12 Hours of Sebring, one more time

March in Florida means only one thing to die-hard sports car racers: 12 Hours of Sebring! For photographers the annual half-day run under he Florida sun means chance to burn digital memory shooting in the beautiful light that only the cow pastures of mid-Florida in springtime can produce. Here's look back at a few favorites from last months shoot.



Sunset at the Hairpin, Thursday night practice



Glowing Rotors





Happy Max



Race Morning



Joao Barbosa, Eyes of a Winner





Sunset ‘Vette



Bikini Contest


Driver Change




Pit Stop Practice



Winners

View my entire 2015
Sebring Gallery on bcpix.com


2015 Sebring 12 Hours - Images by Brian Cleary


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Full race results for the 2015 Sebring 12 Hours, round two of the 2015 United SportsCar Championship at the Sebring International Speedway

1. Barbosa/Fittipaldi/Bourdais USA Action Express Chevrolet DP 340 laps P
2. Taylor/Taylor/Angelelli USA Wayne Taylor Corvette DP 339 laps P
3. Westbrook/Valiante/Rockenfeller USA VisitFlorida Racing Riley Ford DP 339 laps P
4. Dixon/Hand/Pruett USA Chip Ganassi Riley Ford DP 339 laps P
5. Curran/Cameron/Papis USA Action Express Racing DP 338 laps P
6. Guasch/Kimber-S/Palmer USA PR1 Mathiasen Oreca 334 laps PC
7. Bennett/Braun/Wilkins/Gue USA CORE Autosport Oreca 334 laps PC
8. Krohn/Pla/Jonsson USA Krohn Ligier Judd 334 laps P
9. French/Mee/Daly USA Performance Tech Oreca 333 laps PC
10. Magnussen/Garcia/Briscoe USA Corvette Racing C7.R 330 laps GTLM
11. Kaffer/Fisichella/Bertolini ITA Risi Ferrari 458 Italia 330 laps GTLM
12. Henzler/Sellers/Long GER Falken Tire Porsche 991 RSR 329 laps GTLM
13. Edwards/Luhr/Klingmann GER BMW Team RLL 329 laps GTLM
14. Tandy/Pilet/Lietz GER Porsche NA 911 RSR 328 laps GTLM
15. James/Farnbacher/Riberas USA Alex Job Porsche 911 GT 318 laps GTD
16. Neilsen/Davison/Davis GBR TRG Aston Martin V12 Vantage 318 laps GTD
17. Turner/Lamy/Lauda/Dalla Lana GBR Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 318 laps GTLM
18. Sweedler/Bell/Lazzarol ITA Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia 318 laps GTD
19. Carter/Keating/Goossens/Lawrence USA Riley Dodge Viper SRT 317 laps GTD
20. Haase/Miller/v Moltke USA Paul Miller Audi R8 317 laps GTD
21. Bergmeister/Bamber/Makowiecki GER Porsche NA 911 RSR 317laps GTLM
22. Auberlen/Werner/Farfus/Spengler GER BMW Team RLL 317 laps GTLM
23. Snow/Heylen/Valverde USA Wright Porsche 911 GT 316 laps GTD
24. MacNeil/Keen/Davis USA Alex Job Porsche 911 GT 316 laps GTD
25. Priaulx/Paltalla/Marsal/Said USA Turner BMW Z4 315 laps GTD
26. Keating/Bleekemolen/Bleekemolen USA Riley Dodge Viper SRT 314 laps GTD
27. Pace/DeFoor/Hinton/Schroeder USA Highway to Help Riley BMW DP 309 laps P
28. Perazzini/Cioci/Aguas/Potolicchio ITA AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia 308 laps GTD
29. Miller/Golkhberg/Kraut/Mitchell USA JDC Miller Oreca 290 laps PC
30. Schultis/vd Zande/Hedlund USA Starworks Oreca 280 laps PC
31. Cumming/Junqueira/Menezes USA RSR Oreca 267 laps PC
32. Gavin/Milner/Pagenaud USA Corvette Racing C7.R 264 laps GTLM
33. Brown/Van Overbeek/Fogarty USA ESM HPD ARX-04b 211 laps P
34. Drunmwright/Drissi/Cheng/Plowman USA BAR1 Motorsport Oreca 194 laps PC
35. Potter/Lally/Seefried USA Magnus Porsche 911 GT 179 laps GTD
36. Sharp/Dalziel/Heinemeier-Hansson USA ESM HPD ARX-04b 162 laps P
37. Lindsey/Pumpelly/Norman USA Park Place Porsche 911 GT 155 laps GTD
38. Bomarito/Nunez/Tremblay/Hinchcliffe USA SpeedSource Mazda 111 laps P
39. Miller/Long/Devlin/Tremblay USA SpeedSource Mazda 104 laps P
40. Faulkner/Giermaziak/Skeen/Butcher USA GB Autosport Porsche 911 GT 97 laps GTD
41. Rojas/Meyrick/Legge USA DeltaWing Racing 60 laps P
42. Pew/Negri/Wilson USA Michael Shank Ligier Honda 46 laps P
43. Holzer/Thome/Thompson USA Flying Lizard Audi R8 23 laps GTD
44. Hartley/Mayer USA Starworks Riley DP 0 laps P
45. De Phillippi/Trebing USA Muehlner Porsche 911 GT 0 laps GTD

www.bcpix.com is the online home for the photographic archive of Florida-based photographer Brian Cleary. At this portal not only can you search and browse an ever-growing collection of photography covering more than 30 years, but many of the images are available for online purchase as editorial images, commercial images and/or personal use prints.

Two Wisconsin Weekends Two Wisconsin Weekends







12 days on the road in Wisconsin to cover back-to-back racing weekends, first the IMSA Tudor Series Sports cars at Road America and then the Verizon Indy Car Series at the Milwaukee Mile yielded a ton of photo opps for any ambitious motorsports photography willing to spend a couple of weekends in cheese country.

Here are a few of my favorites from my Wisconsin take

A Porsche takes to the dirt at Canada Corner




Under the Indy Banner


Yucatan Eyes the IMSA Competition




Scott Dixon looking for 2 in a row


Quick Pit Work at Road America




Josef Newgarden makes an Indy Pit Stop


Teammates Battle for Milwaukee Win


Road America winners atop their car




Click here for more Road America IMSA photos from BCPix.com

Click here for more Milwaukee Indy Car photos from BCPix.com

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About BCPix.com Privacy Policy

www.bcpix.com is the online home for the photographic archive of Florida-based photographer Brian Cleary. At this portal not only can you search and browse an ever-growing collection of photography covering more than 30 years, but many of the images are available for online purchase as editorial images, commercial images and/or personal use prints.



Taking the Winding Road to a Kiss of the Bricks



Since 1911 many, many drivers have kissed the bricks after winning at Indainapolis Motor Speedway. Actually, although racing began at the Brickyard over a century ago, the first victory kiss of the bricks did not happen until Dale Jarrett's spontaneous celebration after winning the NASCAR race there in 1996. The kiss caught on quickly, though, and now everyone who wins at Indy heads for the famous yard of bricks at the start/finish line to lay down a kiss.




Last Friday the duo of Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi became only the third prototype sports car drivers to Kiss the Bricks, after winning the IMSA Brickyard Grand Prix.

Their dominant run over the Indy road course and jubilant post-race celebration yielded many cool photos and here are a few of my favorites.

Welcome to Pit Road


Happy Winners

Shop for INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY at Amazon.comir

Hoist the Trophies


Ready for The Kiss




1…2…3…


Click Here for more images from the 2014 Brickyard Grand-Prix from BCPix.com

2014 Brickyard Grand Prix, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, July 2014 - Images by Brian Cleary
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Results of the 2014 Brickyard Grand Prix
1 1 P 5 Barbosa/(Fittipaldi*) 108 -.--- 2:46:02.720 1:19.581 22 Corvette DP Running
2 2 P 01 Pruett*/Rojas/(Karam) 108 48.964 2:46:51.684 1:19.550 53 Ford EcoBoost/Riley Running
3 3 P 90 Westbrook*/(Valiante) 108 52.160 2:46:54.880 1:19.570 99 Corvette DP Running
4 4 P 10 R.Taylor/(J.Taylor*) 108 58.309 2:47:01.029 1:19.878 23 Corvette DP Running
5 5 P 1 (Sharp)/Dalziel* 108 59.595 2:47:02.315 1:18.573 ‡ 63 HPD ARX-03b Running
6 6 P 60 (Pew)/Negri Jr.* 107 1 Laps 2:46:03.692 1:20.259 81 Ford EcoBoost/Riley Running
7 7 P 2 (Brown)/van Overbeek* 107 1 Laps 2:46:15.455 1:19.365 41 HPD ARX-03b Running
8 8 P 42 (Yacaman*)/Tung 107 1 Laps 2:46:24.833 1:19.704 41 Nissan Morgan Running
9 1 PC 08 (Cumming)/Hawksworth* 107 1 Laps 2:47:04.798 1:21.087 ‡ 79 ORECA FLM09 Running
10 2 PC 09 (Ende)/Junqueira* 107 1 Laps 2:47:06.220 1:21.100 74 ORECA FLM09 Running
11 3 PC 54 (Bennett)/Braun* 107 1 Laps 2:47:11.410 1:21.441 75 ORECA FLM09 Running
12 4 PC 38 Ostella*/(French) 107 1 Laps 2:47:17.801 1:21.184 65 ORECA FLM09 Running
13 9 P 07 Joel.Miller/(Nunez*) 106 2 Laps 2:46:50.656 1:21.846 45 Mazda Prototype Running
14 1 GTLM 93 Bomarito*/(Wittmer) 105 3 Laps 2:46:14.196 1:23.292 49 Dodge Viper SRT Running
15 10 P 70 (Tremblay*)/T.Long 105 3 Laps 2:46:15.238 1:22.596 70 Mazda Prototype Running
16 2 GTLM 62 (Fisichella*)/Kaffer 105 3 Laps 2:46:24.985 1:23.248 ‡ 63 Ferrari F458 Italia Running
17 3 GTLM 912 P.Long/(Christensen*) 105 3 Laps 2:46:25.333 1:23.987 91 Porsche 911 RSR Running
18 4 GTLM 3 (Magnussen)/Garcia* 105 3 Laps 2:46:32.662 1:23.760 70 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Running
19 5 GTLM 4 Gavin/(Milner*) 105 3 Laps 2:46:35.044 1:23.337 70 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Running
20 6 GTLM 55 Auberlen*/(Priaulx) 105 3 Laps 2:46:47.471 1:23.790 10 BMW Z4 GTE Running
21 7 GTLM 56 Müller/(J.Edwards*) 105 3 Laps 2:46:50.404 1:23.744 10 BMW Z4 GTE Running
22 5 PC 52 (Montecalvo)/Jeannette* 105 3 Laps 2:47:21.647 1:21.608 45 ORECA FLM09 Running
23 6 PC 25 (Diaz*)/Rayhall 104 4 Laps 2:47:05.565 1:21.101 52 ORECA FLM09 Running
24 8 GTLM 91 (D.Farnbacher)/Goossens* 103 5 Laps 2:46:07.679 1:23.636 61 Dodge Viper SRT Running
25 1 GTD 63 Balzan*/(Westphal) 102 6 Laps 2:47:26.564 1:27.050 65 Ferrari 458 Italia Running
26 2 GTD 48 Haase*/(B.Miller) 101 7 Laps 2:46:03.897 1:26.846 ‡ 71 Audi R8 LMS Running
27 3 GTD 33 J.Bleekemolen*/(Keating) 101 7 Laps 2:46:10.669 1:27.018 86 Dodge Viper SRT Running
28 9 GTLM 17 Henzler/(Sellers*) 101 7 Laps 2:46:10.898 1:23.659 71 Porsche 911 RSR Running
29 4 GTD 555 (Sweedler)/To.Bell* 101 7 Laps 2:46:12.131 1:27.096 74 Ferrari 458 Italia Running
30 5 GTD 22 (MacNeil)/Keen* 101 7 Laps 2:46:24.414 1:27.280 38 Porsche 911 GT America Running
31 6 GTD 23 (James)/M.Farnbacher* 101 7 Laps 2:46:24.850 1:26.907 64 Porsche 911 GT America Running
32 7 GTD 007 (Carter)/Davison* 101 7 Laps 2:46:31.061 1:26.891 82 Aston Martin V12 Vantage Running
33 8 GTD 45 (Canache Jr.)/Pumpelly* 101 7 Laps 2:46:41.515 1:27.062 39 Audi R8 LMS Running
34 9 GTD 27 (Dempsey)/A.Davis* 101 7 Laps 2:46:48.450 1:27.414 45 Porsche 911 GT America Running
35 10 GTD 73 (Lindsey)/Skeen* 101 7 Laps 2:46:51.897 1:27.656 56 Porsche 911 GT America Running
36 11 GTD 58 (Snow)/Heylen* 101 7 Laps 2:46:52.734 1:27.203 70 Porsche 911 GT America Running
37 12 GTD 44 (Potter)/Lally* 101 7 Laps 2:47:06.449 1:27.664 41 Porsche 911 GT America Running
38 13 GTD 35 Neiman/von Moltke*/(Pumpelly) 98 10 Laps 2:46:54.338 1:27.105 95 Audi R8 LMS Running

www.bcpix.com is the online home for the photographic archive of Florida-based photographer Brian Cleary. At this portal not only can you search and browse an ever-growing collection of photography covering more than 30 years, but many of the images are available for online purchase as editorial images, commercial images and/or personal use prints.


Flying Cars: The Future is Now






For many, many years now scientists and sci-fi writers have been promising us flying cars. But so far, these vehicles have not made an appearance on our roadways or skyways. As a veteran motor sports photographer, however, I can tell you that flying cars do exist, and I have per sally made many sightings at racetracks around the country over the past 30 years. The most recent example was just this past weekend at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama, when the green Ford Mustang pictured above made a brief flight after touching wheels with an Aston Martin shortly after the start of the race.



Over the years, there have been numerous reports of flying cars at an uphill section of the Lime Rock road course in Lakeville, CN. I myself documented several instances of flying cars at tis location, such as the Porsche, pictured above at a Grand-Am race in 2007. A more recent track modification has grounded all the cars for the time being at Lime Rock.






No less than the famous NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace himself has piloted a flying car on more than one occasion. I , among others, recorded his well documented flight of a Pontiac Le Mans at Daytona in 1993. Wallace, however, has yet to "stick" a landing!



One of my earliest photographs of a flying car took place at Daytona in a 1987 Daytona 500 qualifier. Phil Barkdoll slid sideways on the front stretch before, to everyone's surprise, his Oldsmobile headed skyward, the direct result of the recent downsizing of NASCAR stock cars in the 1980's Apparently the smaller, light cars did just fine when running a high speed in a nose-forward attitude. When the cars presented their sides or rears to the wind, however, the drivers quickly became pilots !

SO, while we still await the arrival of flying cars on the public roadways of the world, they are already a fairly common sight on our racetracks, although the flights do not tend to be of very long duration, and landings remain a problem.



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About BCPix.com Privacy Policy

www.bcpix.com is the online home for the photographic archive of Florida-based photographer Brian Cleary. At this portal not only can you search and browse an ever-growing collection of photography covering more than 30 years, but many of the images are available for online purchase as editorial images, commercial images and/or personal use prints.



Back to Sebring

It’s been many , many years since I’ve covered the 12 Hours of Sebring, and seems like very little has changed in the years I’ve been away. The facility dates back to the early 1950’s and offers little in the way of modern conveniences and technology. But Sebring is not a venue that relies on these things. The ruggedness of the old airport road course and the toughness of the race itself are the foundation upon which the event was built and has endured. The fans of the 12 Hours of Sebring are among the most devoted in all of motorsports! The starkness of the race track and the surrounding area belie the richness of the photographic opportunities that lie within. Sebring is a race that rewards a hard working photographer with many great images but at the same time leaves him or her with the feeling that he’s left a lot on the table and forces him to immediately begin to look forward to next year. Here are a few of my favorites from the my coverage of the 2014 event:

A Porsche goes off-road during practice
Lots to see in pre-race

The pole-sitting Corvette DP on the grid



The green flag starts the race
An early caution as a Viper expires on track

Red Dust Racing



Pole-sitter pits at sunset
DeltaWing under Setting Sun
Classic Sebring Sunset

The winners celebrate with champagne



For more images of my 2014 Sebring experience visit my 2014 Sebring gallery on BCPix.com and, of course, be sure to check back next year!

Results of the 2014 12 Hours of Sebring

Pos Cl Drivers Team/Car Time/Gap
1. P Pruett/Rojas/Franchitti Ganassi Riley-Ford 12h00m09.985s
2. P Sharp/Dalziel/Brabham Extreme Speed HPD +4.682s
3. P Barbosa/Fittipaldi/Bourdais Action Express Corvette DP +8.965s
4. P Pla/Brundle/Yacaman OAK Morgan-Nissan +11.994s
5. P Brown/van Overbeek/Pagenaud Extreme Speed HPD +17.027s
6. P Dixon/Kanaan/Karam Ganassi Riley-Ford +17.837s
7. P Angelelli/Taylor/Taylor Taylor Corvette DP +34.229s
8. P Frisselle/Frisselle/Fogarty Action Express Corvette DP +39.559s
9. P Pew/Negri/Wilson Shank Riley-Ford +40.568s
10. PC Bennett/Braun/Gue CORE FLM +3 laps
11. PC Ende/Junqueira/Heinemeier Hansson RSR FLM +3 laps
12. GTLM Long/Christensen/Bergmeister CORE Porsche +5 laps
13. GTLM Bell/Bomarito/Wittmer SRT Viper +5 laps
14. GTLM Auberlen/Priaulx/Hand RLL BMW +5 laps
15. GTLM Krohn/Jonsson/Bertolini Krohn Ferrari +5 laps
16. GTLM Henzler/Sellers/Holzer Falken Porsche +6 laps
17. GTLM Gavin/Milner/Liddell Corvette +6 laps
18. GTLM Farnbacher/Goossens/Hunter-Reay SRT Viper +7 laps
19. GTLM Magnussen/Garcia/Briscoe Corvette +8 laps
20. GTLM Tandy/Lietz/Pilet CORE Porsche +9 laps
21. PC van der Zande/Bird/Fuentes/Cheng Starworks FLM +10 laps
22. PC Miller/Kraut/Simpson JDC/Miller FLM +11 laps
23. GTD Potter/Lally/Seefried Magnus Porsche +13 laps
24. GTD Sweedler/Bell/Mediani/Segal AIM Ferrari +13 laps
25. GTD James/Farnbacher/Riberas Alex Job Porsche +13 laps
26. GTD MacNeil/Keen/Frommenwiler Alex Job Porsche +13 laps
27. GTD Neiman/von Moltke/Albuquerque Flying Lizard Audi +13 laps
28. GTD Mies/Putman/Espenlaub Fall-Line Audi +13 laps
29. P Westbrook/Valiante/Rockenfeller Spirit Corvette DP +13 laps
30. P Tremblay/Long/Devlin SpeedSource Mazda +13 laps
31. GTLM Muller/Edwards/Werner RLL BMW +14 laps
32. GTD Cameron/Dalla Lana/Palttala/Lewis Turner BMW +14 laps
33. GTD Canache/Pumpelly/Latif/Winkelhock Flying Lizard Audi +15 laps
34. GTD Plumb/Snow/Heylen/Plumb Rum Bum Porsche +18 laps
35. GTD Faulkner/Faieta/Avenatti GB Porsche +19 laps
36. GTD Sofronas/Welch/Basseng GMG Audi +20 laps
37. PC Kimber-Smith/Marsal/Lux/Rayhall 8Star FLM +20 laps
38. GTD Miller/Haase/Bell Miller Audi +21 laps
39. GTD Griffin/Cioci/Rugolo/Gerber Spirit of Race Ferrari +21 laps
40. GTD Roda/Ruberti/Venturi Spirit of Race Ferrari +28 laps
41. P Curran/Said/Cosmo Marsh Corvette DP +42 laps*
42. GTD Dempsey/Davis/Foster/Siedler Dempsey Porsche +47 laps
43. GTD Davis/Riddle/Wilson TRG Aston Martin +49 laps
44. GTD Lindsey/Vess/Estre/Norman Park Place Porsche +56 laps
45. GTD Case/Marcelli/Balzan/Westphal Corsa Ferrari +57 laps*
46. PC Bielefield/Ducote/Plowman/Drissi BAR1 FLM +63 laps
47. GTD Block/Carter/Davison TRG Aston Martin +76 laps

* Not running at finish

P Graf/Luhr/Mardenborough Pickett ORECA-Nissan 204 laps
P Pace/DeFoor/Hinton Highway Riley-Dinan 200 laps
P Meyrick/Legge/Chaves DeltaWing 185 laps
GTD Bamber/Gimple/Melgrati Muhlner Porsche 154 laps*
PC Cumming/Tagliani/Mitchell RSR FLM 125 laps
GTD Engelhart/Ineichen/Konrad Dempsey Porsche 113 laps
PC Kearby/Hamilton/Kasemets BAR1 FLM 112 laps
P Miller/Nunez/Vautier SpeedSource Mazda 104 laps
PC Guasch/Montecalvo/Jeannette PR1/Mathiasen FLM 89 laps
PC Shears/Matos/Ostella Performance Tech FLM 88 laps
GTLM Bruni/Malucelli/Fisichella Risi Ferrari 62 laps
GTD Cisneros/Nielsen/Giermaziak NGT Porsche 61 laps
GTD Lindsey/Vess/Estre/Norman Park Place Porsche 34 laps
P Mayer/Kaffer/Saavedra/Popow Starworks Riley-Honda 26 laps
GTD Bleekemolen/Bleekemolen/Keating Riley SRT Viper 13 laps
GTD Bamber/Verdonck Muhlner Porsche 0 laps

* Running again at finish







### About BCPix.com Privacy Policy

www.bcpix.com is the online home for the photographic archive of Florida-based photographer Brian Cleary. At this portal not only can you search and browse an ever-growing collection of photography covering more than 30 years, but many of the images are available for online purchase as editorial images, commercial images and/or personal use prints.