Why aren't you autocrossing? A chance to say why.

[Bob Gagnon]

I read with interest Carl Scragg's editorial on X cars in the Witness and wondered why autocross attendance is so low and thought perhaps rather than try to expand attendance with X cars, it might be useful for people to say why they no longer autocross.

I do plan to autocross when I get my latest 993 project car finished, but I stopped after the last San Diego Porsche Parade after autocrossing on and off for 30+ years for the following reasons:

1) I needed a new helmet and was reluctant to spend the money when I didn't perceive a real need for a new helmet just because it was out of Snell spec ($200+).

2) I needed new harnesses because mine were too old, although 6 points and in perfect shape and made of same material as OE belts which did not need replacement ($250+ each).

3) The condition of the tarmac made me nervous about damage to my car if I caught up with someone and pieces of track hit my car.

4) I am a known curmudgeon and I do not like to have a student who I do not personally know. Frankly, some have scared the Sh++ out of me in the new fast cars. I don't need to make friends and the burden of a student who I had no idea what they knew about driving made the day no fun, and running around trying to be in the right place at the right time made it less fun. Then the thought of being assigned an X car student was real anathema to me. One can't say "No" to taking a student.

5) The very number of cars a few years ago decreased the amount of laps during an event, and laps to me are what it is all about. (This problem seems cured)

So, my car sat there in my garage and eventually someone talked me into selling it to them.

[John Straub]

hummm....

John

[Kone Killer]

For me it is;

1. Need to buy a new helmet
2. Need to buy new tires
3. My wife put up with me AXing for 3 years. This year, two of my kids moved out so now is time to work on those rooms, hence why I am not AXing.

I will be back with a vengence and a new car hopefully next year but, we'll see.

[RETII]

I sure hope this thread continues on and provides insight that could be useful to the AX program.

[Autobahn]

3hrs of seat time per stint.

[Cajundaddy]

I still do a few AX each year but rarely at the "Q".
1. It's 2 hrs from my house so that means on the road by 5:30am- maybe 15 laps- home by 7:30pm
2. I am a slow learner and I need more than 10 practice laps to be any good.
3.The asphalt is really gone... almost a rally course now.
4. One of my knees is pretty shot so corner working is a problem but I am still too proud to wimp out on my assigned duty.
5. This is my third year in the Z8 TT series and I like getting 100 laps in a weekend a lot.

I really like the SDR camaraderie, the good close competition, the subtle smack talk in the pits, and still enjoy taking students. With 10 weekends/year I can devote to performance driving the Z8 TT series makes the most sense to me.

[Greg Trigeiro]

I have been driving pretty much DE's and TT's instead of autocrosses lately. So much more seat time.

When my daughters want to go to a track event with me, they don't have the 8 days of experience required by PCA for driving the TT. They would be stuck in the DE school group at each PCA event, so we have been driving track events with the other Porsche club that lets students with instructors drive without having to do the DE school at each event until they have the 8 days of experience.

The daughters said they would rather drive track events and get the 100+ miles of track driving each day instead of corner woarking and 15 laps at Qualcomm. They are spoiled too by having their Dad pick up the costs of their track days while sharing his Porsche driving passion with them. Looks like I will be at the TT next month at Willow. See you there.

[onecks787]

1. Never been. (Virgin lol)
2. Need a helmet.
3. I see the regulars destroy their tires....

[Jad]

Car is too loud to run at stadium,
Spend enough time away from family at TT's and club races
Miles isn't old enough, yet

[Greg Phillips]

I sure hope this thread continues on and provides insight that could be useful to the AX program.

First priority is the TT weekends.

Second priority is my work weekends.

Autocross ends up on a lower priority. More fun driving lots of laps than 1 at a time

Greg

[Jad]

I sure hope this thread continues on and provides insight that could be useful to the AX program.

First priority is the TT weekends.

Second priority is my work weekends.

Autocross ends up on a lower priority. More fun driving lots of laps than 1 at a time

Greg

I like that, TT's first priority, work second

[John Straub]

I guess I'll go where no one else has gone.

I'll speak for some that are no longer on this forum and some that are no longer in the club...

They are not running any more because they were not treated well...I know of some women that have left because of how they were treated by other women, through jealousy.

Guys that have left because they did not fit the "mold"...they may have been perceived as abrasive, or they were not cool, or did not drive the right car, and others were not friendly to them.

Everyone deep down inside wants to be accepted...and when it doesn't happen its just easier for them to go away.

It's like everyone wants to be cool, but unfortunately, not everyone can be. Just simple economics, the law of supply and demand as it were; there just ain't enough to go around. But that should not keep all of us from trying to make everyone fill cool. Be nice to others in the club and maybe they'll stick around.

Just my 2 cents.

John

[JERRY B]

We all think your are cool John Soooo WHY dont you AX anymore ???????

[RETII]

Wow John you're like the Christopher Columbus of the club. It appears as though there are more "reasons" than people, some individual (personalities) others shared ie: crappy economy etc. All events seem to have productive life span if not changed or modified and it appears as though the lackluster economy has served a a catalyst to speed this process up in the case of our AX program.I'm very glad this is being kicked arround where everyone can throw in their .02 and I'm confidant good things will happen as a result.

[Chaoscreature]

My wife (Kathy) and I bought our Porsche specifically so we could introduce ourselves to track events. We (mostly I) ran hard the first year, attending as many AX events as we could. I put myself on the fast-track to becoming an instructor so that Kathy and I could share the car together.
Kathy just lost interest, I guess AX'ing just wasn't for her. She likes to go fast in a straight line and the 993 just doesn't pull hard enough to keep her entertained. With her no longer attending it became harder to get away for a whole day without feeling guilty but I can deal with the guilt

Right now I have to make some pretty big budget cuts, so new tires, frequent $90 oil changes etc aren't going to be feasible in the near future. After attending a DE at Streets of Willow and being on the track for a solid 5 hours in a day (1.5 hours in my car, and 3-4 hours riding along) I can't bring myself to rip chunks off my tires at Qualcomm. So next time I do have some spare cash I will probably opt for another DE event rather than an AX.

As far as "being cool", that was never even a consideration for me. From the first day I attended a PCA AX I felt like I was welcome and everyone treated me courteously. The San Diego AX's are what made me want to buy a Porsche in the first place (as opposed to a lotus or a Z-car). The events are well thought out, the seat time is terrific relative to SCCA events and everyone in the club is so nice... cool even!

I really miss the AX events, hopefully I will stumble across some extra income or get sponsored so i can get back into the scene. Until then we still have some great tours planned out for this year and Monterey Car Week is just 1 week away!!!