Marcel Tauch's Prize of a Lifetime

Marcel Tauch had a huge job ahead of him when he arrived back home in Germany after his trip-of-a-lifetime to Bahrain…sorting through the 4,000 photographs he took while there!

The 27-year-old from Dortmund was the lucky winner of the FIA WEC’s 2016 Instagram (@fiawec_official) photographic competition and spent four action-packed days at the final round of the season, seeing the world championship from a unique point of view.  Accompanied by a friend, he spent time at the Bapco 6 Hours of Bahrain with drivers, team engineers and bosses, media and organisers and attended not just the race event but also the end-of-season Awards party – one of only a small number of people outside the paddock to do so.

"I could not believe it when I received the message that I had won,” said a grinning Marcel. “It took me quite some time to realise what happened and that I was going to Bahrain. There were so many great entries in the photo competition and it's a great honour to have been chosen as the winner.

"The trip to Bahrain was incredible. I usually go to tracks like Spa or Zandvoort, so the Bahrain International Circuit was really different compared to those. We were given access to the paddock, hospitality suites and media centre. After a short briefing with the FIA Media Delegate we were also given access to the photographers’ areas around the circuit - a dream come true for me.

“The entire FIA WEC staff are fantastic and it was great to meet a lot of people from behind the scenes. The race itself and the Awards Ceremony really showed that this is one big endurance racing family. This really was a once in a lifetime trip and I'm so thankful for it. I will certainly be back for the race in Spa next year and I'm really looking forward to meeting them again!"

Marcel Tauch may work in management in the finance and insurance sector, but he has a great talent for photography as his many images show.   The variety, colour, action and emotion captured is truly worthy of a professional photographer.   Congratulations Marcel!