The 2006 A1 Grand Prix in Durban, South Africa

By Dallas Dahms

Recently Durbanites were treated to what pundits are now referring to as "The Monaco of Africa" when the A1 Grand Prix racing series came to our streets. Held over three days at the height of the Durban summer, the event was a massive success and I was lucky enough to be given a full press accreditation to photograph the race. It was a surreal experience and the following stream of consciousness is an account of my adventure as a photographer on the sidelines.

Friday, 27 January. Day 1.

Cape Town sends us its regards by sliding a big fat belt of rain and fog up the coastline, dowsing us in weather normally reserved for the SA cricket side, not for fans of motorsport (or photography). Seems CT may be a tad miffed about not getting the nod to host the event themselves! Having spent the past three days preparing myself for what would surely rank as the biggest sporting event I have photographed to date, I arrive midmorning at the A1GP Media Centre situated inside the Suncoast Casino complex.

I am told by regular media folks that the media centre is where it all comes together (i.e. that's where they keep the free food and drink). The centre is a large conference type room with rows upon rows of workstations, each with its own power supply and network point. All around the room are pairs of massive plasma screens, one for the live feed and the other for the lap times. I walk in a bit hesitantly and show my A1 pass to the security guy. He waves me in without batting an eyelid.

Nelson Piquet Jr. focusing before the practise session.

I wonder if it is safe to leave your stuff lying around in here, because the security guy seems a little too relaxed and some of these weather-beaten press agency photographers and mediamen from around the world look as if they might have spent some time inside less than friendly living quarters, if you know what I mean. I guess I'll just hold onto my bag for now.

Over in a busy little corner manned by the A1GP media staff, I pay a R50 deposit for a white photographer's tabbard (which has to be worn around the track, together with your accreditation card at all times). I am also given a ream of papers with all sorts of instructions and information relating to what is going to happen over the next few days, as well as a press pack explaining what A1GP is all about, etc, etc. After giving them a cursory once-over, it's time to hit the circuit and see what's going on out there.

From the casino side you have two distinct entry options, divided by temporary fences. If you keep left you end up in the pit area and if you keep right you end up in the spectators area. My accreditation card has built-in rights to be in the pits, so that's where I am headed.

The rain is coming down in a steady drizzle, leaving me to question whether I should risk taking pictures in such moist conditions. In my photographer's back-pack I have loaded a Nikon D70, F100, FM2n, Leica M6 and Epson R-D1. I have also packed in just about every lens I own, ranging in focal lengths from 16-200mm. Add to that I have this crazy notion that it would be sensible to also pack in my flash, three sets of AA batteries, about 100 business cards, 10 rolls of film, a 40GB Flashtrax and a whole lot of other things that photographers like to carry (without ever really finding a rational reason for doing so). After wrestling with the pro's and con's, I eventually come to the conclusion that because I am here to take pictures, it is definitely worth risking the weather, so under a dry section of scaffolding I haul out the D70 with its kit lens and commence a walk around the pit area, making sure I keep the camera covered with my A1GP tabbard, which looks sort of waterproof.

The area behind the pit garages.

The walk through the pitlane is full of terrific photo opportunities. There are all sorts of colourful bits and pieces of the cars laying about, open engine compartments and in some cases some of the drivers are already kitted up and sitting in their cars waiting for the first practise session to commence. I am able to get some pretty decent shots and at this point I wonder just what on earth I packed all that other stuff in for? When will I use it?

Having walked the whole length of the pitlane, front and back without incurring any problems for the teams or drivers, the question of what to shoot next arises. Just as I contemplate heading back to the media centre, the sound of several high powered engines throbbing to life in their garages stops me in my tracks. Obviously the track action would be a sensible thing to shoot, so I head towards the exit of the pitlane and wait for the cars to emerge at the start of the first official practise session. Out they come, one by one. Beautiful machines with stunning colours and designs go screaming off into the distance.

After shooting pics of about 10 of the cars I decide to take a walk down alongside the main straight to the 180º hairpin (or corner 1), because if there's going to be an accident at this race meeting, this is most likely the place it will happen. I catch myself thinking that if I can get that money shot of cars exploding in a puff of carbon fibre debris, maybe the upgrade to the Nikon D200 with 200-400mm f/4 zoom won't be so far away.

So here I am thinking Pulitzer Prize when it suddenly dawns on me that shooting through this galvanised fence with its tiny little holes is not going to be easy at all. Autofocus is going to be screwed up as is the ability to pan, because unless you are poking your lens through these little holes, there is no other way of shooting the action. Hmmm...my backpack is starting to feel a tad heavy and because of the rain it's not a good idea to put it down on the ground.

Once I am at the hairpin I see that they have cut holes in the fence for the TV cameras and the marshalls, but nothing for us photographers. Judging from the size of the media centre, it's apparent that there are going to be quite a few of us, so this could become a bit tricky on race day. The TV guy at the hairpin doesn't look like he wants to share his hole with anyone, so I scout my way around the rest of the circuit. Hopefully there will be someplace that offers a clear view of the action.

Race officials check for pitlane speeding.

You would think that walking around a street circuit would be a relatively straightforward task, seeing as pavements and urban infrastructure already exist, but as you go further along you start to understand that famous comment made by one of the F1 drivers years ago when he described driving at the Monaca GP as being like riding a bicycle around your livingroom! Free movement along the pavements has been severely compromised by the concrete barriers that mark out the track as well as the 2m high temporary fencing set along the outside of those concrete barriers to prevent pedestrian non-ticket holders from seeing any of the trackside action. Walking along the inside of certain areas is even worse than riding a bicycle around your living room - it's like being in a 2-man canoe with Mad Mike & Mark going down the Zambezi! I'm ducking pieces of scaffolding that stick out from nowhere, stepping over cables, dodging palm trees, TV camera platforms and so on. With every step I take it feels like somebody is adding another lens to my backpack.

I get about 1/5 th of the way around this obstacle course without seeing any vantage points for taking pictures. I am now sweating profusely, because despite the rain, it's still hotter than a Durban bunny-chow out here. Finally, after about a 30 minute walk I reach the front of the Blue Waters Hotel, which is about 50 linear meters away from where I left the pits (as the crow flies). Of course crossing the track during a motorsport event is a no-no and I definitely don't want to know what the penalty for doing so is, because the marshalls here look like they could morph into Hell's Angels in a New York minute!

Czech Republic car at the final corner

Something I have noticed as I walk around this slipway next to the track is that these A1 cars are flippin' loud! In fact I have now developed a serious ear-ache to go with the back-ache from my ever-heavier backpack. And to boot I have still not found a suitable position from which to shoot the trackside action. Maybe this walk wasn't such a good idea after all, but being quite close to the pedestrian bridge that will take me back towards the casino I press on anyway.

Finally at the bridge I get a semi-clear view of the cars actually going around on the track and I shoot a few frames before figuring that shooting would probably be better from the other bridge, nearer the pits.

At this point I see a couple of photographers carrying 600mm f/4 lenses and my bag magically feels lighter. What are they hoping to shoot with those behemoths? The car wheel nuts? Close-ups of the drivers gloves? Definitely the wrong equipment for this gig.

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