Return To Watkins Glen

In a few days I will be back at my home track, Watkins Glen, NY.   It is a return I am excited about as the last race I attended at the Glen was a NASCAR  Winston Cup race in the early nineties.  I am coming back equipped with a new Canon T3i and assorted lenses to capture some good pictures to bring to you.  Here's a picture of me in the center and my best friend, Steve Taylor, date unknown, that gives you a sense of the landscape of this track. Plenty of elevation change and some tricky corners make this a great track for the drivers. I enjoyed watching F1 legends Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Graham Hill, Ronnie Peterson and many more over the years. This is the track that is the subject of the photo book I am writing ' Echoes From The Glen' that I hope to have ready for publishing later this year.

Pictures and Tickets From My Archives

To add to the theme of  Watkins Glen of old, check this link:

History of Watkins Glen


And in a few days-  The Watkins Glen of Today!   Watch for future posts of the race.

The cars have come a long way from those days.




Picture Taken At the Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona 2014

duPont Registry Cars & Coffee Cameras

Cameras  at  duPont registry's Cars& Coffee are going hi tech.  Cars & Coffee is one of the largest cars shows in the St. Petersburg area and is held every third Saturday of the month.  Each month there is a contest for the best photo and you see many different kinds of cameras at the event. I captured on film a couple of cameras that are really creative.  One car owner filmed his entrance into the show with a Go Pro attached to his Corvette.   Now that's a good idea.  But wait- there's more...

Trailing this line of cars is a Corvette with a Go  Pro Camera

Not to be outdone, Tulio who came all the way from Brazil OK'd my photographing him with his 'drone' aerial view video camera.   What will they think of next?    Cars & Coffee draws fans from all over and it is THE car show you don't want to miss.

Now here's Tulio and his flying camera!

Tulio From Barzil

Michael Schumacher Out Of Coma

A bit of very good news greeted me today as I sat watching the evening news after dinner.  After hearing of atrocities in Iraq and seeing the carnage left by ISIS, I must say I was not in a good mood and  was just about to press the off button on the TV remote when I heard, 'And now news of Michael Schumacher',  then a pause.  I immediately braced myself for something bad, I thought he's taken a turn for the worse, or something as incomprehensible as he's died!  Shocking.  My fear turned to relief when the announcer said he was out of the coma and was leaving the hospital in Grenoble.  My whole mood change and thought, there is hope.   Take a look at the video on this BBC report to give you a good overview of what we know so far.  We will need to give him time to continue the recovery process that will be long and uncertain, but we can celebrate this milestone for him. At the risk of being repetitive, here's my 1:18th scale shot of Michael in a 2000 Ferrari.

                 For the latest report on Michael's condition see this BBC Sports Report

                                               Michael Schumacher Out of Coma

                                   

Jake Scares The French at Le Mans

Corvette Racing C7R  Picture Taken at Sebring


Corvette Racing came to France well prepared, complete with sinister pit lane markings.

Click Here To See Jake
Go Jake!

Get Ready For Le Mans

                                   Photo taken at the Audi display tent at Sebring 2013           
                                                   LM  P1   (Le Mans Prototype)        



The 'old' version 2007-2008

                                      Will Audi still dominate- or Toyota- maybe Porsche?
                                                       

               Here's a wonderful overview of what's new for 2014 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans!
                                                        Click and enjoy the videos.

                                                     GET READY FOR LE MANS

Car Crazy Passion

I'm sharing a post from another blog that I hope you enjoy.  I need to have my wife read it and not because it is a love story, but because it says in words what is hard to describe-  why some people love their cars.  At least she will know there are others out there just as crazy as me over their cars. It also applies to one of my earlier posts titled 'Why Men Race'  This link was sent to me by my daughter that came across it today.   I feel I have a lot in common with the author and my first car was a 1953 maroon Plymouth with column shift and no power steering.  I bought it for $10.00.  I was 12 and I learned to drive it at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. I had to sit on a pillow to reach the controls with dad by my side.  After driving that car for the first time at that young age, I was hooked for life.  To think I could control a 4000 pound machine with my hands and feet was a thrill I'll always remember!

Wayne County Fairgrounds - Palmyra, NY  2014

                                                                     Car Passion

Canadian Chrome? Formula 1 Post Series

My favorite car and driver in another day and time was as we say,  the ride to beat:



      Michael Schumacher Ferrari F-1  2000
PreKERSer of DRS to come??  :)

                                      Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull Win First Time This Year!

RIDERS UP!  

This was not the weekend for race favorites- from horses to horsepower.  California Chrome ran out of steam in the last half of the race at Belmont and so did both of the Mercedes at the Canadian Grand Prix. The 2014 Canadian Grand Prix had so much action, so much excitement, it was like a NASCAR Sprint Cup race with spins, lead changes at the end and the eventual last lap crash in F-1 style that almost eliminated Vettel, and caused the race to end under yellow.  For the first time this year we got a win by something other than Mercedes.  This was an exciting ending and one of the better races you will see.  It was drama and nail biting for dozens of laps which is the stuff stories come from and this race will be the story of the season for now.  Who knows if it is a turning point in the war between Red Bull and Mercedes.  Probably not as Mercedes is up on power and consistency of performance.  Check out this report from BBC Sport Formula 1.   Gotta see and read this:


Canadian Grand Prix Wrap Up Report

Porsche Fans - Game On At Le Mans!

                                        Porsche Is Back At Le Mans

If you are a Porsche fan or you like the classic design of a Porsche 911, here's a teaser for you:

Winning Porsche 911RSR At Sebring 2014

 What do you get when you extract evolutionary dew (as Dennis Miller might say) from a 911RSR and mix it with electrons flowing from kinetic and thermodynamic energy salvaged from the car?  You get the amazing Porsche 919 Hybrid that will run at Le Mans in a week.  Take a look at this cool promotional video with an Audi R18 e-tron Quattro welcoming Porsche's return.  A lot of class with a touch of swagger.

                                                        Audi Welcomes Porsche
                                                 

Formula 1 Post Series Continued

With the Canadian Grand Prix coming up this weekend and the Monaco Grand Prix recently completed my thoughts turn to getting to see an F-1 race again. It was wonderful living near Watkins Glen, NY back in the day when F-1 came to America in my 'backyard' at least relatively speaking.  I was envious today when I heard one of my friends was heading to Canada Thursday to see the race this weekend. I will settle for watching it on TV.  A lot less expensive but nowhere near the experience of being there.  With that I'll leave you with a wish for Michael Schumacher to get well - we are all pulling for you.  Now that the 2014 Grand Prix of Monaco is completed I also have a special video to honor Ayrton Senna and his superior skill at driving there. Monaco is probably the toughest street course in the world.  Ayrton, you are fondly remembered and are still an inspiration to many.

US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen , NY  1976



AYRTON SENNA- One of the best!

Click Below To See Why


 Ayrton At Monaco

And This Video Will Make You Wonder How Did He Do It?

One Lap At Monaco