Not that the former used car salesman had complete control. When Doodson tried to get to where he wanted to be during the first running, he found the not-so-friendly local law enforcers weren’t exactly amenable to the idea.
“When practice started on Friday morning, we photographers discovered that for some reason access to the centre of the circuit was barred,” he remembers.
“Representations were immediately made to the promoter, Chris Pook, who promised to sort things out. The Friday afternoon session (first qualifying in those days) was just about to begin when, by chance, I ran into Pook at the edge of the circuit. He confirmed that the infield was now ‘legit’ for lensmen and he even had a word with a marshal to escort me across the track.”
Doodson was now confident he could get the content – ahem, photographs – he needed to send back to UK over night on the Friday.
Luckily Balestre ‘busted’ Doodson out – phew!
Mike Doodson
However, being at the vanguard of any movement always has its pitfalls, as the journalist was soon to find out when he began snapping Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Carlos Reutemann et al racing round concrete blocks in a near200mph parking lot.
“As a result of this last-minute move, I was the sole photographer working that session from the inside of the circuit,” he remembers.
“Also present were a number of policemen, all looking a bit lost. One of these cops soon approached me to inform me that I was working in a forbidden area. Not so, I told him, that restriction had now been countermanded, and I continued working. Very soon I had two more policemen tracking me and demanding that I instantly cease operations.
