Long course auto-x @ Devens
 

The is a long course setup with a local auto-x club. They tend to use less cones than a typical SCCA style course and the courses tend to be faster but they will do tricky things that are visually deceiving to make sure you are paying attention.

I was behind by a second against my best clean run of the morning, but I had a raw time that was ahead so I knew it was out there. This was what would be my FTD run. You can hear I'm on the limiter just about everywhere.

That looks like it was a blast! Where was this event?

That it was, I was very tired last night. It is at the retired Moore Army Airfield in Ayer Massachusetts.

wow, that is a fast course. looks intense.

Mind pm'ing me some info about this Chris? I live 30 mins from there, and have to go on the post from time to time.

Nice driving, Chris. Do you get sick of all the slaloms they put in there? It seemed like constant left-right-left-right...

We're fortunate here as our favorite local group really makes interesting courses. Overdoing the slaloms saps the fun I find.

I am with Spearfish, way too many slalom cones. I have a headache even watching it. Great driving, you were right up against the cones.

Devens and I don't do well together. Every time I go, something bizarre happens.

The course designers don't like to use a lot of cones, and the course layout options are somewhat limited by the pavement. So yes there is a lot of back and forth but technically only 2 slaloms, the rest of it has a varied pacing and direction. If you think about it most auto-x "elements" like chicago box, tear drop etc, only have a couple of key cones, the rest is just eye candy.

I just want to know if you were dizzy afterward, because i'm dizzy watching it.

Yeah Devens is tough given the layout. We had the same problem at Thompson last month. The place was big, but mostly of long but narrow strips that doesn't allow for many side to side action

I might have made a few passengers dizzy but I never get dizzy driving, I'm usually too busy concentrating on where I need to place the car 3 gates from now.

Something bizarre always happens at Devens, guaranteed. The guy that comes up from NY with his supercharged Z06 breaks his car just about every time, yet has it fixed by the end of the day, runs and drives home. Yesterday we had at least 5 cars break and get repaired and a Viper run over the wire for the timing light (fortunately missing the light itself).

Damn Vipers!

The last four times I have been up

#1 Event cancelled due to thunderstorm with no refund after I had worked for 2 hours in the sun and had no runs

#2 Everyone says they get 5-8 runs of 60 sec+ , I got 3 runs of 35 sec

#3 I hope to get to a bigger lot to avoid slaloms, yet every course I ran there had tons of slaloms.

#4 I had to autox in the dark because they ran so late for 3 runs!!!!

Sounds like you were going to SCCA events. The SVT event Saturday had 10 runs on a 100 second course and we were done by 4pm. If it wasn't for a couple of car breakdowns in the middle of the course we would have been done earlier. They limit the signup to 55 cars where as SCCA can have over 100.

I'm going to the SCCA event at this same location tomorrow... first racing I've ever done. EVER. Novice C Stock :)

Tips are appreciated!
Big question: do you recommend me leaving VDC on since I'm a newbie?

Maybe for the first run, you can't learn anything other than where you are going on the course with the VDC on.

:iagree:

For the first run it will be just fine as you will be mostly focused on staying on course rather than trying to go fast. Turn the VDC off as soon as you feel comfortable or start to feel it intervene more than you think it should (like run #2). Tomorrow is SCCA if I'm not mistaken. Too bad you didn't sign up for ours instead, you would have got a lot more seat time to learn.

Thanks. What do you mean "ours"? More info for the future please? Going tomorrow to this SCCA event because a bunch of people from the UMass Motorsport club are going. We're leaving in a big convoy which sounds like a good time to me regardless :)

Good luck getting help from SCCA, not a great place for beginners. I personally didn't get better until I got out of them and joined the locals instead. I made my one and only two hours drive for autox this year, no way I am getting up at 6AM for those things again.

With friends there you will have fun regardless, but the SCCA events are a little too formal.

If you look on motorsportreg.com you will see 3 clubs that I run with. Those are NE-SVT, TCUSA (Track Club USA) and BSCC (Bay State Corvette).

These 3 clubs are for the most part run by the same people just attract slightly different cars aside from the core group. They are all very novice friendly and have plenty of instructors on hand. The car count is kept low in order to keep the number of runs high. They also typically run a longer course than SCCA.

Here's today's video:

It looks a lot more technical and faster than what I did last weekend

0911 AMEC Autox 370z - YouTube

I need that mini pike at the start too to chase people!

That looked like auto-x NASCAR style.

Here's what our course was like in the wet. I was still on slicks hoping it would dry out.

Haha, yeah. I think it had a total of 8 turns or something, but what are you going to do with a short oval and no timing system that allows it to run two cars. It was fun nontheless, haven't hit 79mph at an autox since Thompson

Nice run in the rain

My first autocross event was today. SO FUN.

http://www.the370z.com/members/eazyd...autox-370z.jpg

It was the SCCA Attack of the Cones Event #8 at the Devens Airfield in Mass. I was listed as first place in Novice class and then for whatever reason they later disqualified that fastest lap. I still don't know why. For an hour or two I was thinking I would walk home a hero with a trophy. :shakes head: Still had fun though :) Oil temps were fine, stayed in the top of second gear the whole lap.

EDIT: Yes, that's a the370z.com decal on my quarter window - and yes I wore my the370z.com t-shirt today :tup:

Video coming soon...

It's SCCA, someone probably protested over your sticker. (I am not joking either)

Glad you had fun. Was Barb running registration (middle aged long blonde hair)? She drives a stock 88 Black Corvette.

SCCA takes down the data in 2 places, both on the computer and by hand. It is possible that when they were correlating the two that they found a cone.

The wet run looks even more fun than the dry one :). Nice traction recoveries there, especially that one near the beginning.

I always have fun driving auto-x in the wet. I was finding it particularly challenging as I had more front grip than rear due to the fact that I couldn't get any temperature into the wide rear tires.

Yes Barb was running registration. Even if I hit a cone, it would only add 2 seconds. This was a DNF. I was super sad. There was a printout after my heat and my name was on top with my fast time (72.999) for Novice class. The whole time I was working the course during heat 2, I was super excited I won. Then I found out the run was DNF. I don't get it. It makes me not want to compete anymore

Either someone called you off-course and you weren't or you were off-course and didn't realize it.

How many runs did you get in your heat?

I would tell you to come out next Saturday except I don't think I'll be able to make that one - maybe ... we'll see.

I could have easily started the last slalom on the wrong side.

I got 6 runs in (three in the morning, three in the afternoon) in heat 1. Heat 2 did three in the morning and maybe 5 or 6 in the afternoon.

It was a lonnnnnnggg day working the course and waiting for my turn. left here at 6AM and got back at 7:30PM.

This looks like a lot more fun than the course I had at the SCCA event. I was just confused for a lot of runs and never got out of second gear.

What is the maintenance like for someone driving so many auto crosses as you with your 370Z? I'm even afraid to do this a second time..

6 run is a good day at SCCA. I only got 6 runs Sunday too, but I was done by 3PM and we started at 11....