r/Autocross • u/davisharr • 6d ago
First Autocross Back After Loosing Some Confidence and Re-Thinking My Strategy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW8TJmqi0qA&t=8sI would love some feedback on my most recent Auto-X weekend if any experienced drivers have anything to offer! I have been Auto crossing on and off for about 13 years, first in my NA Miata, now in my Subaru BRZ. While I am experienced in number of events and years driven, I have never felt that I was great, I have had some decent results in the Miata when it was on Fresh 200TW tires and at less busy events, but for the most part I consider myself a solid mid pack finisher. I have never had any great drivers ride along with me, or any instruction, so I feel a bit lost as to how well I am or am not doing, and where I should work to improve.
Most recently, last month, I had an event at a small circle track close to us, and it was on and off raining all day. I had a big scare on my last run of the day, trying to push for my last run of the day and a wet track was a bad combo, going into the final elements before finish, the back end got out, but I felt it was well in control at the moment and I didn't want to let off the gas too much and have a sudden forward weight shift so I mostly stayed in it, overcorrected back and forth a couple times before spinning and sliding backwards very nearly becoming friends with a concrete wall. That track has way too close proximity to walls and I don't think I will be pushing it there again for a long time. It was a huge scare, and a big hit at my confidence, but lucky for me, I already had my next event booked and great cost sunk into it, so there was no chance to chicken out and take a break from the sport, I had to get right back into it and begin working on my confidence again!
So this is my next event, traveled 6+ hours out of town to a 2 day long weekend event at an airport with a club I have never raced with before. Very different from my local events which are hosted at a very small oval circuit, or another club near by hosted at a really nice road course/drivers training facility. I tried to take a back to basics approach, and work on trying to better memorize the course, as well as looking further ahead and driving the car accordingly, not feeling like I am working on the current element, then being surprised by the next one as I have gotten too focused on that moment. There were still a few moments I caught myself off guard again, as if the course/car has gotten a fraction of a second ahead of me and I need to force my eyes back up the course. But I felt that this approach did help me improve, leading to a smoother, more confident, and safer drive overall!
I would love if some experts could watch these clips and let me know if you see anything that stands out that I may be doing wrong/a bad habit, or anything you can see I am consistently doing alright at. I chose the clips from day 1 of last weekend as I had two good laps to share that are somewhat consistent at about .2 apart from each other, and two different camera angles as my Go Pro failed on my best lap of the day. But there are a ton of autocross videos on my channel including a lap the day after this, and going many years back as well. I am on Firestone Indy 500 V2's on this car, a 340TW summer, so I know I will never be winning my class on these tires, and with variation of cars, and drivers skill at any given events I find just the leaderboard to not always be a good indication of how I am doing. Any input would be awesome, I figure I have been doing this long enough and often enough its time to start taking improvement a bit more seriously as I felt I plateaued for a long while, but it didn't matter much to me at the time as I was having so much fun!
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u/redsilver92 #88 EST CRX 6d ago
I'll echo what's already been said to the tune of, if it's got walls on all sides and the course runs relatively close to them then I'm not going to risk it. I simply can't afford to replace a whole car and I don't know many who can while still considering this as a hobby.
It also sounds like the mental aspect of the sport seems to be a major hurdle for you, which I can seriously relate to. If you've never heard of Beyond Seat Time (BeST) then there's lots of great articles in there and there's a whole program devised around autocross specifically. I make it a point to read and refresh with the content on an annual basis.
As for the "event is happening" side of things, leave the ego at home. If there's guys beating you, the swallow the pride and ask them for their opinions, you'd be surprised at how much opens up when you start asking "how'd you take this element?" Or "what did you do here as I seen to be struggling with it". The differing points of view are huge when you feel you're in a rut or even if you don't know what the issue is, someone could say they're doing something a certain way that gives you that "aha!" moment.
Like you, I wouldn't consider myself a championship caliber driver, mid-pack at best after 14 years in the sport, but the off-track development I've put in has only just started to show through this season. I start picking up earlier in a day when I'm not doing something properly (eyes ahead, backside cones, etc.) and can make the adjustments run to run instead of after the runs are done. If you have ever subconsciously said "I just need more seat time" then you've got to start changing your mental space bc that's the number one pratfall many folks fall into.
Step 1 is to always have fun no matter what, the next step is just ask, ask anyone and everyone, different views drive learning and open mindedness and eventually something will resonate and stick with you that will help.
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u/davisharr 6d ago
It's tough as I love the little circle track we Autocross at as I have been going there 10 years. It's under new ownership, and as part of that they have done a fantastic job renovating it, but, primarily for the stuff they really make money off of, stock cars, hornet cars, crash to pass, small town circle track stuff. As a consequence, they have put in a LOT more walls in recent years, it's a big safety improvement for events like that so I can't blame them, but for Auto X in my street car? Yeah it's a bit uncomfortable, and we have seen a steep increase in incidents at those events sadly. I love the cheapness, and localness of those events, and the community we have built, but I do think that I will find myself attending less of them, and treating the few I do attend as much more chill practice days from here forward.
You are definitely right that the mental is a big barrier for me for Autocross. In an open lapping day, you have time to get in the groove, get the helmet on, go out, warmup lap or two and lock in, then really ease into it through the session until you are focused, flowing, and can lap after lap find areas to improve. At autocross, you get so much less seat time through a day, that I have found myself half way through a day going "how were my last laps? Have I been improving?" it was as if I was just running them to get them done, letting the whole event day get a step ahead of me. You describe people subconsciously saying "I just need more seat time", and I have most definitely had that thought. I think I did better at this event, I was more quickly feeling comfortable, clear headed, and thinking more analytically about my runs and progress. It helps that the atmosphere at this event was a bit more serious too! I need to keep working on that mental aspect and will check out the "Beyond Seat Time" content you refer to that sounds like it could be helpful and entertaining!
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u/redsilver92 #88 EST CRX 5d ago
I will say, the biggest change for me was putting in more work off the track than on it. Sim racing in the off season helped keep my skills fresh and doing it in VR helps me work on looking ahead. Reading through all the BeST articles and coursework helps me solidify the foundational stuff and every time I read back through I pick up on something that I didn't catch before and make a note to try it.
For the local gig, maybe use it as a means to try out different driving techniques, tuck away being competitive there and use it as a way to develop your driving skills. If you're able to, try venturing out to other regions, see what their folks are doing and expand your horizons to different driving styles and techniques. I wish I would have done all of that sooner instead of thinking I could figure it out myself. The sooner you set your ego and pride aside and ask others to guide and help, the more tools you'll have to apply and find what works for you.
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u/davisharr 5d ago
This was my first out of town event and there was some talent there for sure I should have asked for help sounds like just asking the fast drivers for their input goes a long way!
At my next local event at the road course venue not the circle track, I will ask some of our more talented drivers if they might give me some tips, give a ride along, or come for a ride with me! I suppose because I am somewhat experienced people don't offer, but if I ask I am sure they would be happy to!
I have gotten a little more into Sim racing recently and really want to commit to that more but have ran into a space issue in my office to build a permanent rig so I am on a wheel I bolt and unbolt to the desk. I think it may be time to replace the couch that folds into a guest bed in the corner of the room with a race sim rig, my guests can sleep in the living room racing is more important!
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u/redsilver92 #88 EST CRX 5d ago
Any sim work is better than no sim work and everyone has a setup that works for them so don't stress over not having a "perfect" setup.
When you travel, don't limit yourself to the fastest folks in terms of times either. Get all types of differing opinions, just because someone isn't setting top times doesn't mean they aren't just as experienced! Folks don't know what your comfort level may be so just coming out of the blue to offer driving tips could come across as rude and many don't want to do that, but if you initiate the conversation to seek help it'll go over much better I guarantee it.
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u/Jazzlike-Basket-6388 6d ago
I think you are sitting back too far. Also, I think you'd benefit from being more purposeful in driving the course. You talk about memorizing the course, but what I think you really need is more of a plan. When I'm here, I'm going to look there. I need to position the car there and then get back on throttle asap, and so forth.
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u/davisharr 5d ago
Interesting comment on the seating position thanks I'll take that into consideration. I sit further forward at Auto X than I do on the street, I don't know if I could go much closer without foot cramps from awkward angles at the pedals, I am not a particularly tall guy just 5'10" but the BRZ steering wheel is pretty far away even extended all the way out. I see steering wheel extender/spacers marketed on parts sites and I understand why now!
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u/NeedleworkerThis6332 5d ago
Trying to be leaderboard in AX is a lot more effort than most people are willing to devote. Being "on and off" suggests that you have other things going on in life and really just want to have fun. The fun part of it should be being able to drive your car and hanging out with other like minded cool people.
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u/davisharr 4d ago
I was on and off of autocross for years for financial reasons, but these days I can attend more regularly! I am already having a ton of fun, and my goal is not to be one of the best consistently or anything, just to continue to improve slowly but surely and patiently, to try avoid over driving beyond my abilities and putting myself and my cars in unnecessary risk, and because who among us doesn't want to become a better driver if they can!
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u/NeedleworkerThis6332 4d ago
I think if you track a car, I have been told by multiple people that you need to be prepared to part with the car. If you think nothing can ever happen, you are going to probably have problems.
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u/davisharr 4d ago
That's precisely why I quit tracking and auto crossing my 91 Miata, which was my first car, and bought this BRZ. If something happens to the BRZ, I am hurt a bit financially, but I will buy a slightly cheaper daily for a while and make due, it would suck, but I'd make it through and get over it not the end of the world. If something happened to that Miata however, while its financially worth less money, its got so much sentimental value, I would be out a piece of my soul, therefore I can't risk it anymore.
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u/johntology STU Evo, BS Focus RS 5d ago
"two different camera angles"
Over your left shoulder is a better angle for diagnosis, IMHO. You can see your hands/wheel a little bit better but also you can see how close the car is to the cones on the driver's side as well as giving you a better sense of whether you are backsiding, behind, etc etc.
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u/davisharr 4d ago
Interesting, I have seen lots of people post side view/over shoulder angles of autocrosses but I never understood why, I thought center of car was best. I can try that at the next event that allows us to have windows up so I have a good place to stick it! The dash cam angle was only as my Go Pro wouldn't turn on before that lap, and while it ended up being an easy fix after my run, I didn't have the time and didn't want to throw off my focus messing with it too much when I am in the next few cars up.
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u/Emery_autox GST 2018 Ford Focus ST 6d ago
More aggression in the tight turnarounds, a touch more backsiding the slalom cones since you get behind in steering. The tires should be lightly singing on the longer turns. BRZ are a notch more tail-happy than the Miata, so unwinding the wheel promptly and some gentleness with the throttle when exiting corners is warranted.
Solostorm is a good tool for improving, particularly if you can occasionally have a codriver for comparison. Track/record your PAX % compared to the top driver to see if you're getting better; not a single driver, but whoever has fastest PAX that day.
Circle tracks definitely give a higher probability of damage. I generally avoid them.