>maybe a novice
>driver that thinks his new Golf GTI will slalom at 60
Hey, if a Neon will do the straight in San Diego at 75, a GTI can slalom at
60. ( :
To paraphrase an old song, there's no fool like an old [experienced] fool.
One of the spinningest drivers I've ever watched has been autocrossing for a
*long* time. Bought his first gen RX7 brand new, and I don't think that was
the first autocrosser he ran.
When I design courses, I think about that guy. I also think about the Neon
driver in our region who will *not* change his R1's in front, street tires
in back setup; the guy who wrecked his Porsche in the morning and went home
and got his BMW for the afternoon; the Lotus Super 7 that climbed a stop
sign; the university FSAE guys who have nowhere near enough seat time in
their car; and all the novices who I want to come back next time.
Depending on which site we're using, I think about the rail going down the
side of the long slalom, the airplane tiedowns, the fences, or the light
poles. I also re-read the course design rules, and I have a map of each
site with the safety zones around each obstacle shaded in.
Despite this somewhat obsessive (yes, I know people who could help with
that) stance toward course design, I'm a pretty popular course
designer--drivers at a variety of levels usually like my courses. (Trust
me, I hear all about it when folks don't like a course.)
I would *not* be happy--or feel blameless--if someone flamed out in a way
that damaged the car, the site, the workers, the drivers, or the equipment.
Maybe that's just my overactive sense of guilt (yeah, yeah, I know people
who could help with that), but my sense is that when something bad happens,
it spoils the day in a big way for everyone. I don't want to contribute to
that at all--even if it *is* the safety steward's responsibility to make
sure the course is safe and the *driver's* responsibility to make sure that
the nut behind the wheel is tightened down. ( :
mlc
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