Autocross is boring now Options

[oiml8]

SO TRY ROAD RACING. OMG, I went to an autox event yesterday that was held at a the Waterford Hills Raceway. It was put on by the Corvette Club. I went to one last year that was put on by the SCCA and they had the course so coned off that it was actually more dangerous IMO. At that event there were about 5 crashes. At this event yesterday there were none. And my speeds were over 80 miles an hour. Yeah man, that's right!!! Over 80. I was near the rev limiter in 3rd gear. HAHAHAHA. They only had the course conned off in the most dangerous areas but still allowed you to keep your speed up. I think I finished 3rd or 4th in CMT, which an EP car could race in if this were SCCA. Their classifications are way different in terms of modifications allowed.

So, talk about feeling the G's. Talk about butterflies in the gut. Sweaty palms and after lap jitters. OMG. I think I found a new form of racing to do. Unless they start running all autox events on road courses.

[Bobzilla]

And that is why I wanna do One Lap. What do you say we do it in two years? A brace of Hyundai's competeing in the Economy car class?

[cobas]

Dude, I don't think it's surprising that road course racing is more fun than autocross, but if you screw up in autocross, you eat a cone and ruin your run. If you screw up when you're going 80 braking into a corner.....uh....

[Bobzilla]

. . . KABOOM! But it'd be a fun kaboom!

[cobas]

They usually require roll cages for that reason I thought

[SWortham]

Road racing is fun, eh? I love how much seat time you can get at a road course vs your typical autocross. It's a constant level of intense driving at the limit, finding your braking points, turn-in points, apexes, etc. And trying to improve at every lap, catching up to those ahead of you and waiting for a "point by" to pass them in a straight. Then pushing a little too hard through a double apex corner, getting it wrong with one rear wheel in the grass, upsetting the car and sending it into a 70 mph spin. Ahh, good times.

The track I went to had a long enough straight for the Elantra to get to 90. It was a racing school type of event. Then I did it again in the Subie. Both events were awesome.

It depends on the track and on the event but usually the HPDE's, Time Trials, and such are safer than you might think. With these type of events there will be limited traffic and strict rules about passing. And at least at the track I go to, if you go off track you're in the grass but there's essentially nothing to hit. I did my two events with a club called Apex Driving Academy. They've been holding school day events at this track for the past couple years at least and they hold the amazing statistic of never having an accident during any of their school events.

But when you graduate to true wheel-to-wheel racing then the risk and the cost of the sport goes up. That's a little bit too risky (and expensive) for me. I'm still interested in Time Trials though.

The other thing I really want to do is a Hill Climb event. Obviously it's very different from anything I've done but it looks like the most fun out of practically any form of racing I've seen. Sometimes it's done on dirt, and sometimes on tarmac. But it's different from a rally event because it's typically shorter and doesn't require a co-driver. The risk is pretty high with this type of event though but at least there'd be no traffic to contend with and your own safety is all in your own hands.
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They usually require roll cages for that reason I thought

In certain classes of racing they do, especially with convertibles. But there are many that don't.

This post has been edited by SWortham: Jul 5 2007, 12:42 PM