# USGP 2014!



## V8Beast (Nov 2, 2014)

Damn I love F1 ;D How come it can only come to town once a year? These are from Saturday's practice and qualifying. I need me some more reach, so I'm keenly awaiting the new 100-400L


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## V8Beast (Nov 2, 2014)




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## Roo (Nov 2, 2014)

Thanks for posting!! Great colour and action in the shots


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## Click (Nov 2, 2014)

Very nice series. I love F1 8)


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## old-pr-pix (Nov 2, 2014)

V-8: More reach? ... You mean you're not one of those photogs in the Roberts vests with a 300 2.8 on a strap plus a beat-up, mono-podded 600 casually slung over their shoulder like they were burping a baby? Great shots.


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## Mickat (Nov 2, 2014)

Roo said:


> Thanks for posting!! Great colour and action in the shots



+1
Wish I was there!

Hey Roo, what do you think chances are of getting a 400mm 2.8 into melbourne Grand Prix?
Will security at the gate knock it back? I've seen a few big lenses in there. Just wondering if they had any troubles getting in with it!


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## Roo (Nov 2, 2014)

Mickat said:


> Roo said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for posting!! Great colour and action in the shots
> ...



They were pretty gung ho on it a few years ago but the last couple haven't been so bad and a friend that runs one of the gates confirmed they've been a bit more relaxed (just not officially). I haven't had any trouble getting the Sigma 150-500 or the Tamron 150-600 in but they don't quite stand out as much as the great whites. You could probably get the 400 in no worries.


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## Mickat (Nov 2, 2014)

Yeah I will give it a go, see what happens, can only say no I guess.

I did take a sigma 150-500 in a couple of years ago no problems, funny thing though I was standing next to the toilets near gate 1 and the main guy who talks over the megaphone saw it and said " you did well to get that in here, you wouldn't have gotten that in through my gate". 

All 4 days I walked in through that gate. All 4 days the didn't question it, oh well.


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## V8Beast (Nov 2, 2014)

Thanks for the kinds words, fellas. I don't plan on shooting much today, as race day is way more crowded and I just want to soak up the race atmosphere and enjoy it. Turn 9 is a great place to shoot. It has a great vantage point of Turns 6-11, and you can see the cars flying down the backstraight from there too. 

On a side note, the Ferrari-powered cars sound very strange when the turbos spool up prior to accelerating out of a corner. It reminds me of the weird noises a dial-up modem used to make back in the day when logging onto the internet. They emit a very high-pitched whine when downshifting as well. So being ugly and slow isn't their only problem 

I'll go out on a limb and say Alonso will win today. Yeah right ;D



old-pr-pix said:


> V-8: More reach? ... You mean you're not one of those photogs in the Roberts vests with a 300 2.8 on a strap plus a beat-up, mono-podded 600 casually slung over their shoulder like they were burping a baby? Great shots.



LOL. I try to stay as discreet as possible. Events like this are the only time I had more reach than my 70-300L has to offer.


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## Mickat (Nov 2, 2014)

Hey v8Beast, what corners are those shots taken from?
Wouldn't mind seeing some more.

5am to watch the race here. Might have to pop open some red bulls.

Enjoy the race!


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## AcutancePhotography (Nov 2, 2014)

I just have to say, that is some pretty good panning.


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## DominoDude (Nov 2, 2014)

V8Beast said:


> Damn I love F1 ;D How come it can only come to town once a year? These are from Saturday's practice and qualifying. I need me some more reach, so I'm keenly awaiting the new 100-400L
> ...



I saw some of those practise laps yesterday on TV, now you've made me want to watch the entire race as well. Bloody great shots - you've captured the action in an interesting way.


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## TheJock (Nov 2, 2014)

Thanks for sharing matey, great pics and enjoy the race.......only 1.5 hours to go go go!!!!! finishes at 1am my time, so it'll be a sleepy day in training tomorrow for me 
I'll be posting from Abu Dhabi in a couple of weeks time!!


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## Roo (Nov 2, 2014)

Mickat said:


> Yeah I will give it a go, see what happens, can only say no I guess.
> 
> I did take a sigma 150-500 in a couple of years ago no problems, funny thing though I was standing next to the toilets near gate 1 and the main guy who talks over the megaphone saw it and said " you did well to get that in here, you wouldn't have gotten that in through my gate".
> 
> All 4 days I walked in through that gate. All 4 days the didn't question it, oh well.



Funnily enough, the same gate I go through ;D



AcutancePhotography said:


> I just have to say, that is some pretty good panning.



Agreed!


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## Roo (Nov 3, 2014)

A great drive from Lewis, especially after it appeared that Nico had turned the tables on him during quali. A poor start by Daniel was made up for by some brilliant passes during the race. I love turn one at Texas as it has so many options for lines and passes - a bit like turn one at the old Burke airport course used by CART years ago. There was certainly a lot of entertainment right up to the finish


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## V8Beast (Nov 4, 2014)

What a race. The side-by-side racing in the middle of the pack was incredible. There were so many passes that weren't captured on TV. I was surrounded by Brits, and hearing them cheer Lewis on was a real treat. Poor Button didn't get any love from his fellow countrymen in the crowd. I'll post the images up in batches to make them more palatable. 

Here's the pre-race stuff:




















The more I watch Ricciardo race, the more I like him. His smile is even bigger in person. 





Valteri and Kimi were competing for the "Least Excited Fin" award. 





As always, Kimi wins that contest everytime ;D










Seb insisted on driving the parade car last year too. Very cool. I've never thought he was that great of a driver, but he does seem to be a very down-to-earth dude. 




















Ah, the many perks of driving for Ferrari. Even the parade cars are badass 










Hope to see you back in F1 next year, Jenson!





It was great seeing all the Mexican fans in attendance supporting their driver. I felt bad for them when he retired so early from the race. 















Where's Jennifer Becks? There's plenty of room. What gives? 















The Brits in attendance really seem to dislike Nico. They're still pissed about Spa.


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## V8Beast (Nov 4, 2014)

Race images:





....coming out of the esses on Lap 1. That's the most I've ever seen an F1 car lean!










Single file up front.





Three-wide mid-pack!




















Uh oh. I never realized how fast these safety cars are pushing the limits around the track. 










Lewis closing the gap. 





Lewis takes the lead. 





A few photogs in the crowd were feeling all manly with their big white zooms until this guy showed up. Something tells me he's well equipped in more ways than one 





Congrats to Lewis. Ten wins on the season already. Incredible!





Turn 9 is way too far from the podium, so I had to settle for this.


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## V8Beast (Nov 4, 2014)

Post race images:





Happy Brits everywhere. The group of Tifosi sitting in front of these folks weren't happy at all, and vanished before the race ended. Can't blame them. I love the international draw of F1. I was sitting next to a nice couple from Manchester. 





Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves! LOL. 





Not the typical passing zone going into Turn 11, but the inside bus made it stick despite the shallow entry ;D





After the third Austin event, my concerns of diminishing fan attendance are starting to wane. 










The Kid Rock concert was very well attended. The Austin 360 amphitheater is a very cool venue. The whole amphitheater at a race track concept sounded like a gimmick when it was first announced, but I must admit it creates a very unique post race atmosphere. 















Just outside the main entrance. The food trucks that Austin is known serve up great but ridiculously overpriced food here. 





I'm not a Williams fan, but the Martini livery looks so cool I had to get me one of these


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## Roo (Nov 4, 2014)

Excellent stuff mate!! Love the buses lol. I wanted a Martini Williams hat but they weren't available at Melbourne. The livery is great plus I've always had a soft spot for Williams since AJ won their first world championship and Canon were a major sponsor of them in the 80s ;D


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## V8Beast (Nov 4, 2014)

Seeing the buses on track was a real surprise. It looked like they were giving the kiddies a ride around the circuit. What a great way to nurture their interest in F1 from an early age. I doubt they'll ever forget that experience


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## Valvebounce (Nov 4, 2014)

Hi V8. 
Lovely pictures. 
What a fantastic collection of classic motors, some decidedly fed up looking drivers, the guy in the dicky seat looks particularly peeved, no one to talk to! ;D

Cheers, Graham. 



V8Beast said:


> What a race. The side-by-side racing in the middle of the pack was incredible. There were so many passes that weren't captured on TV. I was surrounded by Brits, and hearing them cheer Lewis on was a real treat. Poor Button didn't get any love from his fellow countrymen in the crowd. I'll post the images up in batches to make them more palatable.
> 
> Here's the pre-race stuff:
> 
> Snip 8<


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## Valvebounce (Nov 4, 2014)

Hi V8. 
More great shots. 
Things like this always remind me of that line in Crocodile Dundee, "that's not a knife" 

Wonder what his pics came out like?

Cheers, Graham. 



V8Beast said:


> Race images:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Roo (Nov 5, 2014)

Valvebounce said:


> Hi V8.
> More great shots.
> Things like this always remind me of that line in Crocodile Dundee, "that's not a knife"
> 
> ...



I'm sure he got some great shots of the grid girls ;D



Valvebounce said:


> Hi V8.
> Lovely pictures.
> What a fantastic collection of classic motors, some decidedly fed up looking drivers, the guy in the dicky seat looks particularly peeved, no one to talk to! ;D
> 
> ...



Nice to see the variety of cars. I wonder if they were chosen based on the driver's personality lol. Here they go for equality and have them parade around in the same type of car - Austin Healey 3000s one year, Corvettes another, Mustangs and so on.


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## V8Beast (Nov 5, 2014)

Valvebounce said:


> Hi V8.
> More great shots.
> Things like this always remind me of that line in Crocodile Dundee, "that's not a knife"



It was definitely a Crocodile Dundee moment ;D LOL. Actually, the bloke in one of the images (sitting next to the woman with the British flag) was flashing his big zoom, and his jaw hit the floor when this other guy sat in front of him with that monster lens. 



Roo said:


> I'm sure he got some great shots of the grid girls ;D



That's exactly what I would have used such a lens for. I like the way you think ;D

As for the parade cars, last year the car Jenson was in couldn't make it up Turn 1 and broke down. He had to hitch a ride with another driver ;D


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