that if we need to cross the track to shoot from the
other side then we can ask the marshals, who’ll clear
it with race control for us to cross when the track
isn’t in use between sessions. You can never cross a
live track. And you never cross without the marshal’s
permission. You’d find yourself heading home if you
tried that stunt. Possibly needing medical attention
to get s ome of your lenses out of where the
marshals had shoved them.
Pit lane is a different ballgame. It’s a live
environment, especially during practice and
qualifying. You’re working in a space bikes are
accessing at random intervals and no one’s going to
thank you if you step backwards into Jonathan Rea’s
path as he’s bringing his bike back into the pits for
54KIWI RIDER
tweaking. The pit crews and officials will often give
you a signal to get your butt out of the way but,
regardless, you have to take responsibility for
yourself and, whilst framing a shot and trying to
figure out what exposure to use to make the Aruba.
it Ducatis shine (to be honest, it doesn’t matter, they
always look awesome), you have to be aware of your
constantly shifting surroundings.
Is it stressful? Sort of, initially, but a) they wouldn’t
let you do it if you’d not already done it at national
events like Australian Superbikes and proven that
you weren’t a danger to yourself or anyone else, and
b) you get into the rhythm of it pretty quickly, and
staying alert and aware just becomes part of the
game.