British Columbia Corvette Club Autocross

Saturday, August 9, 2014

JIBC/YPK Integrated Training Centre, Pitt Meadows, BC

Registration ends on August 8, 2014 12:00 PM PDT

Come join us for the 3rd event in the BCCC Autocross 2014 Series. This will be another full double pad event, so the course is sure to be fast and fun. To maximize the number of runs we will be limiting registration to 60 drivers and will run three groups for non-stop action.

First timers are welcomed, no previous motorsports experience required. All car makes are welcome as long as they meet the requirements of the CACC/SCCA, Autoslalom/Solo2.

Early registration fee: $50 (by July 31st) *

Regular registration fee: $60 (after July 31st)

Non-members can purchase a day membership for $10

Food & Beverages:

TraxSnax will be on site with an assortment of sandwiches, hot food and beverages available in the tent. So no need to pack a lunch, just bring some cash.

Click to register http://www.motorsportreg.com/events/bccc-autocross-series-3-jibc-ypk-integrated-training-centre-british-377311 - HERE .

I am registered. Lots of autocross this month!

I get the sneaking suspicion that I'll be the only representative from WCFofBC attending the BCCC autocross this Saturday. Colby will be packing his bags for his soon-to-begin oddessy in Saskatoon, Gary will be on the Island, Harrison is unavailable, Brian will (probably) be working...

Oh well, the autocross itself will still be fun for me, but I imagine this thread will be a lot quieter than most autocross threads after the event.

Cheese wrote: You still gotta record and post some video!

Well, that's a given!   

One thing I like about Corvette Club autocross events is that it isn't all Corvettes that participate. I like Corvettes, but it's nice to see a cross-section of cars (and years) at these events.

Yes, most of the cars will be late model Vettes, but have a look at the great selection of automobiles that will buzzing around the track tomorrow...

2003 Caterham Super 7
2005 Lotus Elise
2007 Audi RS4
2006 Porsche Carrera 2S
2011 Mini Cooper S
1991 Mazda Miata
2013 Fiat 500 Abarth
2008 Dodge caliber SRT4
2006 Subaru Impreza 2.5i
2009 Chevrolet Cobalt SS
2006 Subaru WRX
2013 Scion FR-S
1997 BMW 328
2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS
1973 Toyota Celica
1972 Datsun 240
1989 Nissan 240SX
2009 Pontiac G5
1992 Toyota MR2GT JDM
1997 Subaru Impreza STI
1973 Datsun 240
2010 Ultima GTR
1985 Oldsmobile Delta 88
2013 Ford Mustang

There will also be a nice old '67 Corvette participating, and of course a remarkable '88 Pontiac Fiero Formula.

OMG, it's going to be a fast course tomorrow! There's basically a straight line down the back stretch the whole length of the pad leading to the stop box. I have no idea how fast I was going at the end of the "test" laps (after helping to set up the course), but heading into the stop box I had maxxed out in 2nd and was in floored in 3rd gear for quite a few seconds.

I was wondering what the hot smell was coming off my car... and it was my brakes! They were just cooking. You do not want to be standing anyway near the end of the stop box tomorrow!

Looking forward to the event, and then to the cold beer.. I mean the meeting at Red Robin.

karnak wrote: Hope you're having a great day Patrick!

Oh man, I was telling Colby at the club meeting that it was too bad you guys missed this event. Part of this course was the fastest I've ever driven at an autocross. I'll post a scan of the course later, but for me it was pedal to the metal down the whole north end of the pad into the stop box. There were supposedly staggered gates to go through, but I just picked a line that required very little turning to go through them, and this allowed me to eat up 2nd gear and carry on in 3rd until I slammed on the binders going through the timer. I estimate I was doing 110-115 KPH going into the stop box. I'm thankful the brakes/tires worked very well. Didn't lock 'em up even once in the stop box.

Lots of video to review. Not sure if I can do that tonight before I start to fade though. I'm beginning to feel the effects of the long hot day... but yes, it was a good day. (Would've been a "great day" if all my usual autocross buddies had of been out there as well.)

karnak wrote: Sad i missed it. Being a boat ride away made it difficult. looking forward to the video!

Hey, there's worse things you could've been doing than being over on the Island. I love it over there.

I'll post some stuff later. I took Ken (from BCCC) on a run. It's pretty funny... he never stops talking!

karnak wrote: how did he like the ride?

I think Ken quite enjoyed it... until we entered the stop box at 110-115 KPH. Then he quickly blurted out... "Hit the brakes man!"

I'll make sure to post that run.

Here's the course map for the day. Where it says "Danger!" is where initially a station was postioned. You can imagine what happens when cars take that turn to the left at speed... they naturally gravitate out towards the station! The video of when Ken is in my car contains his comments about that recorded live.

The curved red arrow was the line I was trying to take through the box, and this is also where I had a problem when Ken was in the car. Again, you'll hear his comments about that recorded live.

I guess I better get that video with Ken in the car posted.

I had problems with the video as the footage from the camera is perfectly fine, but somehow the YouTube re-encoding process has introduced some jerkiness.

Anyway, it's certainly viewable. This was Ken's first time through the course at speed, as he had only been through the course once before as a passenger in a car which was being driven by a someone in their first autocross run... ever, and Ken himself hadn't driven it yet. 

I had been through the course three times the night before (after set-up) and once previously that morning (I was in the first of three groups), so I knew the car would be able to stop within the stop box just fine at 110-115 KPH... but Ken didn't know that.

Watch video in 3D or 2D -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqC-cf5FjJc - Taking Korvette Ken For a Run In The Fiero  

And here's the PAX standings. I was awfully disappointed that I couldn't break 50 seconds, as the lowest I could get was 50.066 seconds.  So close!

There are also all kinds of mistakes in the times. One of the fellas that I usually beat supposedly beat me by almost four seconds. When I looked at his runs, his second fastest run was five seconds slower than his "best" run.  There is no way he had one run that was so much faster than all the rest he had. Anyway, it's all for fun... and BCCC are working on fixing the timing issues.

AllanJ wrote: Did you meet Joe Cheng? He's one of the best autocrossers on the continent.

I googled Joe Cheng to see what he looked like. I recognized him from Saturday, but no, unfortunately I didn't meet him.

AllanJ wrote: Question for you: why does your car always stall when you spin? Nature of the beast or are you not getting the clutch in fast enough? Just curious.

Yeah, I'm curious about that as well. As soon as I feel the car sliding beyond the point of saving it, I step in the clutch and don't touch the brakes until the car has basically stopped sliding on its own. I don't understand why the car stalls. It must be the stupendous G-forces created by the Fiero in these spins which flings every fuel molecule away from the injectors. 

AllanJ wrote: Good job on PAX-ing where you did.

Thanks Al. As I said earlier however, I was so disappointed that I couldn't break 50 seconds. Missed it by 66/100ths of a second.

AllanJ wrote: It's funny when you know your car well...

Interestingly enough though, during the round where my group was doing nothing (there were three groups), I positioned myself so I could watch how fast people would enter the stop box. I would say that at least half of them chickened out time and time again and would let off on the gas a good 100 feet or more from the timer... even though the stop box appeared to be more than long enough for the entry speeds.

karnak wrote: Nice video. Entertaining narrative.

I'm thinking of hiring Ken full-time.

karnak wrote: 53 is a decent turnout. you did well!

There were a lot of fast cars in attendance on Saturday. It's funny, but Spike Staley announced to the group of volunteers on Friday afternoon that he specifically designed a course that was not Fiero friendly.  Yes, those were his words! He made it clear (in a good natured way) that he wanted a course that was designed for high powered Corvettes. So with that in mind, I'm actually quite satisfied with how my times stacked up against the competition.

I certainly had enough kicks at the can over the weekend. I had three runs on Friday evening, nine official runs on Saturday plus two re-runs (timing errors), and then two fun runs afterwards. So I went around that course (and into the stop box) 16 times in total. I'm hoping I still have some brake pads left.

Sorry, no entertaining narration this time. No spectacular spins. Just some fine driving.

Watch video in 3D or 2D - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3raVubjiqqI - Best time - BCCC autocross Aug 9, 2014