April 29 AX at the Q

[ajackson]

Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy High
68°F
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Precip: 0%

Should be a good day for driving. I haven't done an AX for a while between an alternator going out and rain, so I am looking forward to this one. See you all there.

[ajackson]

April 30, 2005 AX at the Q from my point of view (your mileage may vary). It's been a while since I wrote very much prose, but here it goes:

I started to get sick on Friday afternoon, but not having been to a driving event for a while, I was determined to attend this one. Also, Tim and Mind Over Motorsports had graciously worked late Friday evening to get a roll bar in the car for me which I couldn't let go to waste. I'm getting pretty good at packing what I need for a day of autocrossing so I spent a few minutes putting everything in the car the night before and went to bed -- hoping that I wouldn't wake up even sicker.

5:30am - alarm goes off. I know that many volunteers get up way earlier than this to get everything set up for us but it still feels earlier than people should be awake to me. I start to wonder if it wouldn't be more enjoyable to just sleep and skip the whole thing. Then I remember that I've been waiting weeks for this day and I just need to get my lazy butt out of bed. 30 minutes later I've showered, gotten some last second things together and I'm on the road.

During the summer the sun is already up, which I am thankful for. Gas is at about half a tank so I should be good for the day -- leaving me with an uneventful trip down to the Q. I arrive just after 7am, find a parking spot, clear out my car, and take it over to tech inspection.

Usually tech is a pretty quick and easy process, but I always feel uneasy while it goes on. They said my front wheels had a lot of play and to check it out but everything else was ok and signed me off. I breathed a sigh of relief, checked in with registration and took my car back to my spot.

8am track walk with Burl East, 8:30am drivers meeting, 9am track is hot -- all pretty standard stuff. I ended up in the white run group today, which means I mostly sit around during the morning, then work corners for the first set of timed runs and do my timed runs last. Since I have the time, I walk around the lot to check out all the awesome cars people brought out and say hello to people.

My first practice session came quickly enough and it was time to check out the track. I've been to enough autocrosses that I feel I am fairly smooth and in control but I am still not very fast. The first lap is to get a feel for the layout, and then I run a few hot laps to establish some base times which end up putting me around 1:33. From previous experience I know I can knock a few seconds off that so I set a personal goal of getting under 1:30 (I like round numbers).

During the second practice session I get more comfortable with the track but I am just not confident enough to push myself and I stay around 1:32. I've been watching other people and I know that most are in the mid 1:20's with the good drivers in the low 1:20's and high teens. I watched other drivers go around the track and made some mental notes. For one I was taking the wrong entry to the second slalom. I set myself up for where I wanted to be at the end but it didn't really matter that much and was killing me on the entry. Went through it the correct way and instantly another second came off my time.

Tim Commeau was doing the 944 spec challenge again: $20 gets you 3 laps in his 944-spec prepared race car. Some really fast times turn up, with several 1:20's. I am driving a car with 80 more hp and I hope I can get within 10 seconds of them! I have never driven one before, but next time I am going to have to try it out to see what it is like. I'm always nervous about hurting other people's stuff so I doubt I would drive it very hard, but it's really all about fun right?

Right?

One of the reasons I can't try it out today is that I have to corner work just as they are doing the challenge, so I head off for the far end of the course. I enjoy watching the cars go around up close for about 20 minutes, but after that I am just waiting to be relieved. It really isn't bad at all, but I did manage to get a pretty bad sun burn by forgetting my sun block at home.

I come in soon enough and before I know it I am doing my timed runs. My practice lap everything is cold so I take it easy, but manage a 1:31 which is my fastest lap so far. I heard many people throughout the day say that they took a second or more off their time when the tried to relax and be smooth -- something this track rewarded in spades. I pushed myself the next couple of laps and was back up to 1:32. For the last lap, I managed to calm myself, do a clean lap, and ran a 1:30. It's not going to set any records, but I was happy enough with it.

Overall I enjoyed the track layout immensely. There was one pretty fast strait that had be partially into 3rd gear (2nd tops out at around 60mph), some nice sweepers, off camber turns, etc. You can look at a map here: http://www.pcasdr.org/autocross/AX2005/maywest.pdf

The car held up well, I still wonder at this 28 year old car with 260k miles that I can beat up at a track on the weekends. I do admit to feeling the need to upgrade my tires a little bit (just to some good street tires). The 5 point harnesses I put in a while ago are awesome. I would definitely recommend those as the first upgrade any autocrosser does.

Looking at the schedule there is another AX on the 15th, which I am looking forward to. There was a DE on Sunday which I hope everyone enjoyed. I know I will be out there for one soon -- I just have to start early telling my wife I am going to be gone for the whole weekend and not just one day!

Pics:
http://trackevents.info/gallery/ax

[ttweed]

I just have to start early telling my wife I am going to be gone for the whole weekend and not just one day!

When you do this Alan, may I suggest you begin your statement with "Oh my darling, you know how much I would love to spend all weekend with you, but...."

This may help with domestic harmony. Or do as a lot of these other smart guys are doing and get your wife involved with driving, too. Look at all the women who are coming out and enjoying the sport lately.

Nice write up, BTW. Greg Phillips needs you to report to the Windblown Witness editorial office in the morning and rework this for an article in the mag.

TT

[Greg Phillips]

I just have to start early telling my wife I am going to be gone for the whole weekend and not just one day!

Nice write up, BTW. Greg Phillips needs you to report to the Windblown Witness editorial office in the morning and rework this for an article in the mag.

TT

Reading my mind again Tom

Greg

[Steve Grosekemper]

Traded mine for a weekend in Palm Springs....

She wanted to know why I was home so early....

[Tim Comeau]

Alan,
Where were you hiding? I had money for you from when you bought gas for me at the POC Enduro.
Thanks again for your help at the Tribute to Le Mans.
That's twice we've won when you were helping crew for the team.
I better keep you around!