Team Joest Audi R8
Michele Alboreto / Laurent Aiello / Rinaldo Capello
2001 12 Hours of Sebring
In 2001 I contacted Ken Breslauer, the communications director for Sebring, to see if I could shoot for him in exchange for passes. I had not been back since the ‘70s and it was bittersweet. The racing and the crowds were as good as ever, but the old pits were gone, replaced by modern facilities with sodium vapor lighting. (But, at least you didn’t have to wait a half hour to use the bathroom!)
This is a shot I can say I really did pre-plan. I wanted to get a shot no one else would get and intentionally was on the opposite side of victory lane from the photographers stand. As the winning Audi came in I had my strobe on – they now allowed flash photos, even on the track! – and my shutter speed set to 1/25 of a second. I wanted to get some action blurring from the slow shutter speed and sharp focus from the strobe. The expression on Michele Alboreto’s face was an added bonus.