All the Best Images from the 2022 FIA WEC Season
We saved the best till last, with the greatest images from the tenth season of FIA WEC - as selected by our World Class Lens Meisters - here for your perusal...
From Sebring to Sakhir, our dedicated snap happy lens-smiths were in aciton all year, exposing everywhere and capturing the delights below.
Enjoy!
Gabi Tomescu
My favorite
6.18 AM. Le Mans. Cars on track, sun rising, some spectators in their sleeping bags, some on the fence trying to have a better view of the action. The lingering smell of coffee, the sound of cars, the marshals , the photographers , the helicopters....I could go on forever about how magic this moment was and I think some of this magic can be seen in this picture..I like it.
Honourable Mention
Christian, this guy...I can't even tell how much we enjoyed working with him. His first race in WEC and first time in our team. Most of the time he was ''stuck'' in the studio shooting all of the driver portraits for the season, but when he was out of the studio he managed to do some magic on the track. This image of the #36 Alpine from qualy is my favorite from the first round in Sebring.
My favorite
The energy in the minutes leading up to qualifying is electric, the last minute preparations by the teams and the sound of the cars lining up in the pit lane coupled with the the atmosphere at Sebring and the approaching sunset made this my favourite image from 2022.
Honourable Mention
This image from Gabi strikes a chord with me as I love shooting in the wet and it has such a moody feel to it. It has the clarity being able to see the Toyota so clearly, yet the unknown as you don’t know what’s coming after the Aston Martin
My favourite
My favorite image of the year by far has to be this one of the Toyota going through T1 at Sebring during Qualifying as it was during sunset hours and the light was just perfect enough for me to still capture the details of each vehicle. Of course this car grabbed pole so it made it even more special. I don't think there is any race track in the world which features a sunset quite like the one Sebring does.
Honourable Mention
I am a big fan of this image from Gabi during the night in Le Mans. I really like the Glickenhaus car and what it stands for, the David vs. Goliath in sportscars at the moment. The cold blue light in the pitlane really makes the red of the Glickenhaus cars pop. And the light trail of a car passing by gives the whole image an interesting vibe on top.
My favourite
My favorite from this season has to be the Fuji victory for Ferrari. It was a last minute dash to the pitlane to get the reaction shot, and while all the mechanics were already on the pitwall I found a small gap between them to poke my camera through. We had beautiful light coming through the grandstand and both Ferraris in formation, shooting by while the mechanics cheer just makes this picture complete to me.
Honourable Mention
I really enjoy this picture from Marius. Not only because we are at the temple of speed and this image captures speed so well, but also because I know the technique that is needed to pull off a shot like this.They are very much hit or miss, and you don't want to come back after a session with 3 great images like this, and have the rest of your memory cards be indistinguishable blur.
My Favorite
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Looking back on my 2022 WEC pictures, only a few of them immediately spring to mind when asked which are my favourite shots. Sometimes it's not about the shot itself, but the story behind it - which makes it special to the photographer. This year was my first time at Monza, where the all new Peugeot 9x8 made its debut. I wasn't only lucky enough to cover the first outing of the car but the official team photoshoot at the iconic start finish straight under a beautiful setting sun as well. When pulling the cars back into pitlane, this small spot of light caught my eye. I ran ahead of the crew, settled next to the pit wall and waited for the mechanics to cross my viewfinder to create this lovely sun flare shot.
Honourable Mention
As you asked for my favorite photos, you need to know that pictures taken in mythical light always catch my attention the most. There is not much that can top a sunset shot. This is probably not the most technical shot, but it nicely captures the evening atmosphere. In this particular photo I really like the symmetry of the line of cars and the LMP2 silhouettes during the golden hour of the Sunshine State.
My favorite
My favourite image comes from the Podium in Le Mans. It is such an iconic place to be standing and having a sea of fans cheering towards the victorious drivers gives you goosebumps. I am really pleased with this picture of Gimmi Bruni raising his trophy towards the crowd in beautiful sunlight. To me it the iconic moment of raising the trophy after 24 hours of hard racing, it could be any driver who is living one of his best moments right there.
Honourable Mention
One of my favorites of this season comes from Gabi who got drenched in the rain in Spa. He was on the outside of Brussels in the pouring rain, and the bright yellow #88 Porsche from Dempsey Proton was a splash of colour in an otherwise pretty grey landscape. I just love the amount of water that gets thrown in the air with the rain light illuminating the mist.
