4/18/10 Autocross on the Speedway

[gbwrx]

I had fun but I wish I stayed home. That was a very loooooong day. I'm just glad I wasn't working during the 2nd heat. But all is well now. Let's go racing again.

[EliseAutoXr]

Wow! That was so much fun!! I'm glad they had so much back-up equipment, very good on their part.

[TonyBolton]

I understand Tony. I did feel bad and felt like an idiot. After the incident I took it easy through that section to make sure it wouldn't happen again.

I get both of guys had to play the "dick card" and I was kind of expecting it. I was just a bit shocked that the second guy took the "dick card" to the extreme.

I'm sure they/we know you feel bad about the incident, that's a given. I'd be the most mad at myself, probably knowing me. I'm quite sure everyone knows people don't INTEND on hitting the lights. It'd take one frustrated person to do that....(I came real close )

[eunos735]

I'm sorry but things like this need to be expected and anticipated when planning these events. If it means using club funds to by a backup set of lights then so be it. Who I really feel sorry for were the people working the second heat and driving 3rd. I mean with a car catching on fire, the timing issues and just your regular other stuff this event took just too long. I fell asleep sitting in my car during the 2nd work run group for 3 hours.....and when I woke up the group was only on it's 5th run.

[John Brown]

well...... I had a great time. I was told my car broke down... "I" was ordered to have it removed from the track(even tho it was behind the safety wall) immediately following the run group...and after I was "allowed" to change to the STS car in Pro class..I had to retain XP pax..(ha,ha,ha)

I was having too good of a time...

seriously.. I hate the BMW broke on lap one,cause it was wicked fast! and Iv seen on other boards that I was hosed in the pax thing..however I was told by the event official (after I presented them the printed rules) that I would get the STS pax..not XP. (thanks Richard)


GOOD EVENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TonyBolton]

I hate your little rocket dropped on you, John. For the few turns I watched, you could tell it was fast and just waiting for you to drop the hammer.

[NEVRLIFTLIN]

Well, needless to say, I was one of the very "lucky" ones that worked the 2nd Heat.....thank goodness the weather was perfect.....not 80+ degrees. The track was great...everything went smoothly until the timers met their demise.....Thanks to a fellow ETR....

[John Brown]

lol... Thats what I did.. it took mid-lap for the tires to start coming in.. and just as I jumped the apex curb onto the back straight..the ECU came loose and "game-over"

and Ill say up front here,that Im not bashing the Timer smashers...lol but I felt like I was coming thru there pretty hott... and I cant for the life of me figure out how you spun there at all. You must not have been getting back over to driver right after the first set of 2 cone saloms...?????? and had to jerk the car hard to the left..no??? I just didnt get it. sorry. At an event where the conditions are this much different...you got to be cautious.. and sneek up on your laps times.. its not the place to find the limits and then back down.. just my opinion.

ps. good video on chatt forum especially of the finish and the skid marks left of the timing accident... (stop and look frame by frame at the finish)

[Dentspeed]

The timing light deal is just part of it. You have to expect those things to get hit occasionally. Better to have those killed than a person injured or killed. That's why you put them in a place where they CAN'T be hit.

[4DRSpeed]

car was just extremely loose in the beginning. Had snap oversteer going on. After the incident we dropped pressures a lot and the car was much better. It is what it is I guess. I apologized to both safety people and to everybody on here.

I am somewhat glad I wasn't the only one to take it out though

[steverife]

1) I'm bummed that I didn't make it. Turns out that another mount broke at PSTCC.

2) Just because someone is a TR member doesn't mean that they speak for the region. There are a couple of guys there that don't have very good people skills... Stuff happens, reasonable people understand that.

[thrdeye]

Timing lights will get hit, it is a fact of autocrossing. If the lights get hit more than once, I have to say that either the finish wasn't safe, or the timing lights were simply in the wrong place. I think Gebbia and I both spun at the finish, but a Miata doesn't usually go too far when it spins.

From a safety rules standpoint, the finish should have been set up differently. Many times, you will see slaloms or hard offsets right before the finish to "slow people down". It rarely has this effect. More often than not, things like that have the mental effect of causing people to haul more ass through there than they can because the finish is so close. This is ok at bigger events (even thought it still not fun) with more experienced people, or if there are slower speeds overall, but it takes a LOT of discipline to shave off enough speed to get through obstacles like that, even when you do have a couple of years under your belt. And if you don't end up spinning, it's damn hard to get through without coning.

I'll have to see the video before I can figure out how the hell you guys hit them in the same car twice.

[TonyBolton]

I've got ONE video i'll upload when I get home(before my afternoon nap). I must warn, there will be cursing involved in the audio part. I'll do my best at editing or warning to just turn the volume OFF.

I'm kinda with John on the "HTH were the lights hit" thing. I hit a cone or two near the end, but I don't think light boxes were on the radar as far as "crap to hit". Of course, different cars, lines and driver skill all plays a part in this. Lord knows I suck at life(especially yesterday), so that rules out the driver part.

[steverife]

I'll just say that the off-road capabilities of Subaru are severly overrated.

Once you hit grass...

[4DRSpeed]

First run I made it through there fine, though I was loose. 2nd run came in a bit too hot. 1st slalom sloppy, accelerated slightly got on the brakes to enter the 2nd one and the backend just said bye-bye. I was really surprised that an AWD car could be so loose. And once I hit the grass it was just ice. The backend being so loose I guess is what probably the old 911s feel like. Just no warning and it snaps on you.

Once the pressures came down the car was a lot more settled and my confidence went way back up. My biggest complaint about the car then was Marcus needs to upgrade the brake pads ASAP.