Second Gear

So now I've soloed. I learned a lot. The first thing I learned is that you must remember to bring sunscreen (yes that's right I'm all good and lobstered). Autocross is 60% prep/helping 35% free time and 5% driving really hard around ridiculously tight turns. And with my car the 5% in the car provides no shade anyway since the top was down. Only the racing helmet blocked sun from my face (for the 30-40 minutes I wore it.).

The 5% driving however is an opportunity to do all those maneuvers you really wanted to try. The course lasts 60-90 seconds depending on how fast you and your car are. The kind of car you bring is probably less than half the speed too. Lotus Elise's are in the top racing category, and mine only has a few modifications for racing so it's still considered a stock car. I raced in "Super Stock" as a novice. Ironically the guy who won the novice category was driving a Mazda 3. There's quite a bit of skill to this sport and that's one of the reasons I know I'll be back. I love a challenge.

Another thing I learned was that the previous owner had put the front tires on backwards... and I hadn't noticed. (doh!) Luckily with the help of another driver who had extra tires for his Elise, I managed to correct that. Changing a tire is easy, but swaping two tires requires a lift or an extra tire.

Anyway the results of the competition are here, and pictures are here

Unfortunately, this event brings my season to a close. I injured my hand 2 days after the event, and while it is healing nicely, I probably won't be competition ready until next spring... The only thing bad about a Lotus, is having one that you can't drive!

Till next year....