John Ryman demonstrates his autocross skills at Spring Fling. Photo by A. Weaver
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John Ryman demonstrates his autocross skills at Spring Fling. Photo by A. Weaver |
The autocross was designed and run by Crown Autocross (no connection) of Kansas City and was well received by both participants and spectators. Set in an old overflow parking lot for a local casino, the staging and spectator areas were at the top of a hill which provided a good view of the action below. The course was of the �race-track� style with traffic cones delimiting the roadway completely from start to finish. A couple of areas probably could have used a few more cones as a few drivers missed a turn, resulting in a �DNF� (did not finish), but this simply added to the challenge of the event.
The technical layout of the course was well thought out. It provided fast areas with well-placed corners to keep the speed in check while at the same time avoiding the many light poles and the dilapidated bus shelter on the lot. Most cars were able to run the entire course in 2nd gear, which provided a top speed of around 35-40 mph.
There were two slaloms in the course. The second of these, which led from the back of the lot toward the finish line, was pretty straightforward and everyone ran it the same way. The other, however, was a bit more challenging.
The first contained three cones, which meant you would end up on the same side of the course at the end of the slalom as you did when you started it. When evaluating a slalom for an autocross, drivers will often note what follows it so they can be in the better position for the next turn. This is where this three-cone slalom proved to be so challenging.
| These are the kinds of decisions that result in a fun autocross |
Just before this slalom was a hard, ninety-degree left turn. Since the cars normally end up on the outside of a turn, this put them on the right of the first cone in the slalom. This meant you could basically drive straight through the first two cones, make one steering correction to the right and then pass the last cone on the right. This method would result in a faster overall speed through the slalom. Unfortunately, this put you in a bad position for the next turn, which was a hard, ninety-degree turn to the right.
The other option is to take the first cone on the left, which would place you on the left of the last cone in a good position to take that hard right turn. But to do that meant get to the left of the course and then put in two steering corrections - one to the right to pass through cones 1 and 2, and another to the left to pass through cones 2 and 3. The result would be a slower overall speed through the slalom.
So the choices were: faster through the slalom but slower through the next corner, or slower through the slalom but faster through the next corner. These are the kinds of decisions that result in a fun autocross.
What were the results? Based on scrub marks left on the pavement, the majority of the drivers opted to take the first cone on the left. However, most of the faster drivers took the first cone on the right.
Which did I choose? I took the first cone on the right, and I had good times, too. Good enough, in fact, for fourth-place in class - IF I hadn�t hit a cone or two. My times for my second and third runs were both 41.8+ seconds. But I hit one cone on my second run and two cones on my third. Each cone adds 2 seconds to your time, so I was out of the running. (My first time was 44+ seconds.)
So congratulations to KC for a fine autocross. Look for the final results in the �Alfa Owner.�
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