Please click on the above image to view it larger.

During MotoGP Qualifying yesterday at Circuit of the Americas, Bradley Smith made a last minute pit stop to change a tire. There were only a few minutes left in the FP2 session and he was keen to get the service done and return to the track before time expired.

Instead of gliding smoothly to a stop in front of his pit box, he did a small but legit front wheel stoppie. I happened to capture a frame just as Smith’s rear wheel was in the air. Coincidentally, team boss Hervé Poncharal was watching with interest.

Sometimes you have the opportunity to crop an image to produce a more interesting result than if you presented the entire photograph. Isolating these two characters in the story suggests, albeit with tongue in cheek, that Poncharal is lifting the bike up with his impressive mind powers in order to speed along the wheel change.

With the third member for he story included, the truth emerges and the possibility of The Force being involved decreases.

Photograph: ©2015 by Scott Jones / PHOTO.GP – All Rights Reserved

Camera Info: Nikon D4 with Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8

[mgallery keyword=”Pit Lane”]