What is Autocross?

Autocross, at its essence, is very simple. It's motorsports for the masses. Anyone can come out, with virtually any car, and test their driving skills in a safe, controlled manner. My favourite description of what exactly it is comes from Dennis Grant, one of the founders of the Street Modified class:

"The basic concept is simple: take a large paved area. Describe, on its surface, a race course, marked off with traffic cones and flour lines. Place a timer at the start and finish, and one car at a time, drive through as fast as you possibly can. Hit a cone and get two seconds added to your time. The track is never the same twice from event to event. There are no practice runs. We run rain or shine. In Formula One terms, an autocross is like bringing your team to a track (which was completely torn down and rebuilt from the last time you were here) and you get three qualifying laps from standing starts (each one!) on cold tires (no tire warmers allowed). The next day, you do the same thing, but in the opposite direction, and then the track owner rips up the track and starts building a new one. Six runs total (generally three runs for one day events), best one each day counts. This all makes for a sport that is very different from any other style of motorsport. On the whole, it is less expensive and less dangerous than other forms, as there is very little chance of crashing into something hard, and speeds tend to be slower. On the other hand, it demands a very high level of aggressiveness and driver precision - you have to be instantly fast, and everything must go right, right away. There is just no margin for error. Races are won and lost by thousandths of a second, and the mental pressure can be enormous."

Is it Dangerous?

Just like any other form of motorsports, Solo II has some element of risk. However, the SCCA has specific rules defined to make an event as safe as possible and, in general, Solo II is at least as safe as driving on the street. Usually, there are no more than three cars on a course at a given time, and that's only when the course allows sufficient separation. Workers are positioned around the course with fire extinguishers and red flags to inform cars when there's a problem. Courses are designed so that if a car does lose control, or spin, there's nothing even close to it that could be hit. Spectators are only allowed in certain areas around a course. Kids under 12 are not allowed in hot areas, which include grid, pre-start, course, and impound. Be aware that other organizations have differing rules, and many are not as safe as an SCCA event.

Don't expect much in the Beginning...

Out on the street, we all think we're the best drivers. And who wouldn't? There's no evidence to the contrary, so we get to think whatever we want. Often someone new checks out an autocross and thinks it doesn't look like that big of a deal. Driving is a lot different than watching. Once you get to the start line, and there's a big sea of cones in front of you, things change. For those of you who may be nervous or a bit intimidated already (hopefully you're not!) the next couple sentences are not for you. For the street racer or canyon cruiser or spirited street driver, read on. Here's the first step. Check your ego in at the gate. Assume you can't drive, because chances are, compared to a seasoned autocrosser, you can't. This isn't a hit or a knock on your driving skills, because we all start out at this point. We all think we're the greatest, and then we get out there on course, see our times, and realize we're not. The best things you can do are listen to the experienced people around you, pay attention during the course walk, and take advice. Your goals for a first autocross should be to stay on course and, if you can do that, improve your time by the end of the day. At this point, the car you drive, or what modifications it has won't really matter. In fact, having a modified car will only hurt as it may mask things you may be doing slowly. The primary limiting factor will be the driver. As you get better, you will be able to truly take advantage of making the car better. A couple of mantras you will probably hear repeated in one form or another, but won't really "get" for awhile:

"Slow down to go faster"
The beginner usually tries to be too fast in the slow parts of a course, and too slow in the fast stuff.

"In like a lamb, out like a lion"
Generally, late apexing is the only answer.

Walking the Course

Your goal when walking the course is twofold. To commit the entire course to memory so you can go through it in your head at "full speed", and to choose the line through the course that you think will be the fastest and be able to do it without thinking. So walk the course twice. Generally try to focus on what you're doing and have enough clear area ahead of you so that you can see what the course will look like when you drive it. Break the course up into sections and try to analyze the entire section as a whole to determine where you want the car to be at each turn. Memorize it, play it back through your head, and go!

SCCA Solo II Classing Structure

Cars are classed in the SCCA first by modifications and second by the cars' set of traits and capabilities. Each rule-set is strict; in other words, if it doesn't say that you CAN do it, than you CAN NOT do it and remain legal for the class. The general progression of levels of modifications is as follows: Stock, Street Touring, Street Prepared, Street Modified, Prepared, and Modified. Note that this is not a linear progression. Everything, for instance, that is legal for Street Prepared is not necessarily legal for Prepared. Once a car is placed in one of these categories, it's placed in a specific class along with other cars that perform similarly.