Talented young Australian motorsport photographer Ben Roehlen has put himself in the frame for some early recognition with a fantastic sequence of images of Steve Johnson’s Touring Car Masters crash at Symmons Plains.
Shooting at his first ever national car event, Roehlen put himself in the perfect spot at the famous Symmons Plains hairpin to snap a shot of Johnson’s right-front leaving his XD Falcon and firing around 10 metres into the air.
CLICK HERE for the image gallery.
“A few laps into the second TCM race, I shot a photo of Steve at the hairpin before taking aim at the car behind him,” said Roehlen.
“I then heard the noise of Steve’s wheel failure and panned around in time to capture the wheel bouncing into the air.
“I was certainly in the right place at the right time.”
Ironically, Roehlen was again “in the right place at the right time” to grab a sequence of shots of Jason Bargwanna spearing off the track and across the Turn 6 infield before backing into James Moffat at high speed on the final lap of the third TCR race of the weekend.
Roehlen has been the official national photographer for Karting Australia for several years and has been keen to break into other forms of motorsport.
He acquired his Motorsport Australia Silver Level accreditation last year, but had not been to a race track since because of COVID-19 restrictions.
“COVID-19 certainly pulled the handbrake on,” said Roehlen.
“I’m mainly focusing on state level racing with Formula Ford, Hyundai Excels, and Formula Vee, but will also be trying to get to every TCR/S5000 event dependent on border closures.
“It’s certainly a competitive game, with lots of very talented, experienced photographers trackside, but I am keen to just keep getting out there.
“I will just be respectful of those around me and see what opportunities present themselves.”
Roehlen lives in Melbourne and is no stranger to accidents because his regular job is working for Transurban shutting down freeways after major accidents or breakdowns.
He has established his own business, Pace Images, which can be found at facebook.com/paceimages.
CLICK HERE for gallery of the TCM incident.
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