Slipstream - June 2011

Getting a Grip
By Travis Howard
The Autocross School this year was
held in April at one of the Ball Park
in Arlington’s parking lots. Since
last year, the school got a new name, new
location, and better weather. This year
the autocross school became The Get a
Grip Autocross Academy, pretty snazzy,
right? Instead of the Pennington Field
lot, we went bigger with the Ball Park in Arlington. And
instead of the
cold, ice or snow
in February, we
had sunshine
and temperature
in the upper
seventies.
Twenty-one
drivers enrolled
for the experience
and chance to
see what their
cars could do in an autocross environment. The students
would get one-on-one instruction from some of the best.
Photos by Avery Murphy
There were multiple AX Top Driver winners and even DE
instructors such as Bryan Bell there to share their experience
and knowledge with the students.
In the morning while the exercises were being set up,
I had a chance to survey the paddock. Lined up were
Porsche models
ranging from the
914 (known as
one of the best
autocross weapons
in the right hands),
to a 930 Turbo
which would be a
handful on the tight
autocross course. We also had a sprinkling of
newer water cooled Porsches. On the other end
of the spectrum was a Cayenne shared by Jerry
and Myra Sutton.
Okay down to business. The students were
split into two groups and matched to their
instructors. One group would start with the
Braking and Slalom exercises while the other group got
acquainted with the Skid Pad. The instructor drives the car
first to demonstrate the correct technique, then the student
takes over.
The Braking exercise teaches threshhold braking. The
student accelerates at maximum speed and determines were
they must start
braking to stop at
an identified spot
using maximum
braking without
locking up the
wheels or having
the ABS in newer
cars come on.
Half the fun is the gathering...
The slalom
exercise is always one of the favorites. Here the student
has a choice of an increasing (cone spacing gets wider),
constant (cone spacing does not change), and a chicane (an
offset pair of gates similar to changing lanes on the highway
quickly).
The Skid Pads are a test of car physics. The student drives
around the Skid Pad as fast as possible using the throttle to
steer the car around the circle.
The afternoon was a chance to put the practiced skills to
use. While one group of students ran the autocross course
the other group worked the corners with their instructors.
They had an excellent vantage point to observe the car as
28