... Autocross

Our Convention Autocross will be held on Saturday, July 31st at a large, flat, smooth, safe, open parking area that is often used by many sports car clubs for this purpose. It is located adjacent to New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, NH.

For AROC competition rules and classifications, click here to download the AROC Competition Code in PDF format. The number of cars participating in the Autocross will be limited to 80, so make sure to sign up early! Non-Alfas may get bumped (and their fees refunded) if the quota is exceeded.

There will be a professional photographer at the Autocross, and action photos of you and your steed will be made available for a fee. For lunch, the NHIS infield and Checkered Flag Restaurant will not be accessible to our group, so you'll need to make plans accordingly.

Autocrossing is a great way to drive your Alfa quickly through a safe course defined by traffic cones. Your car must pass the technical inspection at the Convention Center prior to the event. You will also need to determine your car's class by adding up points based on modifications done. The autocross is an event where a spider can compete without a roll bar. The Detroit chapter has graciously volunteered to run the autocross for the 2004 convention in New Hampshire. The lot to be used is outside turns one and two of the NASCAR oval. You will notice it if you go to the Time Trial on Friday. It's one of the best lots used by the SCCA and has no obstructions.

We are structuring the Autocross event so that if you are doing the Rally Saturday afternoon you can also do the autocross in the morning. In this case, make sure to arrive early and identify yourself as a rally participant. We'll make sure that you get your runs in early.

Should you need any assistance in planning or preparing to have your car at this event, please feel free to contact either of the Autocross Co-chairmen Eliot Shanabrook (eshanabrook@partners.org) or Stephan de Pénasse (stewen@peoplepc.com).

• Bringing a car trailer to Giulietta Giubilee? Please click here for important info!

Schedule for the Autocross:

• 7:00 am: Arrive at site and begin set-up

• 8:00 am: Detailed course walk-through

• 8:45 am: Drivers' meeting

• 9:00 am: First car out

• Workers changed every 1.25-1.5 hours depending on number of shifts

• Fun runs until 4:00 pm

The Course

To access the autocross lot at NHIS, you will sign the waiver at the registration building right off route 106. From there you will proceed through a gate where you will see the lot down the hill to the right. Parking will be along the left side as you drive down the hill. Park your car and make it ready for the autocross (see list below). If for some reason your car hasn't been inspected, get that done now. When your car is ready, it is time to walk the course and make a mental image of the course. Note where you will stage your car, and where you must come to a complete stop at the end. When we set a course, we make sure that we can allow multiple cars on the course. For the most part, we get three cars at once—one is just finishing, the second in the middle, while another is just starting.

Registration and Tech Inspection

Numbers and class letters will be provided at technical inspection before the morning of the autocross. A technical inspection of each vehicle is required under the AROC competition code, and it's nicely outlined if you don' t know what to look for:

• Front suspension looseness, steering

• Tires (pressure and condition)

• Under hood—brake reservoir, throttle cable, loose items, etc.

• Battery (must be tight)

• Interior—no loose items allowed

• Helmet—Crash helmets shall have Snell Foundation approval or shall comply with D.O.T. requirements. Football, construction, or other non-automotive helmets are not acceptable. We will have loaners, but it's nice to have your own.

Driver's Meeting

Before timed runs start, there will be a driver's meeting, where we cover the basics of the event and address questions that the competitors might have. Things we will cover are number of runs (normally 3 to 5), layout of the course, odd features of the course (optional slalom, loops, etc.), how to stage, and how to finish. At this time we will cover the basic rules, such as cone and off-course penalties, and review what is a "hit" cone (the down-and-out rule, where if the cone is either out of its marked box or knocked down, then it counts as a penalty). Safety is a key portion of the meeting, and it's important to show both the workers and the drivers the proper way to hold (unrolled and held furled up) and waive the flag (with your entire arm) so that the drivers will notice at the right time. We will stress that if a worker is concerned about a situation, he should red-flag the car, as the driver can always be given a re-run later. Personal safety is the first priority.

We will review the course exit, noting that cones after the finish line count, so that drivers slow down. This leads to making sure that each competitor drives SLOWLY through the pits. Alcohol or drugs will not be tolerated, and will result in immediate expulsion without refund and no invitation to return.

Some other frequently asked questions:

• Can we have passengers?
  Yes, but only during fun runs. All passengers must wear helmets and be properly belted.

• What about second drivers?
  We usually put them in the re-run line.

Workers

We can always use workers for the autocross. Working the course is a great way to learn, so whether you're competing or not give it a try.

• Corner workers are responsible for counting all the penalties by calling the penalties into timing and scoring. Being that the only accurate way of keeping track of cars is by their number and class, it's critical that the number on the car be clear enough to read from a short distance. Workers need to remember that it may not be their responsibility to give DNFs, so remind them to call it what it is, not how they think it should be scored.

• Timing and scoring workers are responsible for writing down or entering into a computer all the times and penalties that the corners report. Again, they should be reminded not to assess the penalty, but to write it down. They also should acknowledge any penalty reports from the corners, so that each corner knows that the official penalty has been recorded.

• The scoreboard person writes down what the announcer says (i.e. the time and penalties for each car number). Competitors especially appreciate if the class is shown on the scoreboard. Obviously, the scoreboard is very helpful to the competitors, but it also serves as a backup to the official scoring sheets. Mistakes do happen in scoring, and this is the next best information that is available.

• Starting and staging. The staging person is responsible to make sure that the next car at the start line is the proper one (hot lap first, re-run second, first run third, or as may be otherwise defined). Staging should also ensure that the driver is properly belted and helmeted. It is important to make sure that there isn't a traffic jam at the entrance and exit points of the course. The starter has two main responsibilities: starting each car from the same spot and starting each car at a safe distance from each other.

Event Format

We will run the event open-heat style. Open heats allow the drivers to run when they want, take as many of the allowed runs as they want, or take breaks between runs. Non-Alfas will be allowed for AROC members. We may ask non-Alfas to run first in the case of rain to dry the course.

Fun Runs

If the time and weather allow, we will do fun runs at the end of the event. It's an excellent time to get some more practice with your car, and makes a good reward for people who volunteered to work the event. We will charge $2 per fun run, and give all workers free fun runs. Passengers will be allowed during the fun runs.

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