Re: comments on the course at the Tour (not Pro). Andy McKee said that other
than one gate (I never saw that but maybe it happened later after 2nd group?)
the course was "legal". That IS the point isn't it? If you get the chance,
pull out the April copy of Pylon which I just happened to find. (Was it
sitting around that long, or did I just get it recently? Dunno.) Anyway
there's a long pro/con discussion of there being a "Certificate in Course
Design" which considers some of these issues in more depth. It WAS the fastest
I have gone on an auto-x course as I mentioned, so exceeded slightly the
guidelines mentioned in the Pylon articles. There was a ton of run-off room
though.
My take on it: there's a lot of value in driving courses which you have never
seen before, as this skill reflects what you'll get at the Nationals from what
I hear. On the other hand, there's something to be said about making course
design easier by just choosing a Right #7, two Lefts #3, followed by a Medium
Size Turnaround #11 and the Giant Slalom Over A Hump #2 followed by a Standard
Candlestick Big Last Turn and Runout Area. So you get some people who put in
"technical" sections where the cone arrangement doesn't reflect the most
efficient route, that's how you keep a useful difference between the Novices
and everyone else! <grin>
As long as the course is reviewed by someone with an eye towards meeting SCCA's
minimum standards for spacing and safety then it is acceptable, and whoever
stepped up with the time and energy to design it should be thanked.
And as far as differences between Novices and the rest, most times when you
plot out the best time vs. position, you almost always get a curve
*
*
*******
*
*
*
where there's a few people, maybe 5% who really stand out, a large "the rest of
us" with very little increment per person, and then a few beginners or people
who didn't suss out the right way to do that box section, or who couldn't
control the spin pedal that day.
FWIW I know it helped me to quit looking at the Levi's of the person walking
ahead of me on the course and pay attention to her course walking line, tough
as that was. Why do that? Well, she seemed to be doing a legit course, not
just messing with people by going all over. And her jacket had some big
letters on the back, something about NATIONAL CHAMPION.... That was the day I
got 5th, so it didn't hurt!
PaulT Results OverAnalyzer
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