The judging has taken place and the winners have been chosen from the hundreds of entries received for the Spirit of Le Mans Photo Competition. For the second year running the fans of the FIA World Endurance Championship have been enjoying unrivalled access to the cars and drivers and the images entered were of the highest quality.
As befits a world championship, entries were received from visitors from all around the world including Brazil, Japan, USA, Canada, Croatia and Denmark.
The overall winner is Marco Barendswaard from Rotterdam in the Netherlands for his superb split second capture of the two Porsche 919s ‘sparking’ as they climb up from Eau Rouge through Raidillon at Spa-Francorchamps. Marco’s winning shot, called ‘Sparkling Competition – WEC Style, was judged to capture the ‘Spirit of Le Mans’ perfectly. His ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ prize is to be a VIP guest at the 6 Hours of Bahrain with flights, rental car for the duration the stay in Bahrain, hotel accommodation, access to the WEC Hospitality, grid walk access and two invitations to the WEC Award Ceremony, all for himself and a friend.
In addition Marco will win a Fujifilm professional camera outfit, which includes the flagship X-T1 camera body, a 16-55mm f2.8 and a 50-140mm f2.8 lenses and a battery grip for the camera. In addition he will receive a lesson from official WEC photographer John Rourke on how to get the best out of the Fujifilm outfit and the best places to stand around the Bahrain International Circuit to capture some stunning racing imagery.
Marco Barendswaard said, “This is going to be an amazing experience and thank you to the WEC for choosing my image as the winner. I’ve been going to the WEC event at Spa since 2012 and also the ILMC and the ELMS. Last year I went with a group to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which was a real high point. I will be taking my friend Erwin Korevaar to Bahrain as it was his camera I used to take the picture and he encouraged me to enter the competition. I’ve called the image ‘Sparkling Competition, WEC Style’ as I think this sums up the amazing track action that the WEC provides. I am looking forward to travelling to Bahrain, trying out the new Fujifilm camera equipment and enjoying the end of the season with the WEC.”
The two runners up were also chosen. They will each receive a pair of VIP passes for the Le Mans Spirit Club at their home race in 2016, a full set of 2015 World Endurance Championship DVDs and a Fujifilm X-A2 Compact System Camera worth 500€.
The first runner up is Tatsuya Okinaga from Kanagawa in Japan. Tatsuya submitted this wonderful high speed shot of a fan waving the German flag as the no8 Audi R18 speeds past at the 6 Hours of Fuji.
The second runner up is Sebastian Bartl from Daun in Germany. His arty shot of a Rebellion Racing mechanic returning with a Michelin tyre during pitstop practice caught the judges eye.
“Once again the fans of Endurance Racing have amazed us with the quality of their images,” said Gerard Neveu, CEO of the World Endurance Championship. “You can only get pictures like these if you are knowledgeable about the subject you are photographing and our fans are amongst the most knowledgeable in the world.
“It was a very difficult decision but we decided that Marco Barenswaard’s image of the two Porsches was the stand out picture of 2015. To get one car with sparks coming from underneath would have been great, but to capture both Porsches at the same spot is the mark of a good photographer and this is a worthy winner. We look forward to welcoming Marco and his guest for a great weekend in Bahrain as the guests of the WEC.”
6 Hours of Bahrain
The 6 Hours of Bahrain will take place on 19-21 November. Starting at 15h00, the race in the Middle East will be the second 6-hour event on the WEC calendar that will finish under the stars following Lone Star Le Mans, and the atmosphere within the impressive Bahrain International Circuit will be electric.
The weekend is an action packed feast of racing, which includes single seat action with the Formula One supporting GP2 and GP3 series, the Formula 2000 MRF Championship, which each have two races during the weekend, and two races by the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.
CLICK HERE for more information on the 6 Hours of Bahrain
