BMW CCA Autocross 3

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This was the third Autocross event of the year for the Peachtree Chapter of the BMW CCA and my second try at AutoX. This was also my first opportunity to have a passenger. My Turkish daughter and wife joined me at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the morning runs. My daughter loved it and did great, my wife on the other hand got a bit car sick and bailed after her third ride.

Another first, was my first DNF for missing a gate. I ended the day with a DNF in the first and third runs of the day. In the third run, I also managed to take out a cone. By the end of the morning, I was feeling pretty good with the course and laid down a final lap that put me in 2nd place in my class. It is always a fun day running AutoX and a great way to safely explore the limits of your car.

Driving Autocross For The First Time

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Last weekend I did my first Autocross event and it is a totally different experience than driving on a track. Walking the course before we started running allowed me to look at how I might set the car up for the next gate. The challenge is at a walking pace it is easy to say I will put the car here so I can take a straighter line through the next gate, but once you are at speed that next gate is there before you know it. I took it pretty easy for my first run to learn the course:

Going a little faster in the second run and getting a bit more comfortable in the slalom sections. You really have to look down course to set your self up for the next section which hard to do.

After a couple of solo runs to see how I could do on my own, I picked up an instructor to get come pointers on improving my runs. At the end of the session, my instructor said that I had a good grasp of the course and he wasn’t scared riding with me like he typically is with first timers.

On my second instructed run, I was able to pick up some more speed thanks to plenty of tips on where to point the car, when to hit the gas and when to brake.

Back on my own and still picking up some time over the last run. I started to focus on the tip my instructor gave me to try to have my side mirrors go over the top of the cones. This was a good way to get close to the cones without hitting them.

Finally got a clean run without hitting any cones while still pushing the car pretty hard. The car certainly has more in it and it is only limited by my autocross skills at this point.

My last run was the best of the day and left me wanting more. I was still 10 seconds off the pace of the fast cars but feel really good about my first day of Autocross. Looking forward to the next event!