2005 Lotus Elise, Doug McBride
On 8 January 2012 I had the pleasure of shooting an event for the Sierra Sports Car Club here in Sierra Vista, Arizona. I hadn’t shot a SCCA Solo event before so I was excited to get the chance to come out and shoot, learn something new about a racing series I have never experienced, meet new people and have some fun. The event was held at the Sierra Vista Regional Airport so it was a quick drive for us, which was a good thing seeing as it was a bit chilly Sunday and Maria ran back home to get us some sweatshirts… brrr.
For over 30 years now, the Sierra Sports Car Club (SSCC) has been holding SCA Solo Autocross events, normally held the first Sunday of every month except for December. It provides a safe way to test your driving skills and limits of your car without having Cochise County Sheriff or Sierra Vista Police Department write you a ticket. If you happen to have a need for speed, visit their page on “Getting Started”.
Sunday had approx. 50 cars entered ranging from a race built 1965 Lotus Elan to a factory 2012 Ford “Mayhem” Mustang and even a couple Rotax Go Karts!! Each entry would have 4 timed runs for points and some would run another set of 4 timed runs in what they call the “Fun Run”. Here are some of my favorite images from the event, I don’t know all the drivers well enough to associate them with the right car but if you know, comment below or email me and I’ll get them captioned.
From a photography stand point, I don’t recall shooting an event of any kind that took place entirely on concrete. One cool benefit I found about shooting on a concrete surface was that I was able to use the surface as a reflector which gave me some cool glare and reflections off the cars. Using my histogram I was able to find a happy spot with my settings so I could capture the details on the car, keeping decent colors in the background, not have them racing on a blowout surface and keep the subject integrity intact.
We brought our Alien Bee AB800 strobe heads, Vanguard II battery pack and a soft box using Pocket Wizard Plus II’s to remote fire the strobes. I learned a technique a while back shooting a LOORS event and below is one example along with several head shots of the drivers in their machines. Using this, I could close my aperture down to get great color and darkness in the back ground and have the subjects lit up.
2012 Ford "Mayhem" Mustang owned by Jack Drummond ran a 80.653 in the Street Tire Class
Dave Rock crouches outside his Toyota MR-2 Spyder
Dave Rock in his Toyota MR-2 Spyder sets a course time of 70.174 in the PAX Class
Lotus Elise
Justin McCraw rides along with Doug McBride in the Lotus
Using the side mirror I capture Doug McBride as he focuses in on his next timed run.
Dan Gurney in his 2007 Cadillac CTS-V turns a 76.640 in the Street Touring division
Ted Lewis gets under the hood in his 1965 race built Lotus Elan
Rob Love piloting his 04 Mitsubishi EVO to a 70.692 in the SCCA Open Class
2009 Chevy Corvette Z06 driven by John Burbano cuts the lights at a 74.072
69.347 was the SCCA Open Class best time by Doug McBride.
Michael Whitehouse, with passenger in his 2007 Mazda Miata convertible
Sierra Sports Car Club members in the staging area
Chris Drummond in his beautiful 2003 Mustang Mach 1 eats a course cone that hands out a one second penalty
Novice Class driver John Semon lays down a 83.814 in his 2004 Audi A4
Chris McCraw lines up for a run in his 2006 Rotax Kart
Chris's fastest time of the day was a 74.748 as he competed in the SCCA Open Class.
Ken Reno, also in a 2006 Rotax his the track in the SCCA Open Class.
Mark Knable in his 2011 Chevy Camaro
Janet Forbes in her 1999 Plymouth Prowler in the Novice Class
During post processing I noticed I caught her face in the side mirror.
Susan Love wheels her 2004 Mitsubishi EVO through the course. This lady has all my respect, she really pushed this car to an impressive time of 74.212 in the Ladies Class.
Donald Waller in his 71 Pontiac Firebird clips the lights at a 87.704 in the Novice Class
This wraps up this post and look forward to the next time I get the chance to shoot a SCCA Solo Event, special thanks to Club President Tammy Butterworth for having us!
Robert Butterfield – Butterfield Photography – Sierra Vista, Arizona
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