Intro
Attended my first auto cross this past weekend and had an absolute blast! I’m totally hooked.
I was in run group 3 which means I worked first. Working means you are out on the autocross track doing something. My job (along with 2 others) was to pick up murdered cones in the slalom area. It was actually really fun to see how everyone navigated the slalom.
I had asked for an instructor and I’m glad I did. I was super nervous my first time going out into the sea of cones after being on the sidelines but it was friggin’ awesome. Every instructor was really cool and very helpful, each had their own tips in terms of driving style, seat position, etc…
Here’s an awesome tip from one of the instructors: If your head sits to far forward with a helmet on, flip your headrest around!
The course
The turn south of section 6 was a tricky one, there was a cone (not shown above) sticking out at the point there.
This video was my first solo run and best run time (if we forget about the +1 cone.) One of my instructors told me to hit certain cones and this is the only one of the 3 I actually clipped (nailed). The other two cones were on the passenger side. He said if I hit all 3 cones I’ll be in the 52’s and he was absolutely correct, he was trying to demonstrate how I need to work on my spatial awareness on the the passenger side. Drivers side I’m good, but not on the passenger side.
Every pass I went a little faster.
Autocross 6 times
| Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 | Run 4 | Run 5 | Run 6 | Run 7 | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56.615 | DNF | 54.618 | 53.183 | 53.307 | 52.775 (+1 cone) | 52.560 (+1 cone) | Run 4 53.183 |
Pretty happy with my times, the (mostly) stock E90/F80 M3’s were doing 50-51s, pretty shocked my car got this close to their times, hoping with some more experience I’ll be able to catch up to them.
New tires
A few days before the event, I got some new tires, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. I attended the Car Control Clinic a few months ago with run flats on the car and the difference is night and day. Way way way more grip, smoother ride and much quieter than the run flats. I can still feel cracks on the road but it’s not as “jarring” as the run flats. HUGE difference.
In terms of not having a spare… Well, I have AAA and picked up this slime kit from amazon. Hopefully I’ll never have to use it… (Wife aggro)
