2010 Autocross #1

Still fun, but without Joe it's just not the same

Course Layout

Videos & Pictures:

With only twenty-one drivers, the turnout was unusually light for a GWS autocross. Was it because of the weather forecast, or was it because James Wood High is a bit harder to find?

Since this was our first autocross ever without Joe Wozney, things were a little less well organized, but we did finally get things started – thanks in no small part to Bobbie Wozney who put together forms, and handled registration for the day's event.

The Mike Wirt-designed course had to be modified a bit to deal with a rather large silver pylon, but before long, Mike and the crew of volunteers had it laid out with the familiar orange cones in place.

With the timing gear set up and tested, we had a short drivers meeting, during which Brad Blase, who has been handling Joe's usual trailer and cone hauling jobs, led us in a moment of silence in Joe's memory. We all hoped Joe was looking down on us and smiling (maybe even laughing a little as we sort of fumbled to get going). There were a few efforts to move some of the loose gravel (left over from the big snow storms that hit the area) but the area around the slalom was still a little loosey-goosey and onlookers got to see some entertaining action in that area. Fortunately there was no damage.

Bill Stewart was there to represent the 16 valve group, but the rest of us were missing. Fratzi, the car shared by Ted and Denise was laid up with a defective rear subframe bushing, and Paul was late getting a new set of Kumho's for the Vandenberg's car. Brad Blase has a 16 valve that was laid up with a mystery ailment (wouldn't turn over), and the Black Dog racing car was ... just not there – possibly because John Heflin was busy playing with his recently acquired 1997 C36 AMG.

In the six-cylinder class, Ben Weber was out with the "Red Baron" and managed to get Mercedes-Benz FTD on his way to taking top honors in the six-cylinder group. Bill Hopper finished second in the six-cylinder group. Regular Jim Smith, who is recuperating from surgery was absent – we miss Jim's smiling face, and send our wishes for a speedy recovery. The Mercedes-Benz eight-cylinder group was also small. Former GWS Secretary Julian Reeves was there with his 2007 R500, and JD Harriman broaght out his 1997 SL500 for a second crack at this autocross thing. GWS Member of the Year, Steve Spector was all alone in the SLK group. The AMG group consisted of one car (John Heflin's 1997 C36 AMG), but with three drivers, it seemed like there was more than just one.

In the “Other Marques” newcomer Darlyn Torris brought her 1991 Mazda Miata out and managed to lower her run times considerably under the able tutelage of Harry Newman. Barrie Gochman took LFTD with a very nice run in her 2006 Subaru WRX STi. The (not so) big surprise was Patrick Pereira who put some competition tires on his 2003 Acura NSX and showed us just how good that car is as he turned in a FTD run at 41.513 seconds. Marty Gallagher tried for FTD, and actually had two faster runs, but both were marred by cones that were so frightened by his approach that they fell over. Regular autocrosser John Brubaker was back and driving a very nice 1978 Porsche 911 – a real change from his R32 Golf. The finishing order, based on PAX index times, was all familiar names - Marty Gallagher took top points, closely followed by Patrick Pereira, then Mike Wirt, Harry Newman, Brett Hack, Pete Gochman, John Brubaker, John Robinson, Woody Woodworth, and Gerald Smith – a relative newcomer , but one we would like to see stick around. Brett Hack is still turning in fast times with his 1990 Mazda Miata, proving that you don't need a really hot car to be a competitive autocrosser.

Given the light turnout, we had only three run groups, and despite the threat of rain and thunderstorms, we gave everyone four practice runs to help get them acclimated to the new (er, old) lot. Since practice ended well before noon, and the sky was looking a little threatening, we decided to push on and do the timed runs without a lunch break. As a precaution, we went to three timed runs in an effort to make sure everyone could finish before the rain storms actually hit. That made things even faster, and we were done by a little before 1 pm - just as the sun broke out from behind the clouds. We ended the day with a few fun runs, including one by GWS Chief Instructor Tom Newman, who gained a new respect for the power (and the brakes) on a Mercedes-Benz E500 – Tom also discovered that setting the car's ESP to dyno mode really changed the way it handled.

Even though we had a light turnout, everyone pitched in, and we were packed up and ready to head home by 2 pm. All in all, despite the threat of heavy weather, this was a great start to the autocross season.

If you want to join in the fun, be sure to come to James Wood High School on May 16 for our second autocross of the 2010 season. We should have a bigger turnout then and lots more fun. Not sure you want to drive? Come out and watch, and if you get the itch, you may be able to get a ride with someone to see how it feels.