Canceled!

At the last moment, Nashoba Valley backed out and told us that we couldn’t have the date!  (And there are no dates available in October.) But you can see how close we came to getting our club back into autocrossing!  Contact Brian Shorey at bshorey@cisco.com to offer to help plan our return to autocrossing next Spring, especially with ideas for venues !

This is exciting news! With the exception of the autocross at the national convention we hosted a couple of years ago, AONE has been pretty silent in the competitive event category for many years. Well, that is about to change!

On September 17th, rain or shine, we’ll be hosting an autocross, to be held in the parking lot of the Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Westford, MA. This initial event will be a way for us to get the cobwebs out (for participants and organizers alike!), so it will be rather informal but tons of fun nonetheless. Our goal is to host an event this fall, have some fun, learn some lessons, and then plan for three to five more “formal” events per year, starting next spring.

For those of you who have never autocrossed, it’s a great way to do some light competition in your Alfa (or other Lesser Car, as our Editor commonly refers to non-Alfas), with very low risk. What is an autocross? Basically, we use a bunch of cones and chalk to define a course in an open parking lot, making sure to avoid potential contact with curbs or other obstacles, and keeping the speeds limited to something that, while fun, are also safe. Then, cars run the course, one at a time (i.e. no collisions!), competing for the lowest elapsed time in their class. If you hit a cone, or go off course, then you are penalized (two seconds for each cone hit, and twenty seconds for an off-course).

This time out, the classes will be Stock 4-cyl, Stock 6-cyl, Modified 4-cyl, Modified 6-cyl, and Non-Alfa. Certificates will be awarded for first, second, and third place in each class, plus Fastest Time of Day (Alfa only). Depending on how many participants there are, there is usually time for at least a half dozen runs for each participant!

Since this is also a learning event for the organizers, we would welcome any volunteers to help out planning and/or running the event (both this inaugural one and on into the future). Any prior experience in setting up an autocross, or an interest in learning about it, will be gratefully accepted. Contact me at bshorey@cisco.com to volunteer (or with any questions about our endeavor). The organizers all plan on running our cars as well, so don’t think you won’t get your full share of runs if you help out!

Your club will be procuring new cones to augment the ones remaining from our “old days” of autocrossing. (We’re even procuring new chalk.) Assuming that the idea becomes popular with our members, we’ll later purchase automated timing and other equipment to enhance our experience.

As these are lower-speed, controlled events, safety equipment is minimal. No roll cages or roll bars are required, even in open-top cars. For clothing, helmets are required, as are closed shoes and non-synthetic materials (in other words, you don’t want to be wearing anything that could melt). Loaner helmets will be available (soon, you’ll want to get your own—an Xmas present, maybe?), but do show up wearing clothes.

The cost for AROC/AONE members will be $20 per driver ($25 per driver for non-members), which goes to offset the parking lot rental and required insurance costs. Be sure to check www.velocissima.com between now and the 17th for any changes and late-breaking news that might develop. (For example, as of this writing, we’re not sure whether lunch will be available on-site or whether you should pack something.)

At 9:00am sharp, we’ll have an instruction and orientation session, followed by a walk-through of the course we’ve set up. We strongly urge you to show up before 9:00, even if you’re an experienced autocrosser! Timed runs will start at 10:00. We’ll break for lunch at noon, and do more timed runs from 1:00 till 3:00, followed by some fun runs afterward if we still have the energy.

Autocrossing is a great way to hone your driving skills and improve your driving reflexes. Not only that, it’s truly fun, fun, fun! Even if you’ve never autocrossed or done anything like it, don’t be shy! [And don’t worry about turning in a slow time—mine will surely be slower.—Ed.] The important thing is that you join us on the 17th—you won’t be sorry!

—Brian Shorey, DFCC
(De Facto Competition Chairman)

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