- 4,822
- Concord, CA
- kylehnat
This is my gallery of photos from the ALMS race in Portland on July 22. Thanks to the miracle of digital cameras, I wrecklessly took about 170 pictures, of which about 100 were good enough to present 
I've gone to this race for the past three years, and this year's contest was the best of the three 👍. The weather was a major factor this year. On this weekend, Portland saw record heat, with Friday's qualifying session taking place with an ambient temperature of 104 F. The forecast for Saturday was wall-to-wall sun, and a high temperature of 103 F, but it didn't turn out that way at first. When we got to the track in the morning, there was a decent cloud cover, and the temperature was in the low 80's, but it was rather humid (probably 50-55%). It stayed this way for most of the day (a rain shower even passed through) until about 5 PM, when the clouds finally shifted to the north, and the sun came out. Within 20 minutes, the temperature rose about 10 degrees (topping out at 95 F) while the humidity remained, making miserable conditions for the start of the ALMS race. Of course as true fans, we all stuck it out, and were rewarded with an excellent race👍
These pictures basically go in chronological order, with a bit of commentary introducing each section. Enjoy!
ALMS warmup: The first chance to see the cars on track, and my chance to see the R10, RS, DBR9, F430GT, and M3GTR in person for the first time. Particular attention goes to the Penske pitbox--they spare no expense. Electronic pit boards, fortified lookout towers, and Roger Penske himself make it a sight to behold. Oh yeah, the cars are there as well...
ALMS Paddock: A chance to see all of the cars up close and personal. The Audis, Porsches, Astons, and Corvettes drew big crowds, but the Highcroft camp was stuck in the back of the paddock where nobody went, so I got some neat closeups of their Lola. A stop by the Pirelli trailer reveals the secrets of mounting tires, and the ever-attractive Pirelli girls. Strolling the paddock is always worth the extra $10
Sirius MX-5 Cup: The first race of the afternoon was the MX-5 Spec race. Rather entertaining, with lots of bumping and bashing. The pace car for this race was the SUV you never saw coming, but stayed still long enough for me to get a picture of it.
Star Mazda Series: The second race was between these spec racers. About two-thirds of it was spent under caution because these young guns can't control their testosterone (the tow-truck put in the fastest lap, I think). But when the race was on, it was quite good. In the paddock, I got a nice closeup of the spec engine, which is from the RX-8. For some reason, it has a muffler, which does almost nothing, apparently.
ALMS Grid: For the last two years, the ALMS has allowed fans onto the grid before the race to get close to the cars and drivers. Picture-taking here is awesome, but incredibly difficult due to the number of people. I got out there early this year, and got some good shots. I had a nudge a few children and old people out of the way, though. The drivers decided not to hide this year, so you can see Allan McNish, Rinaldo Capello, Mika Salo, Jamie Melo, Brian Willman, Timo Bernhard, and Chris Dyson (who is flirting with his grid girl).
ALMS Race--Early Stages: The fun of shooting pictures of moving targets
I've gone to this race for the past three years, and this year's contest was the best of the three 👍. The weather was a major factor this year. On this weekend, Portland saw record heat, with Friday's qualifying session taking place with an ambient temperature of 104 F. The forecast for Saturday was wall-to-wall sun, and a high temperature of 103 F, but it didn't turn out that way at first. When we got to the track in the morning, there was a decent cloud cover, and the temperature was in the low 80's, but it was rather humid (probably 50-55%). It stayed this way for most of the day (a rain shower even passed through) until about 5 PM, when the clouds finally shifted to the north, and the sun came out. Within 20 minutes, the temperature rose about 10 degrees (topping out at 95 F) while the humidity remained, making miserable conditions for the start of the ALMS race. Of course as true fans, we all stuck it out, and were rewarded with an excellent race
👍These pictures basically go in chronological order, with a bit of commentary introducing each section. Enjoy!
ALMS warmup: The first chance to see the cars on track, and my chance to see the R10, RS, DBR9, F430GT, and M3GTR in person for the first time. Particular attention goes to the Penske pitbox--they spare no expense. Electronic pit boards, fortified lookout towers, and Roger Penske himself make it a sight to behold. Oh yeah, the cars are there as well...
ALMS Paddock: A chance to see all of the cars up close and personal. The Audis, Porsches, Astons, and Corvettes drew big crowds, but the Highcroft camp was stuck in the back of the paddock where nobody went, so I got some neat closeups of their Lola. A stop by the Pirelli trailer reveals the secrets of mounting tires, and the ever-attractive Pirelli girls. Strolling the paddock is always worth the extra $10
Sirius MX-5 Cup: The first race of the afternoon was the MX-5 Spec race. Rather entertaining, with lots of bumping and bashing. The pace car for this race was the SUV you never saw coming, but stayed still long enough for me to get a picture of it.
Star Mazda Series: The second race was between these spec racers. About two-thirds of it was spent under caution because these young guns can't control their testosterone (the tow-truck put in the fastest lap, I think). But when the race was on, it was quite good. In the paddock, I got a nice closeup of the spec engine, which is from the RX-8. For some reason, it has a muffler, which does almost nothing, apparently.
ALMS Grid: For the last two years, the ALMS has allowed fans onto the grid before the race to get close to the cars and drivers. Picture-taking here is awesome, but incredibly difficult due to the number of people. I got out there early this year, and got some good shots. I had a nudge a few children and old people out of the way, though
. The drivers decided not to hide this year, so you can see Allan McNish, Rinaldo Capello, Mika Salo, Jamie Melo, Brian Willman, Timo Bernhard, and Chris Dyson (who is flirting with his grid girl).
ALMS Race--Early Stages: The fun of shooting pictures of moving targets
. Some with the flash, some without...
