On Thu, 6 Feb 2003, Kelly, Katie wrote:
> Before there was autocross, there was gymkhana, which was
> introduced to the English language in 1877. According to
> the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is probably a
> modification of the Hindi word "gedkhAna". The definition
> reads as follows: ": a meet featuring sports contests or
> athletic skills: as a : competitive games on horseback b
> : a timed contest for automobiles featuring a series of
> events designed to test driving skill."
>
> Gymkhanas with two-seater English sportscars became
> popular in the 1950s, and evolved to autocross I'm
> assuming in the 60s. When it was gymkhana, there was a
> bit more physically and mentally involved. It was like
> solving math. You didn't just drive around cones; you had
> to negotiate obstacles, some of which included even
> getting out of the car. One stunt could only be achieved
> on the hard, narrow tires of the day, as it required
> simultaneously locking the brakes and putting the car in
> reverse while still traveling in a forward direction into
> a box marked with pylons, probably, or maybe even hay
> bails. You could never do that with wimpy ABS. Another
> was something called a four leaf clover, that consisted
> of four cones, set up as four corners, and you had to
> drive around each one, and the resulting design left on
> the ground, if your car could draw, would look just like
> a FOUR LEAF CLOVER!
I ran a 59 Triumph TR3A in 59 in New Jersey in autocrosses
(probably SCCA but I'm not sure) not gymkhanas. FYI.
Pete
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