Full gas in Dijon
Immersion inside a motorsport team for a racing weekend!
One of my goals while being in France in the summer, after 3 years away from home, is to document the amazing things my friends are doing with their lives. From July 7th to 10th 2022, I decided to join one of my closest people, Jeremy Clavaud, a racing driver competing on Formula Renault for the EVENT4YOU team, for a racing weekend. The event was held at the Dijon-Prenois circuit, a legendary track used five times for the French F1 Grand Prix and twice for the Swiss F1 Grand Prix in the past! I joined the EVENT4YOU team for the whole weekend and got to document everything from the inside!
The four-day documentary project was thrilling, adrenaline filled, and challenging! I had never photographed objects going that fast. Many other time/space/safety constraints made it difficult to get the shots I wanted and tell the exact story of this racing event. The main goal was to discover the behind-the-scenes stories of the race from Jeremy and the team’s perspective.
So I followed up his schedule, from the arrival, preparation and modifications/fixes on the car, free practice sessions, qualifying to the actual races. I also documented the intimate moments shared with the team, frustrations and excitements on and off track. I tried to structure the whole story using my camera: the environment, objects and people he was surrounded by, his mental state, capture his rituals, and present a vivid image of his life as a racing competitor.
Through my photos and this short article, I hope you’ll experience this exciting competition with Jeremy as it unfolded and take an insider’s look at the world of amateur motor racing!
Day 1, Preparation: From the truck to the track
I departed from Paris with the team’s technician Mahé Rochard, and journalist Vincent Foultier. Jeremy would meet us directly at our destination. When we converged at the circuit, the first thing was to unpack. The car and all the equipment were put into the box. The team started to set up a base camp in readiness for the racing weekend.
Mahé the technician began to check if there were any modifications to do with the car compared to the latest race, preparing the vehicle for maximum performance. The most notable task was to change the 7th gear inside the gearbox. The power of the engine is fed to the rear wheels via a gearbox. For this race, he had to change the 7th gear because it was set up a certain way for the latest race due to the weather conditions and max attainable speed. He had to dismantle the whole gearbox and put it back together. It took a while but he got it right in one go!
Amidst the preparation, Jeremy took a quick look at the track and walked ahead in the sunset. It was very silent and peaceful. But in the coming three days, it was going to be full of race cars, engines screaming, speed and tension. We stayed quite late at the circuit on the first day, and the atmosphere was very special. It felt like the “calm before the storm”. I could feel the excitement in the whole team, and the true joy to gather for the 4th racing weekend of the 2022 calendar.
Day 2, Free Practice Day: Tips and tweaks
Practice is vital in getting the driver and his car ready, and could well decide whether he wins the qualifying and actual races. There were three rounds of free practice on Friday (Day 2). Jeremy went out for a handful of laps to get familiar with the circuit and see how the car felt at speed.
His car (number 17) has an embarked camera recording everything while driving, and is connected to the car’s sensors. Back to the box, Jeremy could review the footage and check his performance on the laptop. He worked on video analyzing and checked his driving, while on the phone with Arthur, his coach (and professional GT3 driver) : Am I my braking at the right time before this corner? How’s my speed in this sector? Am I fast enough? Am I consistent? Am I losing a second here? Or a second there? When we came back home at night, he was still analyzing his driving before going to bed.
From the practice sessions, the driver and his team got the information they needed to tweak the car. Besides analyzing the data from practice, letting the team know his subjective feeling also counted for Jeremy. There was a lot of chatting between Jeremy and his technician during the day. They kept checking the aerodynamics, the track and sector times and braking timing, the pressure and temperature in the tires, etc.... Then Jeremy returned to the track with new set-ups, to test again and again until getting his car just right at the end of the FP (Free Practice) day.
Jeremy’s parents, Patrick and Sylvie, came over to witness this milestone of his racing career. They looked very proud of their son and his performance for the past months and followed all the races. Here Patrick was taking a photo of Jeremy sitting in the car. After the practice, he also helped the technician move the car back inside the box. There was a key moment on track in front of the pitlane, when Jeremy overtook one of his opponents, while his dad was proudly watching through a small opening in the fence. “That’s my boy!”
When he was not driving, J spent a lot of time cleaning the car. He told me it is very important to keep the car clean, and also helped to clear his mind in the process. He loves to just take care of the car between races. And it is one of the best ways for him to realize if there is something wrong. I admire his determination and consistency. Not all drivers are so close to the team and involved in all tasks.
The space in the cockpit is very limited and it gets hot. When he starts driving, Jeremy’s view is confined to the small opening of his tight-fitting helmet and the two rear mirrors. He becomes a living component controlling this fast machine.
Just before starting to drive, he centered himself and focused with his eyes closed. He was ready to enjoy the sheer speed and intense rivalry from the race, and get to the finish line first.
Day 3, Qualifying & Race One: P3!
One round of qualifying on Saturday morning would determine the starting grid for the two races of the weekend. So the goal is simple: drivers have 20min of track time to achieve two flying laps, as fast as possible. Jeremy went all in for 3 laps after 2 “warm up” laps and achieved amazing times. So amazing that he decided to stop there and let his competitors use their tires while he stayed at the box and kept his fresh for race 1. What a show of skill and confidence! The whole team was impressed and praised the maturity of the strategy. His lap times would allow him to start race 2 in second position and race 1 in pole! But there seemed to be a bug in the timing system. In the end, he started second for the first race and third for the second race, which was still really good but not as good as he should have. J was frustrated, but didn’t let this error bring him down.
To warm up and keep his mind sharp, he did a bit of jump rope training to prepare his body for the racetrack. Just before jumping into the car, chatting with the team and other drivers, while drinking some water and vitamins. In the next half hour, he would experience massive G-forces during cornering and under braking, as well as the incredible heat and noise inside the cockpit.
Mahé was checking the screen live inside the box during the race. So he could see how the rivals were doing and communicate with J over the radio. Jeremy would get fully informed about the situation, which helped him react quickly and make adjustments to his driving.
There was a little accident during the first race. As you can see, the white car and the black car in the photo were following each other in a straight. But the driver in black car made a little mistake, lost control and started spinning off the track. Hence the backward position on the photo. The white car zipped by in a flash. It was a tough spot on the circuit but Jeremy didn’t make any mistake. He passed super fast at that corner and kept on chasing the cars ahead of him.
In the first race, J finished third and stood up on the podium! The whole team and his family were celebrating his good performance together after the race. P3!
Day 4, Race Two: Go, safety car and Congolese roulette
Before the second race started, Jeremy had some time with himself and he was still cleaning the car. He looked calm and it was difficult to tell what he thought and felt at that moment. The race from the day before went great but according to coach Arthur, the EVENT4YOU driver should work on his consistency in the race. He could take all his opponents on one lap and be the fastest. But he had to stay focused and keep his level of performance through the whole race if he wanted to stand higher on the podium.
It was already time for the last race of a weekend that passed like a flash. His car was going to the grid in 3rd position. Testing the radio with Mahé, helmet on, a few last stretches and steps, entering the cockpit, and lastly putting the gloves on. It was time to take position on the grid and race!
After almost 25 minutes of racing, Jeremy was still in 3rd place and ready for his second podium of the weekend. But the race was interrupted by a safety car because of another driver crashing. When it started again, and very close to the ending time, the driver who ranked fourth overtook Jeremy. He then desperately tried to get back onto the podium. But by taking more risks, he gave more opportunities to the driver behind him, who passed him too! Jeremy finished at a frustrating 5th place. He was a little sad at the result and thought he could have done better. However, his overall performance of the weekend was excellent, and he didn’t show too much disappointment.
The only recognizable feature on J’s helmet, is a red “五” character. It means 5 in Chinese and Japanese and I was curious so I asked him why he chose this symbol for his gear. He reminded to me that 5 is his lucky number. Jeremy and I met when we were both working in the Congo in 2014. We used to go to the local casino for fun. One night we were playing roulette and he bet everything he had on just one number – Five. Number five was rolled! Then he did it again. And it was rolled again! Number five got him a win twice in a row. Insane. That’s a probability of less than 1 in 1300.
Jeremy used to be a karate champion when he was a teenager. This Japanese reference on his helmet is a reminder of his martial arts past and a culture that grew his competitive spirit. Finally, “五” is read “go” in Japanese. As in, “time to race, go go go !” The only downside to this choice for his helmet, I thought to myself, was that he finished 5th for this last race… Maybe we should change the character to “一” (1)?
I am honored and thankful to have taken part in this journey with Jeremy and the EVENT4YOU team. As a close friend, I feel really happy and proud to see him thrive in his motorsport dream, especially knowing he started it only 2 years ago! Seeing him there as the exceptionally talented driver he is, surrounded by his loving parents and fully supported by a team who admires him made me realize what this Formula Renault means to him. It’s a dream come true.
It was very special witnessing and documenting this racing weekend and I hope you can imagine what it felt like to be part of a motorsport team, on and off track! I am looking forward to kuya J’s future performances this season and can hopefully join the next weekends! Maybe I can try driving the car next time…?
But first, and thanks to Vincent, the journalist member of the EVENT4YOU team, I am on my way to the French Grand Prix at the Paul Ricard next week, to shoot some… FORMULA 1!! One week after my first time shooting motorsports, I will try capturing photos of the fastest cars and the best drivers in the whole world, in the south of France! Merci Vincent for taking me along and arranging for the media accreditation. See you in Le Castellet in the next article!
Information & links:
TTE : www.trophee-endurance.fr
Team EVENT4YOU:
Founders: Jean-Marc et Alain Brockly
Driver: Jeremy Clavaud / @jeremy_clavaud_racing
Coach: Arthur Rougier / @arthur_rougier
Technician: Mahé Rochard / @maherochard
Journalist/Communication: Vincent Foultier / @vincent__ftr
Logistics: Marcel
Website: www.event4you.fr
