GRB 030329 with SARA and TLS

We present B band observations performed with the SARA 0.9m telescope at KPNO and the Tautenburg 1.34m Schmidt telescope in Tautenburg, Germany, for the optical afterglow of the gamma-ray burst GRB 030329. Observations were carried out from March 30.12 to April 8.29 (UT) with SARA, and from March 30.80 to April 7.00 (UT) with the Tautenburg Schmidt. This burst provides the best covered GRB afterglow light curve to date. The afterglow exhibits a complicated 'fine structure' with several episodes of significant re-brightening. These episodes inevitably demand a more detailed numerical fit which introduces a larger number of free parameters. It is difficult to separate the light from the re-brightening phases and the light from the underlying supernova. The photometric data show an average temporal regression in the flux of the optical afterglow, that is typical for GRB afterglow. However, 'bumps and wiggles' clearly suggest a degree of complexity resulting from the re-brightening phases that is not easily fitted with standard models. At late time the light curve receives a significant contribution from an underlying supernova component (SN 2002dh). We argue that in cases such as GRB 030329 single site observations are inadequate to properly sample the evolving flux. Consequently, simple broken power law fits of data obtained with just one telescope may lead to rather poor descriptions of the afterglow characteristics