The Bol D'OrIf you haven't been you can't appreciate it. It seems strange to ride 800 miles for a weekend of hedonism, debauchery, heat, dust, dirt and noise and then ride 800 miles back with a hangover, the the fact is that the Bol is one of the last great motorcycle races (the others being Daytona and the Isle of Man TT). It's a classic and every motorcyclist ought to go at least once, because this sort of thing is unlikely to last, given the European preoccupation with conformity and politically correct behaviour. Sad. Unfortunately, the Bol moved to from Paul Ricard, near Bandol in the South of France,Magny Cours near Nevers in 2000. I went in 2001. It's not the same. Magny Cours is cold, bleak and ugly. Good for spectating, and that's it. I can't see myself going to the Bol again until they move it back to Paul Ricard. |
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These pix were taken at the Bol D'Or of 1995. I like the shot in the pits because it conveys something of the urgency of a midnight pit stop. I used a timed exposure of about 10 seconds to allow enough light to fill the shot and to blur the movement of the mechanics and then popped off the flash in order to freeze other elements of the scene, so the people just standing around are nice and sharp and provide a contrast to the frenzied movement elsewhere. The second pic is just a nice shot of a privateer racer. |
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