We had the perfect track layout for photography. There’s hardly a corner or a spot where we didn’t get a great shot. Imola hosted the season-opening weekend of the FIA WEC, and the track blew us away. Because we were close. Really close. Let’s say it this way: La Pista Magnifica—the magnificent track.
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A race weekend like this isn’t about relaxation, and perhaps by the end of a day like this, the adrenaline hasn’t quite subsided enough to stop us from pushing forward. We started in Maranello on Thursday, explored the Imola circuit on Friday, and, we could say, were quickly inspired.
The Italian sun shone differently, infusing the whole experience with a much more positive energy. It had been a long time since we’d been to a car race, and even longer since we’d photographed one… Yet something captivated us right from the first day: we were incredibly close. We had hardly ever watched events from such a close distance before.
It’s dazzling, loud, and blazing fast. It comes, takes the corner, and speeds on. What an experience! And luckily, there’s still plenty more to come. We attended the Ferrari press conference; FP1 was all about getting acquainted, and in the second free practice session, the Rivazza corners captivated us—with countless great shots. In terms of photography techniques, this was the perfect place to practice panning, low- and high-angle shots, and playing with the depth of field against the tire wall. You don’t really worry about whether each photo turns out well; you just shoot the series without much planning and sort through them later. But it feels good…
It turned out to be the perfect weekend; after the race program ended, we took a walk around the track, then had dinner at a pizzeria just one kilometer from the media parking lot—which we’d gone to on a recommendation—(where we even ran into Ferrari driver Nicklas Nielsen). Perfetto.
On Saturday morning, we tried to get creative with the Acque Minerali corner, and then, as we walked toward the Alta chicane, we snapped some more photos. What happened next was something we hadn’t anticipated at all: we were taking photos at the pit lane exit during qualifying. All of this meant one thing: we were incredibly close to the hypercars and GT3 cars tearing down the track at full throttle. The icing on the cake was Antonio Giovinazzi’s pole position, which the Italian crowd greeted with thunderous applause. The home driver was among the first to speak about his pole position at the official press conference. That evening, there was still time for one more lap before the newer pizza dinner. Buona sera!
We were already at the track quite early on Sunday, even though the six-hour race didn’t start until 1 p.m. We ran into Kimi Antonelli and had to push our way through the enthusiastic Italian fans who had been standing in front of the Ferrari motorhome all day. Before the start, we walked along the grid trying to capture the best moments, which is how my portrait of Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna came to be.
What the race brought was practically the ultimate version of what I described above. Watching the start near the Tamburello, and moving around to various points along the track, we saw how the #51 Ferrari got stuck between and behind the Toyotas. We got some great champagne-soaked photos from the podium, and afterward we got to taste that Pizza Diavola once again.
It’s the same situation I wrote about regarding Maranello: you can take pictures and write about it, but you really had to be there to experience it.
The question here isn’t whether we’ll go back, but when next year’s Imola race will be! And we can only hope that the pizzeria will be open then, too.
Ciao, Imola!
