I've been away from the forum for a couple of weeks as I went over to Monza for the F1 GP. For those that are interested here are some pics:

McLaren engineering




Kimi braking for the chicane at turn 1


Giorgio Pantano lights up the brakes on his way to victory in the GP2 race


More...

 

Jenson Button in qualifying


Alonso before his engine blew!


Scott Speed locking up at turn 1


Schumacher gets it wrong too!

 

Nice pics Woody...

 

Jealousy Again !!!

Too bad Kimi placed 2nd, I hate Schumacher !!! Unfortunately I've been stuck in a hotel for the past few weeks that doesn't have the Speed Channel, so I missed the race. Thanks for sharing the pics !

Especially the one of my California boy screwing-up at turn 1 again... I think he should stick to surfing.

 

Yeah, a shame for Kimi as the things were looking good. The Mclaren was just so much smoother than the other cars through the chicane - no popping/banging and jerking on the downshifts, and very little traction control on the exit. The standard of finish on them when you see them up close is amazing - those silver fade graphics are all hand airbrushed!

Thought you would like the one of Speed. LOL. To be fair everyone was locking up there, it's the end of the 218 mph straight into a 2nd gear chicane and a prime place for the brave to overtake. Even the man in red screwed it up a few times - he still bloody won though!

It was quite a good weekend for the Brits with Lewis Hamilton and Richard Westbrook taking the GP2 and Porsche Cup titles. Too bad Jenson only managed 5th, but not bad considering they blew two engines in practice and didn't do much running - "Honda the power of FLAMES", as the German Button fan sat next to me shouted!

Here's some pics from the Porsche race. I always enjoy watching those guys, especially after trying to chase Westbrook's old car in the Crossfire - I was left for dead. LOL.

 

very nice.

 

Nice Pics Woody, I'm with Derek, you're killing me. Monza is one of my favorite venues, and I'll have to work my way there someday.

So you were sitting on the infield at the first corner? I'm trying to figure out from the angle on your shots where exactly you were. Did you get anytime to go see the old banked track (what's left of it)?

Nice camera by the way, absolutely clear shots of those apparently not moving cars. Super.

 

My favorite picture has to be the one where Giorgio is lighting up his brakes... WOW!

Beautiful shots Woody! ... and Welcome Back!

 

Yep Monza is a must do! Yes I was on the infield at the end of the straight which was pretty good for getting a good view, and a bit quieter since they were braking and slowing down, so I got away without ear plugs this time! The grandstand was actually directly above the old banked circuit so I got a pretty good look at it. Its amazing to think of Fangio et al belting round there in cork helmets at 170 mph back in the day. There are also other sections of the banked circuit that cross the circuit forming bridges. Here's some more pics (still going through the other 900+ I shot, I'll post the best ones up on my server somewhere).

A wider shot from where I was sitting, just after Alonso's engine blowup.


The old banking, I was sat where the guys are leaning on the railing.


An adventurous Ferrari fan.


Back in time...

 

Thanks TimeLord, interestingly it was the GP2 cars that seemed to be working the brakes hardest, they were all cherry red and were still glowing well into the apex of the bend. Whereas only some of the F1 cars were doing it. The Toyota's, Toro Rosso's and Red Bull's seemed to be struggling the most with brakes.