ETRSCCA #4 Autox

[sean]

The East Tennessee Region SCCA was back at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, TN last Sunday for the fourth point's event of the season.

I arrived around 8am and started walking the course as soon as I got the car ready and registered. The course started straight into a six cone slalom that led into a right hand pin cone. A Chicago box was set up after the pin cone which made it more of a sweeper. After the box you had to go slightly back to the left to set up for the next right hander which was very open and tightened up at the end. From here it was a straight shot down the course to a decreasing left sweeper then a short straight back up to another right pin cone then straight through the finish. This made for a shorter course than the last even because it didn’t utilize the lower portion of the lot but it made for a smoother course.

Lining up in grid is when I first realized that besides the four regulars in STX we have 2 others here today (plus a few more running in novice class). The cars in my class are two WRX’s, a Mini S, Acura RSX-S, Honda Prelude and my DSM.

After six runs I still finish fourth in my class but with a good drop in the time difference from the other events this year. I was well over a second from third at the first event, 0.927s from third at the third event and 0.283s from third at this event. Still wanting to improve more, I asked one of the better locals to ride with me on my last run. He was able to reinforce some of the things I was doing right and point out what really needed to be worked on. On top of this he offered for me to ride with him when he ran in the next run group. I couldn’t pass this up even if for no other reason than to get to ride in the Lotus Elise while it was being autocrossed (I have driven a different Elise before, Series 1 right hand drive version). I plan to have him ride with me early in the runs at the next event so I have a chance to capitalize on his advice.

All together it was a very fun event and it turned out to be a nice day even though they had given a 60% chance of rain. There are fewer pictures this time around because I came across a video camera but here are a few that I have and if I ever figure out how to do anything with video I’ll post them somewhere too.

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My car next to the Elise.

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[Greg Collier]

Great photos! That's really good that your times are dropping each run. I used to have a hell of a time bettering my last couple of run times in my auto-x days. That's also smart to be driving with someone else and getting a different perspective and seeing how their driving skills differ from yours. It's definitely a lot different being in the passenger seat...

Keep up the good work!

 

[Zero Bar]

Looks like a good time. You'll have some tough competition in STX with the wrx's but you can beat them.

 

[mavisky]

Stx can be a tough class depending on where you're at, but congrats on doing as good as you are. The more you drive the faster you'll get. Experience is often the deciding factor at autox's.

 

[sean]

I wouldn't mind co-driving one of the WRX's (or have one of the drivers co-drive my DSM) at an event to see what the difference is. At the second Southeast Divisional, one of them finished second and at the third SE Divisional the same one finished fourth while the other one finished first and the Mini-S finished fifth. These are the actual cars and drivers in my class finishing at the SE Divisionals, so I consider them good competition to have to chase all year.

It is different from the passenger seat, my favorite was probably at the school when I got to be a passenger in my own car.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[Zero Bar]

It is different from the passenger seat, my favorite was probably at the school when I got to be a passenger in my own car.

Thanks for the comments.

Yes it is!! If you can get a really good driver, like an ex national champ or just an experienced instructor it's an enlightening experience when they embarrass your time in your own car.