One of the hardest shots to capture in any form of motorsports is getting the entire race field at speed in a single photo. It’s only possible on the first lap and somewhere early on the course. Here’s just such a shot. It’s from this year’s Daytona SportBike race at Elkhart Lake, Wis., on Saturday, June 4, 2011. Jason DiSalvo is leading the entire field into Road America’s Turn Three. I went through my images from the 1980s and was surprised to find that for some reason I never shot this angle in the old days. Then several years ago I came across a photo by the ever creative Brian J. Nelson showing the entire field coming into this turn and I knew someday I had to try the shot myself. The photo also illustrates that you don’t always need to shoot super tight to get a dynamic racing photo. Sometimes it’s better to put on a smaller lens to get an overview of the surroundings. Thanks for the inspiration Brian J!

The entire Daytona SportBike field, with Jason DiSalvo leading the way, speeds its way into Turn Three at Elkhart Lake’s Road America. Capturing the entire field in a single photo is one of the biggest challenges in motorsports photography. (Larry Lawrence photo)