eclipsh
20+ Year Contributor
- 1,608
- 65
- Jun 16, 2005
-
Durango,
Colorado
Ever since last October when I did my first SOLO 2 event I've been jonsing for another shot at it. This weekend I got my second and third times out in the cones and I have to say it was worth the wait.
I had my alarm set for quarter-to-seven Saturday morning but I couldn't wait for it to go off. The excitement had me up and running by six, coffee in hand. I worked Friday night so on my way to the site I did my last minute emptying of the car and stopped off to buy a floppy hat for what promised to be a very sunny day.
The hour drive to get to Farmington had cooled me down from anxious anticipation to a steady grin. As I caught sight of the cone-laden parking lot a thrill raced through me again. I was grinning ear-to-ear and couldn't wait to go test my mettle. After parking my car I popped the hood and trunk and headed for the registration table.
It was there that my excitement hit a brick wall. I had made a mistake reading the registration costs. I had brought exactly $35 in cash only to find the fee was $40. I was stuck. No check book and they didn't take plastic. What to do....
After talking to the registration desk I found out it was $50 to register for both days. I promised to bring them the remainder on Sunday and they let me sign up. I was a brief tech inspection away from competition.
As I waited... and waited... and waited for the busy tech inspectors to arrive I went in search of someone who could place me in the right class. After not finding anyone I wandered back to the hood of my car to do my own pre-tech inspection and found a reason to panic. While I think my Coke-bottle oil catch-can is a hoot, I wasn't so sure the inspector would agree. Would he disqualify me? What if I had to make a last-minute scramble to change it out? Would I be able to compete at all? Not knowing the answers I decided my best option was to try and hide it from prying eyes. I tucked it underneath my upper intercooler line and hoped...
Meanwhile, time marched on and the mandatory driver's meeting and course walk through for novices was announced. The tech inspectors were still two cars away from me. I decided to wait by my car for them to do there check before I raced over to the meetings. I don't know if it was because they were in a rush and missed it or if they just didn't care, but my car passed inspection, Coke bottle and all. I got the go and made it over to the meeting which if you've ever been through one is very dull the second, third etc. times through but still a good refresher for us beginners.
The course walk-through after the meeting was invaluable. Two of the more experienced drivers took us through the course on foot and explained to us which cones we wanted to focus on to make a smooth, fast run. The first couple times through are very confusing and it is easy to get lost in the jumble of "gates" and "pointers." I'd gone once before and I was still a little lost out on the course.
After our walk-through was done we headed back to our cars and lined up to run. There were two packs for the day, one running in the morning, one in the afternoon. We both worked the course opposite of our run times. I was sheduled for the morning group on Saturday. We flip-flopped on Sunday.
I was in 18th position to run the course so I had a few minutes to go snap some pictures and watch a few old hands go over the course. Unfortunately I had left my digital camera in the car over-night and the cold completely drained the battery. No photos for Saturday. I did get to watch a few people go through the course and found a loaner helmet that fit me while I was up at the start line.
As my turn came up to race I got a few butterflies again. I promised myself to take it slow the first run through and learn the course. I pulled up to the start line, got the go and took off. I took the first two turns and couldn't help myself. I hit full throttle and took off. Almost immediately I had to slam on the breaks and come to a screeching halt as I narrowly avoided missing a gate on a 90 degree left turn. Feeling a little foolish, I backed off for the rest of the run, still managing to understeer on a few corners and narrowly missing a few more gates. Believe me, autocross is much harder than it looks. I have immense respect for the true pro's out there that make it look so easy. I managed to finish my first run without hitting any cones with a time of 78.xxx seconds. The best times for the day were in the mid 50's.
That was my last complete run of the day. Every other time I mannaged to DNF (did not finish) by missing a gate or two. My last run I saw the gate I kept missing right as it went past my passenger window. What a disappointment. I still had fun, but it was more frustrating than anything else. By the time I worked the course in the afternoon I was wiped out. Even with my floppy hat on and sunscreen I was still a little sunburned and just plain exhausted. I was half-asleep on the way home. After a couple of beers at home I was out cold, dreaming of a better second day, this time with my wife along for good luck.
I had my alarm set for quarter-to-seven Saturday morning but I couldn't wait for it to go off. The excitement had me up and running by six, coffee in hand. I worked Friday night so on my way to the site I did my last minute emptying of the car and stopped off to buy a floppy hat for what promised to be a very sunny day.
The hour drive to get to Farmington had cooled me down from anxious anticipation to a steady grin. As I caught sight of the cone-laden parking lot a thrill raced through me again. I was grinning ear-to-ear and couldn't wait to go test my mettle. After parking my car I popped the hood and trunk and headed for the registration table.
It was there that my excitement hit a brick wall. I had made a mistake reading the registration costs. I had brought exactly $35 in cash only to find the fee was $40. I was stuck. No check book and they didn't take plastic. What to do....
After talking to the registration desk I found out it was $50 to register for both days. I promised to bring them the remainder on Sunday and they let me sign up. I was a brief tech inspection away from competition.
As I waited... and waited... and waited for the busy tech inspectors to arrive I went in search of someone who could place me in the right class. After not finding anyone I wandered back to the hood of my car to do my own pre-tech inspection and found a reason to panic. While I think my Coke-bottle oil catch-can is a hoot, I wasn't so sure the inspector would agree. Would he disqualify me? What if I had to make a last-minute scramble to change it out? Would I be able to compete at all? Not knowing the answers I decided my best option was to try and hide it from prying eyes. I tucked it underneath my upper intercooler line and hoped...
Meanwhile, time marched on and the mandatory driver's meeting and course walk through for novices was announced. The tech inspectors were still two cars away from me. I decided to wait by my car for them to do there check before I raced over to the meetings. I don't know if it was because they were in a rush and missed it or if they just didn't care, but my car passed inspection, Coke bottle and all. I got the go and made it over to the meeting which if you've ever been through one is very dull the second, third etc. times through but still a good refresher for us beginners.
The course walk-through after the meeting was invaluable. Two of the more experienced drivers took us through the course on foot and explained to us which cones we wanted to focus on to make a smooth, fast run. The first couple times through are very confusing and it is easy to get lost in the jumble of "gates" and "pointers." I'd gone once before and I was still a little lost out on the course.
After our walk-through was done we headed back to our cars and lined up to run. There were two packs for the day, one running in the morning, one in the afternoon. We both worked the course opposite of our run times. I was sheduled for the morning group on Saturday. We flip-flopped on Sunday.
I was in 18th position to run the course so I had a few minutes to go snap some pictures and watch a few old hands go over the course. Unfortunately I had left my digital camera in the car over-night and the cold completely drained the battery. No photos for Saturday. I did get to watch a few people go through the course and found a loaner helmet that fit me while I was up at the start line.
As my turn came up to race I got a few butterflies again. I promised myself to take it slow the first run through and learn the course. I pulled up to the start line, got the go and took off. I took the first two turns and couldn't help myself. I hit full throttle and took off. Almost immediately I had to slam on the breaks and come to a screeching halt as I narrowly avoided missing a gate on a 90 degree left turn. Feeling a little foolish, I backed off for the rest of the run, still managing to understeer on a few corners and narrowly missing a few more gates. Believe me, autocross is much harder than it looks. I have immense respect for the true pro's out there that make it look so easy. I managed to finish my first run without hitting any cones with a time of 78.xxx seconds. The best times for the day were in the mid 50's.
That was my last complete run of the day. Every other time I mannaged to DNF (did not finish) by missing a gate or two. My last run I saw the gate I kept missing right as it went past my passenger window. What a disappointment. I still had fun, but it was more frustrating than anything else. By the time I worked the course in the afternoon I was wiped out. Even with my floppy hat on and sunscreen I was still a little sunburned and just plain exhausted. I was half-asleep on the way home. After a couple of beers at home I was out cold, dreaming of a better second day, this time with my wife along for good luck.
Seeing so many of you guys out there taking it to the track makes me feel like we're really accomplishing something out there. Keep it up 
