First time autocrossing

[clawhammer]

Well today I went autocrossing with the South Bend Region SCCA at the Tire Rack. It was less than 10 minutes away from where I live, so I just had to go. I had previously wanted to try it 2 more times, but both times my car was not driveable.

There was a big turnout (over 100 cars), and plenty of noobs like myself. I drove my 91 CRX with I/E, H&R springs (2" lower), short shifter and all season tires with really bad struts and really bad brakes. I was mis-placed into STS.

Well things got off to a late start (first car starting an hour late), and with the course being a longer one (people generally ran 60s), they announced that everyone would only get 4 runs. First half of the day I worked the grid and the second half I raced.

First half of the day was very boring, because people pretty much knew what they were supposed to do, so I had not much to do. After the first heat was over, I lined up in the grids and I was talking with the other drivers. There were 12 cars total running STS, and one of the drivers pointed out that CRXs are never in STS, only STS2. He told me that no one would care since it's my first time, but in the future I need to change class. I should have changed right then and there, because there was nobody in STS2, and I would have automatically won first place

Well my run is coming up, and all the other drivers are telling me to take it easy on the first run. Right after they tell me this, my buddy calls me up. I tell him that I can't talk since my run is like 2 minutes away, so he's like "Push her as hard as you can, man". Well, I decided to listen to the other drivers instead of him. I ran a 77.236.

I knew of several places where I could improve, and second run was 71.863. There were still places where I could improve, and I decided to push my car as hard as I could on my third run. Not a good idea. I lost control of the car right before an apex and went into a 4-wheel slide, and almost hit the grass. (At the tire rack if you even touch the grass, it's an automatic DNF) I put it in reverse, and try to salvage my run. It was 76.769 + 2 second penalty for running over a cone. Before my fourth run I decided that I was just here to have fun, and that's what I will do. I ended up running a 68.100.

I'm almost 100% sure, but I won't know until the results are posted that my class was won by a 2005 Acura RSX-S. He was a really cool guy and helped me out a lot. His time was around 60 seconds flat. The best time overall I beleive was an older Datsun running in a prepared class low 52s. I beleive that SM was won by a Civic hatch with a fully build B18C1 (9500 rpm redline), and SM2 was dominated by Porshe.

In closing I will say that after trying this out, I'm addicted. I beleive that street racing is overrated. There was no smack talking here, it's pretty safe, and I don't have to worry about getting arrested. Plus taking corners is a lot more fun than nailing a few perfect shifts, but that's my opinion. I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but Autocross>Street Racing.

[JekylandHyde]

Awesome! ... the best time out autocrossing is when you improve with every lap.

You wil ltypically get 4-6 runs in at an event. We got lucky with a low turn out today and got 10 runs in.

Sounds like you had a fun, safe day.
Don't worry about losing control on course, that is what you are there for. Losing the car every now and then shows that you are trying and it is a good way to learn the limits of your car ... and more importantly, how it behaves just over those limits

Welcome to the addiction.

[clawhammer]

Originally Posted by JekylandHyde

Awesome! ... the best time out autocrossing is when you improve with every lap.

You wil ltypically get 4-6 runs in at an event. We got lucky with a low turn out today and got 10 runs in.

Sounds like you had a fun, safe day.
Don't worry about losing control on course, that is what you are there for. Losing the car every now and then shows that you are trying and it is a good way to learn the limits of your car ... and more importantly, how it behaves just over those limits

Welcome to the addiction.

Thanks for the support. I plan on attending a lot of events next year, but this is the last one in my area for the year. BTW, are we the only ones who race 200k mile engines? (Well mine's technically not a 200k engine, it will roll only over tomorrow, pics will come).

[drdisque]

eh, if you signed up for STS2 and were the only car in it and the event was run correctly you actually would've been bumped to STX or STU, so you were better off where you were.

[CivicSiRacer]

Originally Posted by drdisque

eh, if you signed up for STS2 and were the only car in it and the event was run correctly you actually would've been bumped to STX or STU, so you were better off where you were.

That's not correct. Some regions bump you if you are the only competitor, others don't.

Congrats and welcome to the addiction