How not to get lost

[mroberts]

I understand that  SASCA used to have drive throughs -- before my time. You won't find a drive through at any SCCA event, so I'm opposed to having them at SASCA.

On the subject of lined courses, I just have two comments.
1.) a well designed course (i.e. no sea of cones) shouldn't need to be lined.
2.) there is no substitue for walking the course.

[Phil Weber]

We used to run a drive-through (back when we had fewer entrants).  However, as the number of drivers increased, it began to take up too much time (20-30 minutes chewed up to get everyone to their car and crammed into the grid area, run through in groups (crossovers limit how many cars can go at once), get the people in the first run group to grid - of course there are so many cars waiting to do their drivethrough they cannot grid, get the people not running to park their cars in the other lot - but they can't get out of the lot because people are trying to grid up and others are trying to park, and finally gather up and send out course workers).

I also cannot count the number of times I watched 15 people follow someone through the course incorrectly - not very beneficial for avoiding DNFs.  The BoD decided for 2004 we would not being doing drive throughs.

[DOHCside]

I am by no means a veteran auto-x'er, so I don't have years of experience to pull from, but of the different auto-x events I have been to, (FSAE, Atlanta SCCA, SPOKES, and SASCA), SASCA has the easiest-to-follow courses.  Some of that is becasue the courses are pretty short (30 secs to 1 minute), and they aren't in a huge lot, where you can get the "sea of cones".  Some of the Atlanta courses are over a minute and a half long, so there is plenty to remember.

Would lines help reduce the anxiety of the new auto-x'ers?  Maybe, but it would really do little to improve their driving skills.  As Phil said, you can't drive fast if you are trying to react to the course.

As far as the reference to race tracks and walk throughs, 3 to 8 times on an auto-x course, spread over the better part of a day, doesn't really compare to 10-20 continuous laps around a racetrack.  And even still, people that have never driven on that particular track before, tend to take the first few laps a tad slower until they get up to a comfortable pace.  And most of the bigger race events (F1, CART, NASTYCAR, etc.),  have qualifying runs, therefore no need for "walk-throughs"...

[eek97lipse]

nastycar.. lol  i've called it that for years.. but watkins glen is next week!
plus, a track is not a parking lot, if you get lost on a track, well.....  most of the drive-thru on that is to find the line, no?

but a few walkthru's on an autox course, and it shouldnt be that difficult, especially if you DNF on your first run and realize where you're messing up.  as for n00bs, well, thats what kevin (and the rest of the experienced people) are for.. we dont mind helping, do  we?

[JohnB]

FWIW, I've never found the drive thru's helpful at learning or remembering the course.  Probably because they are follow the leader and not at speed.