bit by the bug... maybe

[drop360]

Hey guys,

I never really had much interest in any kind of motorsports, aside from thinking rally was pretty cool. It seemed pretty out of reach, though, as I didn't have myself a high-powered, all wheel drive and tons of money.

Yesterday, I took a one day course at Team O'Neil rally school. It was AWESOME!! We spent all day with left foot braking sliding around the skid path and slalom course, learned some trail breaking and worked on dialing in pendelum turns. It was badass!

The whole day was spent driving Fiestas, and I feel even more at home now driving my 2. So... I'm wondering. What's the deal with autocross? How much does it cost? What steps do I need to take to participate? How many runs do you normally get? Is it more about best time, or having a friggin' blast?

I love the woods, and I think my heart is still pointed towards rally. But if I can have some of those experiences, and work on my car control/technique and only crash into cones, and not tress and rocks, that might be awesome!

-Matt

 

[Racebrewer]

"The whole day was spent driving Fiestas, and I feel even more at home now driving my 2."

I'll bet you do<LOL> especially if they were stock Fiestas.

I haven't autocrossed in many years but really enjoyed it when I did. And, its pretty darn cheap at the local level. The M2 would be fun to run in AutoX.

The first thing is to find a local club and find the level you want to race in. Stock class or modified, etc, etc. You'll need a rule book and someone to explain it and what you can do. Some mod's are usually allowed and some will move you up a class. Read the rule book very, very closely.

Where are you located?

There are also 'track days' where you can wreck at some of the finest racing facilities in the country.<LOL>

John

 

[GRM Tom]

What's autocross? What's HPDE? Here are a few articles that might be able to help. (Hate to answer with a link, but those are big questions with long answers...)

Spectator to competitor article

Lots more articles about entering the racing world are here. Enjoy, and good luck!

 

[drop360]

Thanks guys!

I live in southern Maine. I've already read some of the links, but I'll have to take some more time with the research. At the moment, I'm not overly excited about paying very close attention to rules regarding parts on my car. Would generic track days be a better fit if I'm just wanting to push the limits of my car and my driving skills? Autocross sounds fun, but looks like it's more about competing and having the best time vs. having fun and enjoying the process of getting better at driving.

 

[GRM Tom]

Autocross is only as serious as you take it. Personally, I enjoy a little competition. On a local level it's pretty low-key, bit when you start competing at a regional or national level it has a different character.

HPDE and track day events offer much more seat time and typically have no competitive aspect, but costs and risks are higher. I've seen nice, new cars become paperweights. You'll also use more tires, brakes, clutch, etc... In the course of a day.

Either solution is a lot of fun. Try them both and see which fits your goals best.

 

[Racebrewer]

Hi.

The sky is the limit. It all comes down to what you want to do and can afford (or not<LOL>). The restricted classes can be more bang for the buck since driving skills come to the surface rather than chasing the latest and greatest mods. On the other hand I like modding cars. Its a vice.......

At New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) they have a bunch of track days and on many of my trips over there (enduro kart racing) they have also been running autoX's in one of their huge parking lots.

New England Region of the SCCA may also have some info.

John

 

[zps2004]

For now I autocross because it costs less. But you can still have a ton of fun or be competitive if you want. At first I just wanted to have fun, but once you start to compare times with other people, the competitive side kicks in some.

I will get into track days in the Miata once I pay off some dept from college.