If you don't mind a mini-novel, read this and join me in my adrenaline induced joy.
I participated in my second auto-x yesterday and it left me with a big
on my face. After pulling a 1:19 on my first run (misjudged the transition from a large right-hand sweeper to a slalom and came to a complete, tire smoking stop) I asked one of the veteran drivers to ride shotgun and give me some sage advice. My next run was a full 15 seconds faster. Needless to say, I was encouraged with my progress. The third run was even smoother, but a bit slower.
The fourth run I made a stupid mistake and bumped my time up to 1:05.
My veteran passenger gave me a bit more advice and wanted me to run my last two runs solo. My 5th run was faster than any previous, but I hit a cone. It was a really dumb place to hit a cone, too! Arrrgh.
I settled down and hit my final run with focus and determination. It was a smooth run and about 3/4 of the way around the course I realized that I was moving pretty well. I rounded the final corner, a right turn that staightened just a few feet from the timing laser, with my foot to the floor. The car was drifting to the outside of the corner and putting me on a line to come dangerously close to hitting the sensor. The run was too good to lose it in the final 20 feet, so I slightly adjusted the steering wheel and put some faith in my Azenis. They held and I zipped across the line a few microns from the cones that surrounded the sensor. As I pulled up to the timeslip guy, I looked at the clock and let loose a shout that any U.S. Marine would be proud of. 1:03.449 and no cones
, a full second faster than my next fasted clean run.
I love that feeling of knowing you reached a goal. From my second run, I was determined to break into the 1:03's. I was so juiced that I accomplished that. All that excitement and energy with nothing to do but park my car. Too bad I couldn't have run once more.
The addition of Rotas wrapped in Azenis helpped considerably considering I ran my first auto-x on the stock rims with craptacular tires. My new Corbeau TRS helpped quite a bit too, keeping me planted in place. It was quite nice that I only needed the steering wheel for steering and not for holding myself in my seat.
For those that are beginners like me, ask a veteran driver (one that is
good at driving) to ride with you. It can be a tremendous help. The guy that gave me tips helpped me improve several areas of my driving. There are still many things I need to improve, but I'm encouraged to see improvement, especially in such short time.
Anyway, I don't have much of a point with this post. Rather, I wanted to simply share my experience and excitement with driving. So there it is. Chime in if you want, flame if you must. Regardless, have a nice day.
Cliff's Notes: Don't be lazy, just read the post.