room to get my car in past the pallets.

BRM Endurance Challenge.

 The first thing I noticed about the BRM were two Lamborghinis; a black one, unmarked other than the number 333, and a green 2016 Huracán Super Trofeo Evo I driven by Bruce LeDoux, very lightly sponsored and sporting the number 76.  I only saw them a few times, but they looked great first thing in the morning.  Of course there were other cars as well; an Audi, some Porsches, one of two KTMs that I saw over the course of the weekend, and a 2000 Carbir CS2.

 My focus was on getting warmed up early, doing some basic pans from a familiar location and then getting to the other side to check it out.  At that time of the morning the sun was actually good where I was, but I have used that spot several times already and I wanted to scope out the prospects of shooting from the other side.  After the session I loaded up the cart and headed across the bridge, turned onto the main road and found my way through the gate.

Investigating Shooting Areas Outside Turn 17b.

 Of course, the sun was in my face that early in the day, so I was only there to analyze different spots up and down the tire wall for their usefulness and to decide what group to come back here for.  After that I headed down past the exit of the turn and walked uphill to the fence.  I say uphill because the entire property is as flat as a tabletop, but in that area the ground had been built up as a backstop for the tire and concrete barriers that the catch fence was mounted on.  I found a good spot up the fence line with a nice view of the front of the cars as they exited the turn.  It was also one of the loudest spots at any location, so hearing protection was an absolute must.

Groups 5/8 Sprint Race #1.

 The Group 5 / 8 sprint race was in full swing, and the Corvettes, BMWs, Mustangs, Porsches, even a 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme were hitting that turn and moving along very quickly.  The Cutlass, driven by Jim King, was the winner, with a fast lap of 02:15.474.

Groups 9/10/11 Sprint Race #1

 Not long after, the Groups 9/10/11 Sprint Race began.  Here again, the LeDoux Lamborghini appeared along with the other entries of these three groups.  It qualified P2 the day before with a respectable 02:09 lap time, about 6 seconds behind James Littlejohn in the #144 2019 Porsche 991.2 GT3 R, and the race finished with those top two spots unchanged from qualifying.  Michael Merritt took P3 in that same #898 Porsche Cup car that he competed in during the Sebring SpeedTour event a couple of weeks before.

 Most of the cars came around the corner body-flexing, some more than others.  I’d say the Porsches got the award for the biggest tire hop, at least in this group. 

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Lunch Break, Day 2.

 It was lunch break, and while the urge to go into the paddock was strong, I opted to find a place in the infield to eat some food and sit quietly.  I tooled around for a while, eventually settling in just up from the Green Park bridge on the side without the pass-through tunnel.  I was there for a few minutes filming some birds with the camera on my phone, when I heard a voice from behind me–which I recognized as one of the corner marshalls—saying, “Hands up! You’re under arrest for shootin’ the bird!”  I guess he watched me trying to film the osprey and some other birds.  It was a nice, funny moment.

Groups 6/7 Sprint Race #1

 When the Group 6/7 Sprint Race started, I was where I needed to be; I hadn’t moved too far since lunch, only a bit further up-track to get closer to the Carousel exit.  Out in front were the C&R Lightning Crown cars of Mike Hoover and Brian Tyler, followed by the 2023 Funyo SP05 EVO drive by Remy Brouard.  I wasn’t concerned with getting anything drastic in the way of slow-shutter speed pans, just some nice, crisp photos of the cars with a bit of wheel spin and a slightly blurry background.  I was saving the slow-shutter stuff for one of the longer, faster straights, which I figured I would hit a little later in the afternoon. 

The two Crowns finished P1/P2, with another, basically identical, Funyo coming up ahead of Brouards; the #8 car of Robert Blain. The only differences that I clocked between those two Funyos  were the driver’s left exhaust port and some slightly different side aero on Blain’s entry. Other than that and the stickers they looked the same.  Before the end of the race, I drifted back up-track to T3 and took a perch just down from the corner marshall’s flagstand.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Sasco Sports Challenge Race.

 Next up was the Sasco Sports Challenge Race, pitting foreign sports cars and sedans in groups 2,3 and 5 against American GT cars.  I was in a position to use the flagger in the foreground, and as the pace car came out of T2 and toward me I snapped a few pics using the extended flag as foreground context. 

The #33 ’69 Vette driven by Bob Lima went by with a loud growl, followed by Jeff McKee’s ’64 Ford Falcon.  Cars like this don’t get as much attention as a Mustang, Camaro, Charger, but they really do make great looking racecars and this one, with classic off-white cream colored paint and dark blue body stripes looked as racy as you can imagine. 

The #110 1969 Porsche 911-S of Lisa Hanson was behind the Falcon.  Other cars included the #331 Dean DeSantis Porsche 911, this one an RSR, and an absolutely gorgeous 1965 Ginetta G4 driven by Harvey Parke from Group 2.  Bill Treffert’s ’60 Corvette roadster was on the grid as well. 

This is a car that I have enjoyed seeing since 2023 at the SVRA SpeedTour event; sleek black with a simple, circular white number plate, this car is always a pleasure to watch and photograph.  His son Todd Treffert was running the #14 1974 Porsche 911 IROC in Group 5a and also participated in the Sasco race, at the head of the field and having a go at the Falcon which had driven around Lima’s Vette between the starting line and Turn 3.

Ken Greenberg’s 1964 Morgan 4/4 was in the race.  I had a chance to talk with him later in the weekend while admiring that car in the paddock.  Todd Treffert was running out front pretty much the whole time and took the P1 podium spot.  His best time was 2:16.772, almost 3.5 seconds faster than the best of Mike Banz in second.  DeSantis and Bob Lima in that #33 Corvette took out P3 and P4, respectively.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 NASCAR Classics Sprint Race #1.

 There was a 15-minute break to inspect the track, and then the NASCAR Historics hit it for their Classic Sprint Race #1.  As I expected, Ryan Gemmell was out front with the field in tow.  I caught them coming out of the Turn 2 “bend” and then took some rear-car shots as they entered T3, using the distance markers leading into the turn.  Joe Nemechek edged out Gemmell for the win with a slightly slower best lap time (slightly in this case means 2/10 of a second).

Stqart of Classic 12 Qualifying with Group D.

 At 3:30, the Classic 12 qualifying began, with Group D taking to the track first.  I moved to the exit of Fangio Chicane to catch the first part, shooting through the photo holes in the catch fence.  The plan was to catch them all along the track from there up to the bridge. 

 In Group D qualifications, the faster cars were Dan Ammann, in the #91 2024 Porsche 981 Cayman GT4/CS, and the beautiful #8 2016 Porsche 991.1 GT3R/3.8, with its green with blue trim.  It’s an eye-catcher, for sure, and a throwback livery to the 1970 Le Mans Martini Racing Porsche 917LH, called the “Hippie Car” and driven to P2 by Gérard Larrousse/ Willi Kauhsen. That was the car which began the Le Mans “Art Car Special” tradition. This newer Porsche is a work of art as well.

Classic 12 Group C Qualifying.

 Group C was up next, and I moved up-track close to the big pine and not far from the Hairpin turn.  Group C contained the prototypes, and in this part of the track they were moving quickly.  This spot offers up a fantastic pan shot with accelerating cars and trees in the background.  The only thing bad about shooting here in mid- to late-afternoon is the sun angle.  It’s great in the morning, up through the noon hour, and it’s fantastic for sunset.  In between, ehh…not so much.  The glare and the harsh angle creates a lot of hue distortion and discoloration in the background and casts shadows on the facing side of the car.  I stayed there for about 20 minutes, shooting pans at a straight side shot, and some rear-car photos as they approached the turn 10 area, but then I moved along to turn 7.

Groups A/B Qualifying

The light in turn 7 wasn’t what I was looking for, so after about 5 minutes I drove to the flagstand between turns 4 and 5. There was a great spot there to shoot from as the cars came off T4, and the light was hitting the cars just right. In past years I have caught some cars popping tires off of the rumble strip, but not this time.

Turn 17b, and the Prototype Sprint Race

 As soon as Group A/B qualifying ended I headed for the outside of turn 17b.  This is the spot that I checked out earlier in the morning and now it was time to actually use it.  The cars came out of Sunset turn and under the bridge.  I was able to catch them in front, side and rear views.  Long shadows, palm trees, and the tire barriers along with the warmth of the setting sunlight collaborated to make some great shots.

 On track was the final session of the day; the Prototype Sprint Race.  Getting some good shots of the Cadillac Dpi (the 02) was on my short list to accomplish, and this was a good spot to do that in.

Final Thoughts, Day 2

 This hadn’t been the longest day at the track, but I was feeling it.  Even with the cart, I still had done over a mile of walking.  My knees, legs and even my back was ready to rest.  And of course, there was another day coming; a reason to get up and do it all again.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Day 3, Saturday, March 8, 2025.

A Small Mishap, and Groups 5/8 Sprint Race #2.

I may have been in a bit of a hurry trying to get to the track. 

Keys…check. 
Batteries…charged and check. 
Camera, water, snacks…check, check and check. 

Vest? … Vest? …… Vest?

Well, let me just say that I was glad that my Airbnb was only a few minutes from the track.  After a very relaxed morning, coffee, loading car, getting where I needed to be, I managed to snap a few shots during the opening lap of the Group 9/10/11 Sprint race #2 before I was spotted by the control tower standing outside turn 1…without my vest! I had everything except the one thing that allowed me to be there, so I had to drive back “home” to grab it. 

When I returned to the same spot outside turn 1, the Group 5/8 sprint race #2 was about to begin.  I was just in time to catch the first lap of that one as well, with the #94 bringing the field down for the start.  I caught most of the laps from there and then moved up a little further, just past the catch fence.  Jim King in the Oldsmobile seemed to have control of most of the race, but in the end the #01 McKinnon Porsche took P1, followed closely by Treffert in the 14.

Groups 6/7 Sprint Race #2 And A Great Old Suburban.

 After the race I drove up to turn 5 and found a sweet old Suburban sitting outside the fence.  Turns out, it belonged to the corner marshall, and had been an ambulance in a former life.  I took a few photos of it before the next race started, which was the Group 6/7 Sprint Race #2. 

The two Crowns were out front, followed by the Funyos, the Carbir, and Jacek Mucha’s 2006 Swift.  The last car in line was the ’75 Chevron piloted by Mitchell Eitel, but that didn’t last long.  By the second lap Eitel was motoring up through the field, setting up a pass on the #99 Crown of Mike Hoover as they passed.  By the third lap he was setting up on the #14, and by the sixth lap he was by him.  I went down past the bridge for a few minutes and then doubled back, catching them on both sides.

Groups 2/3 Sprint Race #2

 There was a quick break and then the sprint race for Groups 2 and 3 was on track.  This field had a lot of depth, with many brands represented; Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus, Ford, Ginetta, Chevrolet, Datsun, Morgan.  In addition, the age range of the cars spanned 28 years, the oldest being Bill Treffert’s 1960 Corvette and the youngest being the 1988 Porsche 944 S2 driven by Keith Martin.  The Porsches ruled the day, but Travis Engen put his Lotus in the top 10 at P7.

 For this session I moved up the circuit to the catch fence photo holes around turn 10. Before it was finished I floated up toward the Tower turn (T13), with a target point back up the track as they came out of turn 12 and staying into the next session.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Prototype Challenge Enduro Qualifying.

This was a timed, 15-minute qualifying session setting the stage for Sunday’s Enduro race.  The #44 Jaguar was out turning laps but was not listed on the qualifying sheet, nor was it present during the enduro race.  I am glad that they ran it anyway, and I could tell that he wasn’t pushing it really hard.  This car is an iconic example of 1980’s golden era prototypes which are a shrinking breed as the worth of the cars of this time period continues to climb ever higher, making most of them a rare sight on a racetrack these days.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Classics Sprint Race #2.

 One last sprint race before the lunch hour, the NASCAR Classics sprint race, began with the Joe Nemechek #87 car out front.  Joe, in his own car, battled it out with Gemmell in that black and yellow and slightly newer Camry.  In the end it was Gemmell who took the checkered flag first.

Ken Greenberg’s Morgan.

 For lunch, I strolled through the paddock area, finding the Ansa Motorsports KTM’s, and then I spied Ken Greenberg’s Morgan 4 sitting outside his paddock space.  I walked up to it and started taking pics when Ken came out to see. 

We talked for a bit and then I asked if he wouldn’t mind to have a photo with the car.  He disappeared for a few minutes and came back donned in his complete racing suit, helmet and all!  We decided to do a complete team shot, and even though everyone was in the middle of lunch they all played along and we got some great shots out of it.  Great sports; all of them.

  There was no time to rest, the next race was gridding up and I wanted to get back out to catch it.  I had a well-designed and thought out plan for the day which, for the most part, I was sticking to.  I skipped the introductions to set up for photographing the first of the Classic 12 races; Groups A/B Race #1 of 4.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Round 1.

 I floated between turns 13 and 15, staying in that general area for the first 3 Class 12 races, so I shot pretty much every car from somewhere in that range of locations.  It is a fast part of the track, and loud.  Quite a lot of fun to shoot from.  There was an area, just past T15, where the catch fence stops and in a small stretch great photos can be taken from the spectator area until they get to the next catch fence leading down into T16 and the back stretch.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Round 2.

 For Classic 12 round #2, I started out around the T5 area and floated through the T7 Hairpin.  I was sure to spend the sunset moments inside the hairpin, which occurred during the end of Group C and into Group D.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Round 3.

 Round 3 consisted completely of night runs, and my plan was to be on the outside of the hairpin for that.  During the previous day’s night practice, I noticed that there was more light on the cars from the outside than inside, where I had been.  So, as soon as the Group D session ended, I knew I had about 18 minutes to get over there.

  I changed lenses to the 200mm f/2.8 for these sessions, giving myself the best opportunity to grab some decent shots with less noise.  The 100-400 would have worked without the extender, but it would have been at f/4, f/5.6 at best.  Along with that comes a great deal of noise and a much higher ISO setting which I was trying to avoid.  As it turns out, the light was just enough to illuminate the cars without overdoing it; the shots look like night shots with plenty of detail and the all-important glowing brake rotor.  Mission accomplished.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 final thoughts of Day 3

 With my back and knee pain increasing from the long day, and thinking that the best glowing rotor shots were in Group C, I decided to call it about mid-way through that session, missing only the Group D.  At this point I had everything that I wanted out of the event, and I saw no point in just burning off clicks.  It had been a great day, and a great event, and I was satisfied.

HSR Sebring Classic 12 Day 4, Sunday, March 9, 2025.

And Now, Something Completely Different

 As I sometimes do, I skipped most of day 4, having already created enough work for the report and honestly, being extremely worn out from the event overall.  My plan was to simply turn in my vest and cart, but when I went out on the deck to have my morning coffee before leaving house, I saw that the entire area was blanketed in fog.  Well, that is an opportunity that I couldn’t resist. 

I quickly organized my gear and set out for the racetrack one last time.  What I found was a wonderfully foggy course, still covered by low flying clouds giving the entire place a feeling of serenity…for the moment. I set out to drive around taking some non-action shots of the place. Taking in the views that I had been using during the event to catch the cars in action was transformed into an effort to capture some emotion from the track itself.

Prototypes And Final Thoughts.

 I started at the front and worked my way out, getting as far as turn 5 before realizing that racing would be starting shortly.  I made my way back to turn 3, where I knew I could get very close cars and distant, foggy background, to accentuate the effect even more.  By the time they came around on the warm up lap, the fog had lifted a bit so it wasn’t quite as dramatic as I was hoping for, but still very nice.  I stayed for about half of that first session and then decided to call it a weekend, dropping off my vest and cart, and getting ready to start on the editing.

Upcoming Assignments.

 My next event will be the NOLA SpeedTour at NOLA Motorsports Park.  Please have a look at this and my other reports, and you can check out my website as well in the link below.