Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Autocross and Open Track Drivers school - slalom in Huntsville, AL 3/23-3/35

Direct from the http://www.teamtac.org website:

The Performance Driving School
March 23, 24, and 25, 2001
Learn more about car handling and driving from North Alabama's premier car club.
Friday - March 23, 2001 - Classroom Session - Mr. Gatti's 4315 University Drive Huntsville Al. Registration begins at 6pm with instruction at 7pm. Instructors to go over performance driving techniques in a classroom session.

Saturday - March 24, 2001 - Driving Session - John Hunt Park (old Huntsville Airport) Registration/Tech Inspection begins at 8am with driving instruction at 9am. Instructors work with you to learn performance-driving techniques on a closed course.

Sunday - March 25, 2001 - Competition Session - John Hunt Park (old Huntsville Airport) Registration/Tech Inspection begins at 8am with driving practice at 9am. Students, using skills learned Friday and Saturday, to compete against the clock on a closed course.
Cost for the entire weekend only $25 !!!
(all you need to bring is a valid drivers license and your car)
Drivers under age 19 need to have a signed parental consent form before driving. Forms will be available on Friday evening so that you will be ready for driving Saturday and Sunday.


------------------
Matthew W. Campbell
1999 SVT #220
"NT4UA"
bigMoney Racing

Wow! An entire weeked of autocross instruction for $25! All you CEGrs in Bama and any neighboring state should jump on this.


------------------
John Coffey
johnc@betamotorsports.com

How did it go Matt? That was a good price for 3 days!!! I had to work.

------------------
Kickimus Maximas Buttimus
98 EO SVT Toreador Red
01 F-150 W/ 2 horse/habit

It was good. There were about 60 or so participants with varying degrees of experience ranging in age from 16 to 60. Friday night was two hours of classroom orientation learning terminology, and preparation for the courses we'd be practicing with on Saturday. The four instructional courses were the figure 8, the triangle, the slalom, and the kidney bean. The group was split into 4 groups based on chassis layout/power and we rotated on each course throughout the day. Sunday was essentially an autocross but no points were scored so for the SCCA folks (like me) it was a testing day. The main purpose was for the people just doing the school to implement strategies learned on Saturday in a timed environment.

All in all it was a good weekend and definitely money well spent. Heck for $25 it's a no brainer. My only gripe isn't anything specific to the group running the show but some organizers in general. When they say be there by 9:30 then by God I'm there by 9:30. Then you get there and wait around until noon before the first car is off! So for 2 and a half hours you're sitting around waiting for all the straglers to get their lazy butts to the track. If this is truly important then make the sacrifice once a month to get up before noon on Sunday! Of course if the organizers would do the right thing and (a)send all those late folks home or (b)have the check-in time closer to the start time then life would be MUCH better.

On Sunday I showed up at 9:00 (they said to be there by 9:30) but the first car wasn't off until after 12, and they were letting people in as late as 11:30. The guy doing the right thing always gets screwed. So anyway, there are two run groups of about 25 drivers each and by the time both groups get 3 runs each (after swapping working/driving assignments) it is 3p.m. Then they take a lunch break (because some of them had been there since 7 or 8) and at 3:30 the rotation starts again. It was going to be after 6p.m. before the thing was over and everyone had 6 runs. I left at the lunch break.

The exception to this incredibly wasteful schedule (from my limited autox experience) has been the Wiregrass region. Now THAT is the way to run an event.

------------------
Matthew W. Campbell
1999 SVT #220
"NT4UA"
bigMoney Racing

Heh Matt, we had a pretty big delay in starting our event too. The big regions are always going to take a long time to run an event due to the number of drivers/cars.

We never get large turn-outs but the modded Celica GT-S and his brother with the modded Eclipse are both talking about showing up again on April 8th. The Audi A-6 turbo guy has also ordered Kuhmo Victoracers. I saw your projected schedule on your web site and you are going to go through plenty of tires I suspect. Your web site is kind of cool BTW.

Meant to mention that back in 92, I think, I attended a Ford-sponsored event at Auburn, where you attend, in which they let college kids drive a Probe GT on a small autocross course. Only problem besides the dinky course was it was an auto and you were not allowed outside the automatics 1st gear. They had us there as SCCA workers for safety and presumeably insurance reasons. I noticed your web site said something about an Auburn Sports Car Club. Do you hold events up there?

Kickimus Maximas Buttimus
98 EO SVT Toreador Red
01 F-150 W/ 2 horse/habit

[This message has been edited by SVTCole (edited March 29, 2001).]

Hold events? Hardly. This group can't even get together to GO to events. Not once have any of these so called "car guys" gone to an auto-x. Of course how could they go? They're too busy slapping stickers all over their Civics and P-O-S RX7's to get that extra horsepower for the next street race. Why race on the track when you can break the law and maybe kill someone while you're racing that Corvette to the next street light?

Their idea is to meet, beat their chests, and basically talk about how their car is the greatest and they are the greatest drivers. Essentially it's who can do the best job of one-upsmanship. It's a joke. The one or two exceptions and not wanting the club to fold keep me involved.

------------------
Matthew W. Campbell
1999 SVT #220
"NT4UA"
bigMoney Racing