Paul Czarnecki wrote:
>In autox you are trying to go faster than anyone else.
>In road racing you are trying to finish ahead of everyone else.
That's very well said. In my last race in my SSB MR2 I had the fastest lap
time in the class. If it had been a solo-type time trial event I would have
won. But I came in third because when it came to handling traffic and
driving off line the more experienced competitors were much better than me.
(I was also extra cautious since I drove the car to the track).
In general, I have found that good autocrossers learn road racing pretty
quickly, but good road racers often struggle at autox. There are exceptions
of course. Things seem to happen a lot faster at autox; you have less time
to think during a 'lap'. And the hardest thing for a beginner autocrosser
is just staying on course. Trying to drive fast through what looks like a
sea of cones takes experience to do well, even if you have outstanding car
control skills.
I think road racing and autox can complement each other. Autocrossing
teaches quick reactions and helps you learn exactly where the limits are.
The consequences of exceeding the limits at autox are usually low compared
to road racing, so you're more likely to explore and sometimes exceed those
limits. But road racing, or even just some lapping days without
wheel-to-wheel competition, can help you get more comfortable with the high
speed sweepers that occasionally occur during an autox, and can help you
visualize the best lines through certain types of turns.
Brad Burns
'91 MR2T, A-stock
'87 RX7, ITS
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