The Machine In The Landscape – Österreichring – Austrian Grand Prix 1983
The Sublime is a complex concept involving the experience of something grand and awe inspiring that evokes the dual emotions of fear and attraction. The old Österreichring was an excellent example of this combination of terror and beauty. In 1985 I was standing with a group of experienced F1 photographers. At the restart of the race the tightly grouped pack of cars thundered though the turn and screamed up the hill weaving in and out of each other as they jockeyed for position within millimeters of disaster. The noise was deafening and the shock waves of the cars moving through the air pummeled us as we witnessed the drivers’ brilliant car control and precision racing. The moment seemed to stretch out in time and suddenly the pack of cars was gone and relative silence descended. Occasionally I saw something so spectacular in motor racing that my photographer’s brain shut off because I instinctively knew there was no way to put this experience into a picture. I looked around me to see the veterans equally stunned by what we had just seen. Almost everyone had put down there cameras like I did and just watched in amazement.
Boschkurve, Österreichring – René Arnoux In The Ferrari – Austrian Grand Prix 1983
The Österreichring was a high speed race course with extremely fast sweeping turns, none more so than the awe inspiring Boschkurve. It was a 180 right hand turn where the turbo engined Formula One cars could reach speeds of 185-200MPH with no run off area and only the guardrail and some catch fencing to protect the drivers and spectators. As I stood behind the rail the experience was astonishing. The sound of the turbo engine flat out pierced my ears with a shrieking mechanical scream and the turbulence the car generated as it scythed through the air buffeted my body like trying to stand in a gale force wind. After the final race in 1987 Formula One no longer included it in its series because it the track was too dangerous.
Ferrari and Cows – Österreichring – Austrian Grand Prix 1983
I consider myself fortunate to have photographed at two Formula One Grands Prix at the fabulous Österreichring at Spielberg, Austria. Located about 95 kilometers from Graz it is one of the best of the natural terrain road courses. Situated in rural Austria and surrounded by mountains the nearly 6 kilometer track offered tremendous vistas in every direction.
Curves – The Österreichring – Austrian Grand Prix 1985
In 1967 I attended my first road race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington Ohio. The racetrack is surrounded by farmland in beautiful rolling hills about halfway between Cleveland and Columbus. It was a National Sports Car Club of America event and I snuck through some catch fencing on the side of the bridge across from the pits. At the start of a Formula Car heat the field thundered through the first corner just a few feet away from me and I could see into the cockpits as the drivers fought for position. I had never experienced anything so exciting. As each classification of cars raced I wandered the course viewing the action from different vantage points and experienced a second epiphany. Watching a race car move through the curves of the landscape was immensely pleasurable. Years later I would articulate the feeling as an aesthetic response to the elegance of the arc of the car through the turn. Like a beautiful curve drawn by an artist on on paper or canvas the geometric perfection of the line is thrilling.
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