Guest Post by John Larsen
While finalizing plans for our first visit to Portugal I asked my partner, Cathy, if we could stay in the southern Algarve region over a specific weekend. She did not even ask why and instead gave me the eye roll and simply said, “sure,” The UK- based Masters Historic Racing series would be near Portimao, Portugal.
Having never been to the Autodromo do Algarve before I printed a track map and utilized my PhotoPills app to determine the position of the sun throughout the day only to determine that the track has a north/south layout rather that the east/west direction I assumed. This left fewer suitable positions for action photos, especially since I was only carrying my Sony Rx10 IV bridge camera on this vacation.
I have begun to download and save entry lists for events that I attend as well as the results. When reviewing the entry list I saw that one of my favorite F1 cars of all time was entered: a Tyrrell P34. This unique car has four small front wheels and raced in 1977 and ’78. My Dad brought my brother and I to see it compete at Mosport back in the day. Given that this amazing car was going to be at the track I packed my Team Tyrrell Project 34 shirt to wear trackside.
After purchasing my admission ticket I walked quickly to the garage area as I knew that the Front Row Racing team that operates the Tyrrell was in the last garage. As I approached from the paddock area I could only see two of the small front wheels as their Williams FW07C was blocking my view. As soon as one of the team members saw my Tyrrell shirt he invited my into their garage and told me to have a closer look and take all the photos I wanted! They also allowed me to stand on pit road as the historic F1 cars ventured onto the track.
I was astounded at the quality build of the car and all of the components. Upon further research I discovered that this P34 is not a refurbished original but rather a “replica” as discussed in this article about American driver/owner, Jonathan Holtzman’s building of the car, here. Most of the track access was closed to spectators so I could not obtain decent action images however spending the day next to this iconic vehicle made it worthwhile!
John Larsen is this blog’s Senior International Travel Correspondent, whose website is www.photograffics.com.