Andrew Wheeler, AutoMotoPhoto and MotoGP. Part4 Catching Up.

5037 "likes" as of March 10, 2012

It's been a few weeks since we passed this little milestone of 5000 "Likers". As I'm catching up with everything MotoGP related before the season kicks off in a few weeks and especially how it relates to what I do as a photographer, I wanted to also add a huge THANK YOU to all who like and interact on my Facebook page at Andrew Wheeler - AutoMotoPhoto .  It's always a pleasure to be able to interact with like minded people, and even more of a pleasure to meet people out "on the road" when at a race track. 

I hope to meet more people who are part of this movement and who help make the friendships that exist with @automotophoto on Twitter, Andrew Wheeler - AutoMotoPhoto and now on Instagram a tangible reality starting with RD1 at Qatar and then onto Jerez and Estoril,  and on through the rest of 2012.

Emily and VR46 OFC t-shirt. You go girl!

As I'm having a "personal update" I'd also like to share some good-ish news with regards to my wife Emily  who is dealing with Stage4 colon cancer.  After a rather unexpected brief sojourn into hospital for a little side effect that got a little out of hand, in part due to the fact that the chemotherapy drugs were actually doing their work and attacking/inflaming the tumor in her colon and creating the issue, following the tests they undertook during her short stay it transpired that in the words of her oncologist, that it looks like "we're hopefully turning a corner".  Now if you know anything about Doctors who work in this world you'll know they're not the purveyors of false hope.  The goal being to have the tumor reduces significantly to have it removed sometime later this year and apparently we're on track.  This is by no means easy on Emily and at times I feel terribly helpless because she has been in an awful lot of pain especially during the "side effect" weekend.  But, as of today it does appear that things are normalising again.  With that I'd like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all who have sent us emails, messages through FB or simply posted words of encouragement and support.  It means so much to us. Thank you.

Andrew Wheeler, AutoMotoPhoto and MotoGP. Part1 Catching Up.

My beautiful friend - Emily

I wouldn't normally share this sort of stuff on here, however, it's important to me, and without Emily I wouldn't be doing this in the first place so I feel a short post, and update might be in order.  It's been a few hectic and busy weeks...albeit at home.  As some of you may or may not know my wife Emily was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer during the week between Christmas and New Years. 

We have shared the experiences on my personal Facebook page and also on her Facebook page.  Right now she is well, the symptoms that have plagued her for the past 8-10 months or so appear to be subsiding (it was thought to have been IBS and simply didn't appear to be what it turned out to be until it had come to a head - nothing like living a healthy lifestyle doing everything right then this cropping up huh?) thus the comfort level is going up with each salvo of chemotherapy.  She will be having her third salvo the week after next...and right now it's open ended because of where the tumor and it's "friends" have placed themselves, but the outlook is good, and surgery is the goal.  The downside of all of this is simply financial.  But regardless, we're fortunate to live where we live here on the West Coast of California close to two of the best cancer research and surgery locations in the world.

I just wanted to add a little note to my blog to that effect.  I love her dearly, and as I said without her encouragement, love and selflessness I wouldn't be doing what I do now.  I felt it was right to share here as it's as she is my life.  Many of whom in the industry know Emily because she has been with me through the AMA days, the World Superbike days and now the MotoGP days and we have received and continue to receive words of encouragement, love and gifts from all over the world. 

I would like to take this moment to publicly thank everyone for the support.  It means so much to us.  The world of motorcycling, and racing has the coolest, most caring people I have ever met.

Valencia. The Final Week. The Final MotoGP Round 2009. Rossi, Lorenzo, Spies et al..

It really doesn't take long to get from Granada to Valencia and is quite a nice drive.So here we are, the last few days of our holidays and we have now arrived in Valencia. We're staying in the same apartment I rented back earlier in the year for the World Superbike Round. The final round of the MotoGP season took place at the same location, and seeing as I already had left sufficient funds to cover for a deposit it made sense to rent the same apartment. It's location is good, it's quiet normally! During this visit there was nothing but high winds all week long and at night it felt like you were on the deck of an aircraft carrier so sleeping was a tricky, if not a noisy affair.Emily and I didn't really have any plans here, simply to visit the old town, find a decent restaurant, and wind down with the end of year party with the GP folks. We stayed pretty close to base. We drove down to the Albufera which is a nature reserve a few miles south of Valencia. It is also near where Bomba rice (the rice used in Paella Valencia) originates and is grown, in huge rice paddy fields that line the small network of narrow two lane roads that crisscross this reserve. With the weekend approaching and the buildup to the final round of GP ahead we head to the track on Thursday to get set up. Alpinestars kindly set us up for hospitality access, and Emily is all set with her passes to allow her into the paddock and media centre (thank you so much for this - you know who you are).With Ben (Spies) being offered a wild card ride for the last round aboard a Sterilgarda liveried Yamaha M1, and his garage that is sandwiched between the Factory Yamaha's of Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo on one side, and the Tech 3 garages of Colin Edwards and James Toseland on the other, it is to me, rather quaint in some odd way. With the big beaming smiles of Massimo Merigalli (Ben's R1 team boss), Tom Houseworth his crew chief and of course Woody, along with a few other former team mates who came along to help out, it feel like we never really left Portimao. Except the bikes are louder and the paddock isn't quite as laid back as the World Superbike paddock. Ben is in good spirits. As his right hand man Geoffrey. Everyone is all smiles and are quite excited to have this head start for the upcoming 2010 season. Ben will take over from James Toseland and will be aboard the Tech3 Yamaha M1 for 2010 (yes I know it's not exactly news anymore...). So the atmosphere in and around this garage is still the same as it was in World Superbike. Next year though, I imagine it'll be a lot more intense though.Tom, is still the master of hand signals. Woody, is on "observation" and pit board duty (apparently the team doesn't let you just dive straight into to work on machines - you have to observe first)...but Ben's garage still has that fresh positive air that existed throughout the World Superbike season.Friday rolls around and everyone is anxious to get out on track to start winding down the season. It's windy. Very windy. Holes are drilled in the fairings of the lightweight 125's and some of the fairing of the 250cc machines.I'm a lucky boy again. Fortunately I'm able to use Ben's scooter for the sessions and thus am able to get around without much difficulty.Saturday, practice in the morning, qualifying in the afternoon. It's still windy. Very windy and quite cool. During the afternoon qualifying went off as normal, but with the Championship having been settled and won by Valentino Rossi at Malaysia, all eyes (in the MotoGP class) were on Ben Spies. Being that he had won the World Superbike Championship in spectacular style in his first year (I'm not a fan of the word "rookie"..no idea way..just seems a little bit twee) this would be the story for the weekend. With James Toseland on his way out, and with Ben moving to Tech3 alongside fellow Texan Colin there was a lot of chatter about whether Ben would finish ahead of James. With Ben qualifying a good 9th (against James' 14th spot) and with Colin up ahead in 5th, and with the usual suspects ahead of Colin Sunday should be interesting. But there is still on more thing to take care of on Saturday. That is the BMW M Award. Valentino Rossi has won this prestigious award for being the fastest rider on the grid during all 17 rounds of MotoGP, not after spending some time "lusting" over the bright orange BMW M3 GTS and taking it for a lap around the circuit (I also heard he took delivery of not long thereafter and gave the M3 sedan he won to his Mum. At least I think that's the story). After returning to the presentation area, he then "hugs" the car he has won and is also presented with a scale model of the same vehicle.One thing that didn't go unnoticed, especially by my wife, was that Valentino Rossi is the expert of scarf tying, or rather, how to make wearing a scarf look totally snug! Sunday rolls around, and yet again, it's windy. Cool, but sunny. Thanks to Mary, Massimo, Geoff and the team, I am fortunate enough to have the scooter for the GP race. The other two races run their course and it's time for the "big boys". I go to the grid, which is (as usual) total madness, with photographers, riders, teams, fans with special passes, tv people and half of Spain all milling around. But that's part of the glamour of GP so you work around it. I tend to work rear of grid towards the front, thus, as everyone dives for the "main attractions" at the front, I'm treated to a free grid, and as everyone works their way to the back, I end up with free-ish access to the front of the grid. Tom (Houseworth) give me a "wave" and I head off the grid, onto Ben's scooter and off to grab the first lap (or two) shots with the pack.As the bikes head off the grid for their warm up lap, we wait for them to come around and most folks take a test shot or two to make sure everything is setup correctly. I'm stood next to Gigi (Soldano) and as all the bikes have passed he asks me "where's Stoner?". It transpires (as we know) that Casey Stoner had a little off on the warm up lap and that was the end of his 2009 race season. Which was a shame. This year has been particularly challenging for Casey and it looks like the last race of the year wasn't going to let him off easy either. The race is under way. I tend to use a race plan of 2 or 3 laps in one spot, them move, thereby giving you the opportunity to amass a wide variety of shots from different locations. Valencia is easy to get around, but with the crowds being a little lighter than past years, I wasn't always afforded the bright colourful pixelated backgrounds so you had to pay extra special attention to your subjects if you wanted to ensure a lot of colour.Well, the race at Valencia can be a little processional but as before, all eyes are on Ben Spies. He didn't disappoint. Finishing a healthy 7th place, ahead of a somewhat disappointed Andrea Dovizioso and of course James Toseland. Inadvertently, Ben also helped his future team mate Colin Edwards. By finishing ahead of Andrea Dovizioso he allowed Colin Edwards to take 5th place. Local lad Dani Pedrosa would win the race, with Valentino Rossi coming in second and Jorge Lorenzo coming in third. One thing that struck me as odd, and I think it was the high winds, was the lack of paella smells this year. Every year I have been coming here it has been a feature of this track. The somewhat fragrant whiff of seafood being cooked swirls around the track, but this year, nothing. After the podium, it's a quick shift into the the presentation for the top three class Champions and that it for the 2009 season.Back to the media centre, sort, edit and upload. By the time we left the media centre it was nearly 11pm. We had been invited to the Dorna end of year party. By the time we got back to the apartment, and then realising that it would be an additional 45 minute down to the Albufera, added to the fact I couldn't keep my eyes open, we called it a day. On reflection I wish we had gone to the awards presentation ceremony at the Aquarium. Maybe we'll do that for 2010. Monday afternoon would be spent back at the track for testing and Ben would be aboard the Tech3 Yamaha and there would be a number of "staff" changes that took place after seasons end.After saying goodbyes to various people that would be it for my year of racing. 19 races in total. 8 World Superbike events, 8 MotoGP's and three AMA Superbike events here in the US. Thank you to the Sterilgarda Yamaha Italia team for helping make life a little easier too. Quite the season. Thank you to my lovely wife for being who you are. I love you. I missed you so much whilst I was away. These three weeks with you were simply the best fun ever.Tuesday, it would be up early, off to the airport and then the trip home back to the USA.

A Little Moorish. The Wheelers On Holiday. Jerez To Valencia

Imagine two weeks between races, in Southern Spain with the most important person in your world....
I have been looking forward to this. Emily and I hadn't been away on holiday together (aside from her joining me at Indy, for MotoGP) for over two years. So for her to join me for both last races of the season, AND have a holiday touring in Spain in between WSBK at Portimao and MotoGP at Valencia was a true blessing and something that we both had been looking forward to ever since we started planning the trip. In so much as Emily didn't take hardly any vacation in 2008 just to make sure she had enough to cover her for the time we were aboard (the US is not terribly generous on leave so three weeks vacation is almost considered abandoning your job...).

Emily kept a sort of "rolling blog" on her Facebook page here and here which will go into greater depth. But here it is in some sort of order...and some other odd pictures.

We left Portimao and drove to Faro airport where we dropped off the rental car. At Faro airport we ate some of those tasty Portuguese egg/caramel pastries whilst we waited for our shuttle. The shuttle would drive us from the airport to Hertz Rent-a-Car in Huelva, just across the border in Spain (the reason being it would cost us nearly €700 to drop the rental car at our final destination at Valencia and so the shuttle was a lot cheaper). Whereupon we picked up another stunning German rental car, a BMW Series 3 diesel (much to my surprise actually). From there we drove roughly 2.5 hours to the house I stayed at during the GP earlier in the year in Jerez. Now I can enjoy some time in Jerez with Emily at a location that was super convenient.This would be our base to visit towns such as Seville, Cordoba and other towns nearby.The Tuesday after we arrived from Portugal, we pretty much took it easy. I really needed a day to just breathe, and we woke late and pretty much just walked about Jerez during the day. Wednesday, we took a trip to Cadiz and with Emily as my guide we walked around the town, and the old town, ate fried fish, Emily commandeered my Canon G9 and we just had a blast.The next day we would go to Cordoba. Did I mentioned we're going to move here? Anyways, we visited the Alcazar and the coolest of places I have ever been to in my life, the Mezquita. What can I say, one of the most amazing places to visit, just walk around and realise what the Moors brought to Europe (and the world) via Spain. To think, they brought, toothpaste, alcohol, eating meals in courses, and their culture added so much to how we live today.The next day we went to Seville. It's almost too much for words. The history, the cathedral, the minaret, just walking round, looking up. Over the next few days, we'd go to Tio Pepe in Jerez to take a tour of the "bodega", my second trip, and Emily's first. We'll worth the small fee, but make sure to buy the little extra for the tapas at the end of the tour. It's a nice way to finish off the day. Before leaving Jerez we'd visit one of the signature "white-washed" hill towns that are part of the landscape in the region.We'd visit Arcos de la Frontera, a stunningly beautiful town on a hillside not too far from Jerez (and coincidentally not too far from the race track either...).On the Monday, we'd be up early and leave for Granada, the last major castle of our trip. We'd be staying in the Alhambra Palace Hotel which is literally a 10 minute walk away from the Alhambra itself. What struck me is how "high up the mountain" this place is. Something like 1800 feet above sea level, and with mountains behind, the Sierra Nevada's, it almost does really feel like California!After a lovely walk and self guided tour around the Alhambra, lunch at an outdoor restaurant (along with feral cats circulating for "snacks"). We rounded off with a lovely dinner in the hotel restaurant we headed off to bed. On the Tuesday morning we had to check out by noon and we'd be on our way to Valencia, for the final leg of our trip, that would end with the last round of MotoGP. As I mentioned above, if you go to Emily's Facebook links above, you'll see a chronological, and just more logical, reportage of the trip.Next, we arrive in Valencia and wind down the year.

18 Years Ago Today - Ben Spies On The Cover

I'll have my site updated with images from Road Atlanta this weekend. This is a small update to celebrate my 18 anniversary of my immigration to the United States. I arrived here late afternoon on September 5, 1990 loaded with only four suitcases and a $20 bill my Mum gave me so I would have some money to buy a coffee when I got here. 18 years I have been here with the most beautiful girl in my world. I love you.

On another note, I should mention that I also have the cover of the current (new) issue for Sept/Oct 2008 of RoadRacerX. Woohoo! You should check out this issue though, lots of good stuff within! More updates later...

Playing Catch Up #1 - Broody Barber

Yes it was. I don't care what anyone says. For some reason it feels like when one works in an office and rumours start circulating that the "company" is downsizing...nothing concrete or written but it's there - it's unsettling. I have been laid off from 11 jobs since I left school at 16, I've become somewhat of a psychic in these matters (even if I do say so myself - hence why I'm working for myself these days). Let's just say, and this is my opinion of course, that there was (and is) nothing wrong with the bikes or the racing... What the AMA needed was something along the lines of what IRTA does for MotoGP , just as the AMA Superbike Series is garnering more visitors WORLDWIDE. I was personally hoping that the series would streamline, take on FIM rules and be an equivalent to say the British Superbike Series. This really isn't rocket science. I just feel somewhat odd because I'm a global person and had this quaint thought that the AMA series would fully become the American equivalent to the BSB. We'll see, I'm a "there's no such thing as a glass" person so I go with whatever.

On a brighter note. Emily, my wife, joined me this race weekend to spend her birthday amongst the paddock.

Barber Motorsports Park is a wonderful facility. The folks that manage the track, Zoom Motorsports, do a wonderful job, the track workers are exceptionally helpful, security is polite and super friendly, in all, making our jobs easier and joyfull. Thank you to all for the wonderful job you do.

Oh, and sorry for the time it took to update. With Barber on one weekend, followed by Fontana the next,(a post - and images to my site - will be added in due course) there just isn't enough hours in the day to do it all.

Thanks for listening.

18 Years (Yesterday)

I'll have some images from testing at Laguna and Infineon to share in due course. In the meantime I just wanted to share (if anyone is really that interested of course) that without this woman my life wouldn't be what it is today. On April 3, 18 years ago Emily and I were married at the Love Chapel in Nevada..so we celebrated the fact by having Thor neutered (well not really celebrated - it was just that his appointment was the same day...) Poor guy looks like a walking lampshade...More to come.