Originally Posted by Solracer
If you do not think this applies to road racing also, then I do not know what to say, add all the above, and then add 30 or more of you closets friends racing right next to you.
Each discipline has its own pitfalls and I would rank road racing at the top, the auto-x right underneath it. I drive VIR about 6 times a year and each time I am surprised how different the track is every visit.. If you are only getting three runs at your auto-x you need a different club
We get 5 to 6 runs every event with around 130 cars.
Re-read what I said. I realize you have a preference for road racing but it is a much different discipline. There is not 1 greater...
In road racing the margin for error is thin, but it is not as thin as that in an Autocross, you miss an apex by 6 inches on a road course and unless he's out to wreck you, your competition can't pass you. You miss your apex by 6 inches in an Autocross and you plummet positions.
Do you know where each of your 30 'friends' is on track, in relation to you? Absolutely, and you can maneuver your car to a) pass them, b) block them.
Do the turns at VIR move? Does a turn disappear? No. The track surface is the never the same, though it could be argued that for autox from run to run the surface also changes....
Autocross doesn't have the strategy of having to block, or pass, it certainly doesn't have the endurance factor(good thing too, because there are some llllaaaaaarrrrrggggeeee folks that AX), road racing requires much more durable equipment, more stringent safety measures due to a high risk factor associated with high speed and generally any car can autocross provided its safe for street use, so its much cheaper.
3 runs per course times 2 courses is all you get at the top levels of Autocross: Divisionals, National Tours, and Nationals. Sorta ratchets up the mental pressure. Locally, its another story...