Autocross #4 - Making us think... by Jan Mayo This was one of those deceiving courses. Walking it you felt like it would be longer than it really was. The first time around the course you felt like you were always a half a thought too late. Then the smart folks got ahead of the car and were reacting to the next action before the last one was done. The first action was a tiny circle about 6 inches from the start line. OK, so that’s an exaggeration, but it DID feel that close. Some people were even staying in first gear. A tip from Charlie Davis was that I was not as aggressive attacking the circle as Ed was. How aggressive can you get in five feet? OK I’ll try it. Photo by Kevin Hardison Jan Mayo leaving her “comfort zone” and pushing it in the first left hander. The short slalom and two left handers were fairly boilerplate. Easy to do, simple for the new folks, but if you set up right, Ed says, nearly flat out! So I tried it. WOW! ! What a ride. The next part was up for debate way into the wee hours of the following week. Again, upon walking it you felt like the option was a no-brainer. You could enter the long curving slalom high and wide (the”long” way) which gave you a faster exit to the finish line, or you could take the other option and take the shorter route which cut out the first cone and also kept you inside the curve. No Brainer = take the short cut even tho that made the finish a tad awkward. Watch the other drivers…. what were they doing? Many took the short route… some took the longer…. WAIT A MINUTE… the longer route WAS faster… Noticeably faster. Let’s try it. Yup feels awkward, nope, don’t like it. Wait a minute, look at the time. hmmmm OK, get out of the comfort zone and work it. For a course that averaged 35 seconds, this one took a lot of thought. Punch the circle, jab the slalom, hang on for the lefts, pray thru the curving slalom, flail thru the finish, breathe …. Whew, it takes longer to read the sentence than it did to drive the course. It was one of those fun, easy, thought provoking, hard courses that make autocrossing one of my most favorite activities. Thanks, Joel, for designing a great course. 1 Sears, Cody 31.470 2 Mayo, Ed 31.878 3 Machala, Chuck 32.129 4 Randall, Rick 32.551 5 Gonzales, Rick 32.600 Top Ten 6 Shoffit, James 32.731 7 Mayo, Jan 32.991 8 Hardison, Kevin33.079 9 Shoffit, Wendy 33.097 10 Leavitt, Tom 33.312 Autocross # 4 - Sunday 6/12/<strong>2005</strong> - Pennington Field Class Number Name Car Time Place Points Class 2 66 Sears, Cody Red 914 31.470 1 9 5 Mayo, Ed Silver 914 31.878 2 7 37 Davis, Charlie Green 914 33.692 3 5 137 Davis, Kevan Green 914 34.092 4 4 95 Howard, Travis Yellow 914 34.323 5 3 48 Floyd, Mike Orange 914 35.879 6 2 Class 2L 4 Mayo, Jan Silver 914 32.991 1 9 Class 3 44 McCoy, Chuck White 944 34.227 1 9 31 Lockas, Mike White 944 34.249 2 7 Class S3L 65 Howard, Robyn Red 944 38.747 1 9 651 Howard, Nicole Red 944 44.230 2 7 Class 4 54 Sutton, Jerry Red 911T 34.932 1 9 Class S4 76 Miller, Bill Brown 911T 36.329 1 9 Class 4L 45 Sutton, Myra Red 911T 34.765 1 9 Class 5 64 Shoffit, James Black 911 SC 32.731 1 9 57 Nannis, Joel Yellow 911S 34.469 2 7 40 Fleming, Jerry Silver 911 SC 34.559 3 5 Class 5L 11 Shoffit, Wendy Black 911 SC 33.097 1 9 Class 6 1 Machala, Chuck Silver Boxster 32.129 1 9 205 Steele, Mark Red 944S2 33.701 2 7 151 Christensen, Steve Plum 911 41.938 3 5 Class S6 501 Snodgrass, Tom Yellow Boxster 34.104 1 9 9 Thaler, Marc Black 944 S2 Cab 38.096 2 7 Class 6L 206 Steele, Lisa Red 944S2 33.756 1 9 15 Burbank, Shelly Plum 911 37.205 2 7 Class 7 242 Shaffer, Darron Green Boxster S 33.347 1 9 Class S7 75X Brady, James Red Carrera 4 36.699 1 9 Class 7L 720 Kavanaugh, Susanna Black Boxster S 36.047 1 9 Class 9 204 Bell, Bryan Silver 996 34.250 1 9 Class 10 111 Hardison, Kevin Blue 914 33.079 1 9 19 Petri, Brian White 914 33.594 2 7 Class 11 30 Leavitt, Tom Tan 944 33.312 1 9 Class 13 911 Kuykendall, Bob Black 911 34.448 1 9 Class 15 332 Leto, John Red 914 35.685 1 9 Class 16 161 Randall, Rick Black 911 Carerra32.551 1 9 21 Gonzales, Rick Yellow 914-6 32.600 2 7 Top Time Of Day Men : Sears, Cody Class 2 Time 31.470 Top Time Of Day Ladies : Mayo, Jan Class 2L Time 32.991 22
Photo by Kevin Hardison Photo by Kevin Hardison Chuck McCoy entering the slalom . . . and yes . . . ...there IS room for a skidpad between him and the Truckster! Brian Petri doing his share to keep the corner workers busy and alert! [Photographers note:: That was apparently my favorite cone as well!] 23
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