My Autocross Related Post for the Day
By Jake H.
6-20
So I just updated my stats spreadsheet, and I found some surprising numbers.
Question 1: When we run an event at an unusual site like Marina, is the
field generally faster because only hardcore regulars go? Or is it slower
because the fastest people don't go? Or is it the same and was I just
slower than usual?
While I seemed to place consistently with respect to my usual competitors
given that Stan's got the new HS super car, my percentages were way
down. Before Round 10, I was finishing in the top 58% of all cars in OT,
and in the top 29% in PAX on average. I came in at 72% in OT and 46% in
PAX at Marina.
That would suggest that the quality of the field in general was better, or
that my driving wasn't as "better than my average" as I thought it was.
If I was running Street Tire, I would have been .017 behind first place to
come up second. Before round 10, I was an average of .67 seconds off of
first place where my average finish for the season would be 2.83 place.
That would suggest that the Street Tire field was less fast than usual,
even though almost all the usual Street Tire suspects showed up. First
place, interestingly went to David Parker and his WRX who is the Street
Tire class leader, and one of the more consistent finishers.
For the record, I'm not complaining about Stan's Supercar even though he
would have placed second in GS by .1, second in FS, and 3rd in DS just .7
behind class leader and legend Peter Mottaz in his IS300. When Loran shows
up in his Focus, or when David in his BMW 318ti runs HS as he did in rounds
2 and 5, Alan and I see similar margins over our sad rolly Hondas. It
seems like the Focus and the Mini will be stiff competition for each other
in our humble little class.
Question 2: I'm not familiar with BMW's product line, so I'm going to
throw this out. David Crawford lists his car as a 318ti. Our car
classification web page says the 318tii should be in GS, and 318 NOC is
HS. Is David's 318ti a 318tii, or is it a 318ti which falls under
NOC? The reason I ask is that David has started running in GS! Should we
(or can we at this late date) move David Crawford's times for rounds 2 and
5 to GS? Now that I think about it, never mind. It would give Alan a
little more breathing space over me in the points.. :)
Question 3: When will we know what PAX will look like for next year? If
the Mini stays in HS, and it and the Focus dominate at Nationals like I
imagine they can, I figure my PAX may not be as favorable next season. If
that's the case, I should forget about competing in HS or ST and give in to
the urge to put springs and a rear sway bar on my car (neither of which it
seems to have now) so I can stop living in constant fear that it will fall
over in a corner due to it's terrific body roll.
CSP modified Miatas and and SM2 modified S2000s, watch out! The del Sol is
coming! Think a cushy set of Eibach's and a sway bar will take 7 seconds
of my times?
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