Autocross: Track Day!
Wondering how a typical day of autocross will go? Here is a quick break down of a normal event.
Good Morning
Try not to stay up all night before an autocross, MM meets in the Rockingham parking lot usually between 8-9 a.m. and leaves in a group shortly thereafter. We know its early, but trust us, once you’re there you won’t regret a thing! If you want to spectate, you’re welcome to come down to the event anytime, or if you don’t have a car at school, hitch a ride with someone and tag along.
How Far is it?
There are events from Fairfax to Danville and everywhere in between. The Verona lot is less than 30 minutes from school and has events frequently throughout the season. There are other events within an hour or so from school. The SCCA holds events in Salem, Radford and Danville as well which are between two and three hours from school. MM may not attend these events in as large of numbers, but a few of the diehards are sure to go.
At the Track
MM will usually arrive at the track around 9:30. When you first arrive you’ll want to go up to the registration tent, pay, sign the waiver and get your wrist band. Then you have some time to get set up. Officials will probably still be finalizing the course, keep an eye out for them to finish and see if people start to walk the course.
Walking the course is a way for you to get a feel for the layout of the course before driving it, and begin crafting your approach to each corner. Pair up with another MMer and hear another person’s approach to the course to help you get a feel for what you will do. When you walk, don’t walk in a large pack of people, try to walk in a small group and give the people in front of you plenty of room, this way you can see as much of the course as possible in front of you while you walk it. Sometimes there will be a guided novice walkthrough after the drivers’ meeting. Try to walk the course a few times so that you are comfortable with it before your first run.
Before, during and after you walk the course, you can get your car ready. Remove every loose object from your trunk and interior. Don’t forget the floor mats, and glove box. Check under the seat for any lost soda bottles or pens. This may seem a little excessive, but glove boxes have been known to pop open hitting a hard bump, and you don’t want any loose object or unanchored floor mats interfering with your pedals. Remove your spare tire and jack from the trunk, and tape your numbers and car class onto both sides of your car. After you do all of this you can take your car to technical inspection.
At the tech station they will check your wheels and hubs to make sure there is no play, and your battery to make sure it is secured well. Sometimes they check your brake and throttle pedals and helmet. If there is an issue, be respectful and see if someone can help you resolve it before the event so you can still compete.
The driver’s meeting is usually scheduled for 10:45, and will be announced repeatedly as it approaches. Be sure to attend, they will review scoring and safety procedures, and announce run groups and the run schedule. The first group starts running at 11:00.
During your run group you will move your car from the paddock area where you set your car up and removed all your things to the grid area, where you stage your car and wait for your runs. It is a good idea to let your car reach running temperature before straining it out on course. There will be a grid organizer that will manage your run group and tell you which order to go, follow their instruction and pay attention to them at all times to help things run smoothly.
You will be assigned to drive one group and work the course during another. Then you have one or two groups free to grab lunch and watch the other drivers. After all groups have completed their timed runs, if there is time there will be fun runs. Fun runs are more relaxed, unrecorded opportunities to keep driving the course and are a fantastic opportunity to experiment with some new techniques you were afraid might impact your time. The timing equipment is left standing so you can track your improvement. All driver’s interested in participating in fun runs are split into two groups to alternate driving and working. Each run costs a dollar, so be sure to bring a bunch of dollar bills.
Some events are completely wrapped up by 3:00 p.m. and others can go considerably longer, you can usually expect to be home by dinner time.