Ever since 2019, each P1 driver has been allowed to choose their own competition number which they will keep for the remainder of their career. The only circumstance in which it can change is if they win the world championship as they can then choose to #1 for the year instead.
And I love the feeling of adjusting to something new when the WRC season gets underway. It all feeds into that aforementioned buzz that never wanes each and every January. After all, the Monte is, by its very nature, all about the unknown.
Naturally, a car with a different number on the side is far more minor than a driver joining a new team. For example had Rovanper gone with #1, that would hardly trump Ott Tnak joining his new team, M-Sport, in terms of excitement.
Timo Anis is a photographer who at the moment is focused on motorsport races, but he also shoots some wedding and portrait photography. In the motorsport field, he's one of the few FIA's World Rally Championship photographers who are following the championship in every continent it goes. His travels take him from Sweden to Australia and Chile. As you can see, that itself provides a great layout for images and gives him a lot of opportunities in his work. His 2020 season started with a legendary event in Southern France with an iconic Rallye Monte Carlo. We had the chance to talk with Timo about the event and the gear that he took with him.
One of the oldest, toughest and most demanding events in the world rally championship calendar. What makes it so difficult? These are the roads and the climate in the mountains. It could be raining or snowing. There can be fog or sunshine. You could have the rain at the start and snow on the top of the super special stage. Which tires one should use? This is a big question for everyone! One never takes anything for granted in Monte Carlo rally. You can only learn and take the experience with you along the process. For sure this isn't an event where you can go flat out from start to finish. One has to be wise, and know when to take it more steady.
On a daily basis, I'm using two Nikon d850 bodies. Those will go along with my Nikkor 70-200 latest lens and Sigma art series prime lenses. All together I have 3 of those (24, 35 and 85 mm). Now and then I use my Nikkor 16 mm fisheye. If I need/want to light up my subjects I use my two Nikon SB 910 flashguns. Until now these have been helping me to produce my work. As I'm working simultaneously with two bodies I need some transmitters. For that, I have some PocketWizard's in my bag. For the remote, I tend to use some carbon lightweight tripod. As the gear that I'm wearing is quite heavy I need to think about my body. For that, I'm using Blackrapid's camera straps system. It distributes the equipment's weight quite nicely and there isn't too much pressure on my lower back. There are different products on the market in that field, but I haven't found anything better, to be honest!
Here's an interesting fact for you. You know all the dust and dirt which flies around when motorsport events are happening. Well, how do you secure your gear? Here's my secret: I use women stocking for it. The thickest you can get. For sure it's the best option on the market at this very moment, at least for me! As for the non-camera gear I always take my portable Lacie 2 GB hard drive, Blackrapid straps and some extra filters with me. For the gravel events where dust is an issue I always take some brush with me to keep the gear clean. I always take some lens cleaning clothing with me. It's the experience. One of the most important aspects of shooting outdoors is your clothing. Like in Monte Carlo rally: you can have temperatures from -10 up to +15. So it's not easy to choose your clothing. I always go a bit lighter and with layers. Then I'm able to change things when the weather changes. As I need to walk a lot, sometimes more than 10 km in a single day, so I need to make sure my body can breathe!
As I have been a Nikon user for year's everything has happened very naturally for me. The biggest change for me in recent years has been the fact that I changed all my other lenses for Sigma's art Series primes ones. I have been really impressed by the image quality they do and really pleased with the overall experience. With the gear I have, I can basically shoot anything I wish. I could say only my imagination is the limit. To give you an example: I can shoot motorsport, portrait work, corporate events and etc with all that gear easily.
I'm currently using f-stop Ajna photo bag. For me, this is the perfect bag. It takes all I need for a shoot, even when it lasts more than a week. One of the major pluses about this bag is also a fact that it is suitable as cabin luggage across the globe. That's a very important factor for me, as I need to travel a lot. All the camera gear, lenses, and transmitters are going into the ICU unit within the bag. For the large pocket which is outside the bag, I tend to put my Blackrapid straps, all the adapters, and wires and etc. Into the top compartment, I tend to put my hard drive, headphones and my kindle. I like to read, but books can be big in their size, so for that, a kindle is a perfect solution!
I have some portrait work planned to shoot in the next week. Regarding WRC, the next rally will be held in Sweden. This will be run as a winter event and on the roads covered by snow and solid ice. The cars will be using studded tires and it will be a very high-speed event. One of the fastest events in the calendar. Follow Timo's adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and his website.
Rally racing is a niche market when it comes to motorsports. The driving ability required to succeed in rally racing is high, as the motorsport has a strong heritage of racing. Driving at high speeds on narrow roads with varying weather conditions can be nearly impossible, and the navigator in the passenger seat only provides a tiny bit of support. Rallycross was introduced in recent years to bring this same type of racing to more of a stadium environment. Codemasters is aiming to replicate this driving extreme ability in both of the sports with DiRT Rally 2.0. This is not a casual racing game. What it is, however, is an intense and beautiful representation of both motorsports.
Codemasters has had much success with DiRT series and introduced the Rally series two years ago. This series aims at the hardcore racers and DiRT Rally 2.0 continues that tradition wonderfully. The game features both traditional rally racing and features the official FIA Rallycross World Championship. Upon loading the game, there are no tutorials or on-screen guides such as braking lines. All of the assists are turned off by default such as traction control. You will need an understanding of how rally racing works. For the appreciators of automobiles, there are a wide variety of vintage rally racers and modern speedsters. The game currently includes fifty cars that are spread out across different classes. Each car handles differently ranging from old Lancias and a Ford RS 200 to modern Subaru WRXs and Ford Fiestas. The varying degree of speed helps to raise the difficulty as navigating a hill climb in that Ford RS 200 becomes a tall task as the turbo kicks in at 4,000 RPMs. It's such a monster that deserves appreciation.
While it's important to get an understanding of the courses, the required perfection towards top times will require tweaking of a car setup. Dirt Rally 2.0 includes a new handling model and setting up your car properly will allow for the most gains in posting quicker times. While you may have extremely fast revving rallycross cars that may not require as much attention, taking the true rally cars across an entire stage will require attention to detail. This also involves race strategies such as the best tyres to match the time of day and conditions. The attention to detail is fantastic and not overly complicated, but you will still need to know what to change with the car and each one is different.
The content may seem fairly limited on the initial startup, but it digs deeper beyond the surface. From the start, you're part of a race team with the ability to upgrade engineers and team members to help out with certain facets of your car. Cars can also be individually upgraded, but the focus is on bettering the parts that are on the car for durability and not necessarily adding horsepower or better parts. Players can choose from an historic car championship or an official FIA Rallycross championship and can bounce between different events. There are continual daily, weekly and monthly challenges that include championships to keep things consistent and fresh. Purchasing cars can be a bit of a grind until you start bringing in some real money, but thankfully the Time Trial mode allows all cars to be driven to get a taste of everything. Codemasters does have post-launch DLC content with more cars and races already planned, but that will come with the Deluxe Edition.
The lighting in Dirt Rally 2.0 is beautiful and the environment in motion blends some gorgeous backdrops that may cause you to lose focus on driving. The lighting helps with the reflection on the cars. Dirt and mud will also collect on the cars and the physical damage is just as detailed as you would expect from a Codemasters title. The terrain, especially in the wet with standing puddles, combines for a realistic and immersive feel. The car interior while racing from the cockpit is also extremely detailed and the game runs at a smooth and stable frame rate. What's even more impressive are the post-race replays, but at times this reveals some of the eye sores as certain camera shots show weak details on draw distance and some low-resolution environment items. Some of these shots mixed with the in-game soundtrack are truly an example of beautiful tranquility.
While the wheel is the way to go, playing with a controller can be just as challenging. You will find yourself feathering the throttle much more and maintaining speed and balance. Turning around corners feels smooth, but based on how much speed and momentum you have, it could easily create oversteer especially in more powerful cars. Playing with the wheel feels like you're more in control of the car, but both ways of input require a bit of practice.
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