Jenaro Rodriguez wrote:
>
> Ok, I think it's time to start a new thread with an Autocross theme ; >
> ). I've been pondering this for a while now. Let's assume a novice
> autocrosser. Would he be better starting off with a Stock Car as opposed
> to a Street Prepared? I'm not talking in terms of cost here. Only in
> terms of Driving Skill development.
That's a good one. Personally, I think that starting in the stock
classes is far better for driver skill development. Stock class cars
have very limited allowances to physically alter the handling
characteristics. Therefore, drivers must learn to drive the car as it
needs. In addition, the softer spring rates, and generally narrower
wheels and tires, emphasizes some of the more subtle skills that I think
are very necessary to be competitive at the national level. In addition,
the lesser grip, especially that afforded by street tires on a stock
car, really allows a starting driver to learn who to approach the limits
of the car and of the tires, and will be better able to figure out
stiffer cars and stickier tires later on.
> And to take it one step further
> would a Stock Class Driver be theoretically better than a (Street
> Prepared, Prepared, Mod, etc.) Driver? Assuming it should be tougher to
> drive a Stock Class car as opposed to a Modified Car. I've heard people
> talking at events and have heard comments such as "I'd like to see what
> he could do in a Competitive Stock Car" when referring to somebody
> driving a Street Prepared Car. Again when I say modified car I basically
> refer to anything not legal in a stock class (SCCA) and that is set up
> correctly. What do you guys think?
I agree that Stock class cars require a very refined skill set to go
fast, but I don't think that a stock class driver is any "better" than
an SP, P or M driver. Driving a stock car fast uses a different driving
style than that needed to drive an SP, P, or Mod car fast. Sure,
smoothness is always good. And while I think that John Thomas could jump
into a stock class car and still go very fast, I think that if he just
jumped right into Kevin Bailey's car, Kevin would still be faster. And
the same the other way around. If Kevin hopped into John's car, John
would still be faster.
Getting back to the first paragraph, I think that Stock class cars
allow the driver to develop better driver skills as the car cannot be
'fixed' and the driver must learn a wider array of techniques for
driving around the deficiencies of the car. But I don't necessarily
think that stock driver are any 'better' than SP, P or M drivers.
-Josh2
--
Joshua Hadler '74 914 2.0 CSP/Bi - Hooligan Racing #29 - CONIVOR
'87 Quantum Syncro - aka stealth quattro
jhadler@rmi.net
http://rainbow.rmi.net/~jhadler/
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