2009 Novice school post-event discussion

[Native]

Bob, if your times and Ed's times are switched, then you are the one who shoulda been crying himself to sleep last night - you beat me by .17

HAH!
(good job!)

[Loren]

The grid setup for the school is unique...normally we don't do a "rolling grid" like that, in part because it's so easy to disrupt.

That course is pretty unique, too. The only reason it was set up that way is because it was based on the practice exercises, which need to be as spread out as they are. (would be nice if they could be even more spread out)

[Agent]

Freakin yari' and Jack Neely bein' Jack Neely..

I tried to be Jack Neely but Jack Neely grabbed his name tag back and was like "NO! I'M JACK NEELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" as he scampered back to his car and whipped my ***.

Did I mention I hate the Yari'?

Brian put on quite the performance in the Nizmo Nizzan!

Glad I worked the course, I hope I was able to keep our section cleaned well enough, and I hope the allstate guys are content with our reset of the police course. (which was the most difficult thing I helped with all day)

[Native]

reset of the police course. (which was the most difficult thing I helped with all day)

yeah. I have some ideas about that.

[DeltaNu1142]

Actually I had plenty of time to easily stop and wasn't hard on the brakes, I locked them up to give Ron a little extra adrenaline but it honestly wasn't close at all.

I starting seeing the problem when I pulled into line & my rear quarter was still hanging inside the cones. Sure, one of you non-novices won't have any trouble preventing a collision, but you can't be sure it's not going to be one of us n00bs coming out of the 8 & staring right at our hood ornaments rather than eyes up like we were taught... :shock:

Seeing that monster come to a stop with all four tires locked was something to behold!!

[5speed4dr]

After going through the course on Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised at how things turned out.

First--I am very happy with my performance. I knew the Subie wagon was fairly fast and a good handler, but I had no idea what it was truly capable of. I am very proud of the car and my ability to figure out how to make it work for me. Kudos to the instructors (especially Charles Stowe and Loren Williams) for some great advice.

Second--I am 36 years old, and I've wanted to get into autocross racing for years. My reluctance to do so has been based on a preconception that the sport was primarily populated by the young and careless. What I experienced on Saturday was exactly the opposite. I am very impressed by the dedication and commitment of the FAST club members, who are clearly very experienced and very careful about their operations. Everything was well organized and very safely done.

Third--I was especially glad to see that, even in a spirit of competition, the atmosphere was very friendly. I sort of expected it to be an every-man-for-himself sort of thing, but I saw people lending tools and offering to help fix cars. I saw people volunteering their time to stand in the sun and pick up cones. I saw dozens of happy people at the end of the day, and I even made a couple of new friends myself.

If this event was any indication of what to expect in this sport, I think I've found my new favorite hobby.

Thanks everyone.

Rob Vincent

[Jen]

When and where are the pics going to be posted?

[WAFlowers]

After going through the course on Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised at how things turned out.

(... snip ...)

If this event was any indication of what to expect in this sport, I think I've found my new favorite hobby.

I can't comment on other clubs, but what you saw is truly indicative of what FAST is all about. Whether it is the novice school or a regular event you will find that the people in this club to be friendly and unbelievably helpful. Whether it is you doing a ride-along with a more experienced driver, having someone come along with you to give you some pointers, tips on car setup, best lines through the course, or help with mechanical problems, you will find that there are plenty of generous people here.

Plus it is the only club in the area that includes lunch in the price!

Rob, I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed yourself and learned from it too. If you thought the novice school was fun just wait until you come out to one of the competitions!

[Blacknot]

I'm glad things went smoothly and everyone had fun. This was my first time setting the police course back up. I must say it was quite difficult. Maybe we can make those green dots better. All i saw was a sea of dots everywhere.

[meicalnissyen]

Welcome to autoX, I think you will find the atmosphere you noticed to be prevalent thruout autocross, and especially true of FAST events. Just make sure the subie stays slower than the snotsuker in the PAX list and we'll get along just fine

After going through the course on Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised at how things turned out.

First--I am very happy with my performance. I knew the Subie wagon was fairly fast and a good handler, but I had no idea what it was truly capable of. I am very proud of the car and my ability to figure out how to make it work for me. Kudos to the instructors (especially Charles Stowe and Loren Williams) for some great advice.

Second--I am 36 years old, and I've wanted to get into autocross racing for years. My reluctance to do so has been based on a preconception that the sport was primarily populated by the young and careless. What I experienced on Saturday was exactly the opposite. I am very impressed by the dedication and commitment of the FAST club members, who are clearly very experienced and very careful about their operations. Everything was well organized and very safely done.

Third--I was especially glad to see that, even in a spirit of competition, the atmosphere was very friendly. I sort of expected it to be an every-man-for-himself sort of thing, but I saw people lending tools and offering to help fix cars. I saw people volunteering their time to stand in the sun and pick up cones. I saw dozens of happy people at the end of the day, and I even made a couple of new friends myself.

If this event was any indication of what to expect in this sport, I think I've found my new favorite hobby.

Thanks everyone.

Rob Vincent

[meicalnissyen]

:shock:
Only half the students kicked my ass?????
the instructors should be relieved of duty immediately

at least I had fun on the last run, misdriving my open dif, to bad the nankangs didn't smoke more



Welcome to all the students, hope to see you out on a regular basis!!

[Blacknot]

:shock:
Only half the students kicked my ass?????
the instructors should be relieved of duty immediately

at least I had fun on the last run, misdriving my open dif, to bad the nankangs didn't smoke more



Welcome to all the students, hope to see you out on a regular basis!!

You were really peeling some tires

[DeltaNu1142]

When and where are the pics going to be posted?

+1 !

[muddy]

Thanks for letting me flog the Nismo, Jen.

For the haters; I did pull out a brand-new microfiber towel and removed most of those cone marks.

The Nismo needs some new tires and it will be much faster. Also, the viscous rear diff fought with me through the figure 8, everytime I hit a bump it would unlock. Those aren't excuses, though. I know I drove slow. I was just having fun and didn't care how I finished.

[Dave-ROR]

Thanks for letting me flog the Nismo, Jen.

For the haters; I did pull out a brand-new microfiber towel and removed most of those cone marks.

The Nismo needs some new tires and it will be much faster. Also, the viscous rear diff fought with me through the figure 8, everytime I hit a bump it would unlock. Those aren't excuses, though. I know I drove slow. I was just having fun and didn't care how I finished.

And to think, I only hit one cone in the boat... JFWY

I'm sure you'll kill my times on saturday

Although I may not bring the Grand Marquis.. I probably will, but the clunking in the front suspension is getting worse... so I may actually leave it at home for once.. it's just a lack of solid bushings, but it annoys the heck out of me, I want to replace the front hubs, bearing and put some ARP wheel studs in it, so I may just clean out the garage, somehow cover up the B13 SE-R (which has no glass except for the front windshield..) and figure out how to get that huge car into the garage so I can tear the front end apart.

Worse case I can steal Nate's car I guess, or just bring the Integra....

[Blacknot]

[quote="muddy"]

The Nismo needs some new tires and it will be much faster. quote]
I looked at them and it had Bridgestone REO1R's which are some really good tires. Why would you think it needed better tires?

[miazda man]

steve i feel very bad about putting that .17 on you. NOT

[Jen]

The Nismo needs some new tires and it will be much faster. quote]
I looked at them and it had Bridgestone REO1R's which are some really good tires. Why would you think it needed better tires?

He's right....they were good tires... but, they are bald. Too much fun, I guess. hehe

[snookwheel]

Great time... Some pics so you Group 2 people can prove you were there. Scott

[Jamie]

...I've wanted to get into autocross racing for years. My reluctance to do so has been based on a preconception that the sport was primarily populated by the young and careless.

...and then he found a bunch of old farts half again his age.

I was especially glad to see that, even in a spirit of competition, the atmosphere was very friendly. I sort of expected it to be an every-man-for-himself sort of thing, but I saw people lending tools and offering to help fix cars. I saw people volunteering their time to stand in the sun and pick up cones. I saw dozens of happy people at the end of the day, and I even made a couple of new friends myself.

If this event was any indication of what to expect in this sport, I think I've found my new favorite hobby.

You've found exactly what to expect. I've run with lots of clubs across the country, and most people in autocross are just like this. Glad you're taking to it.