Baltimore Grand Prix 2011 - A look at ALMS Round 7

This past weekend at the Baltimore Grand Prix (BGP) was a marathon for us, not a sprint. We got in town to the Sheraton off Fayette Street Thursday, got briefed an hour later for the work we'd be putting in all weekend, then went outside to watch the crews build the chicane for Pratt Street before the infamous light rail tracks that the city and officials debated on paving. My assistant photographer Matt and I walked the track that night, much as many of the other race teams and drivers were doing at the same time, to get an idea of what things would be like during practice the following morning. Friday came and went, pics and video were taken and the grind continued for 8hrs a day for the next two days. We're working on our formal article on the Baltimore Festival of Speed, but in the meantime I figure it'd be good to give you a taste of what went down in person for the race that most of our readers are interested in; ALMS Round 7.

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Without further adieu, ALMS in Baltimore this year was all that I hoped it would be. Great action, a hairy street course with some sneaky funneling turns, very few safe passing locations and great representation by the regulars in the driver, manufacturer and team ALMS Championship hunt. You can get the details on the race results here, but here's some of what was seen before and during the ALMS Round #7 race on Saturday.

Delayed start, awaiting fans.

Plenty of yellow flags during the race.

While limited on video equipment we captured a few short clips from the event. We've put two BGP clips up on our youtube channel today to help share the sights and sounds that fueled our engines all weekend. Make sure to turn up the volume and turn on the HD.