Question - rain-soaked autocrosses

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

I'm trying to get a feel for the "pulse" of the club. This question isn't about this weekend's event specifically, I am more interested in understanding how most people feel about it, in general.

Would you prefer that an autocross that is going to be rained on all day long is cancelled?

It would be very rare that we could get adequate notification to *know*, but like I said I'm curious.

(PS - personally, if I were just driving and working course, I would still choose to go to a rainy autocross. As an organizer, though, maybe not

)

Feel free to post your thoughts...

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

I, like my car, am waterproof. I believe that driving a car in the rain is particularly challenging and only helps drivers get better.

My $0.02

Matthew_Thomson · **Posted:** Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:47 am

i'm in it for the driving.. wet course just means more sliding around which is just as fun to me =)

Kevin Hoff · **Posted:** Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:48 pm

I love wet autocrosses. It might have something to do with the car I drive though... :lol:

(Also my style suits wet -- I'm not aggressive enough for a Subaru in the dry.)

Now wet with wind is a different matter. More than 10-15 mph of wind makes for a very miserable day working the course.

--Kevin H.

Dustin Fredrickson · **Posted:** Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:05 pm

The conditions would have to be REALLY bad (steady rain doesn't qualify) before I'll give up an autocross. That said, if the event were rescheduled, I'd consider postponing for a week or three. This could be a nightmare to work out, however, so simply getting wet may be the better option.

Kevin Allen · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 6:42 pm **Posts:** 3479

Rain, no problem. Snow, no problem.

Very strong wind, problem.

Michael Westerfield · **Posted:** Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:16 pm

I don't have a problem with autocrossing in the rain. Sure the grip isn't as good, but it's still a lot of fun. The only part that bothers me is being wet all day.... which sucks :boohoo:

I can't decide...

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:21 pm

I'll be the only one to come out and say it I guess. I say cancel the thing.

Working the course while it's raining sucks. Standing around basically all day while it's raining sucks. Having to have the windows rolled down while you run in the rain sucks. Wet shoes and socks all day sucks. For those who change tires, changing tires in the rain also sucks.

Noticing a trend here? I hate it. I know that I will not melt and that I can bring spare shoes. But none of this makes me not hate it.

There. I said it. You can all start making fun of me for being a sissy now :oops:

Adam Ligon · **Posted:** Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:36 pm

Karl Shultz wrote:

I'll be the only one to come out and say it I guess. I say cancel the thing.

Working the course while it's raining sucks. Standing around basically all day while it's raining sucks. Having to have the windows rolled down while you run in the rain sucks. Wet shoes and socks all day sucks. For those who change tires, changing tires in the rain also sucks.

Noticing a trend here? I hate it. I know that I will not melt and that I can bring spare shoes. But none of this makes me not hate it.

There. I said it. You can all start making fun of me for being a sissy now :oops:

Please you have made it to like 2 events all year, slacker...

Does it have to be 75-80 sunny and for someone to let you co drive to meet your standards?

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:38 pm

Karl Shultz wrote:

I hate it. I know that I will not melt and that I can bring spare shoes. But none of this makes me not hate it.

I agree with you Rice. If there is an event I will come. I'd rather not be wet and miserable all day long, but I hate to miss an event.

Driving in the rain (particularly in a AWD TAlon) isn't too bad. Working in the rain along with dealing with the logistics of tires, gear, etc is a PITA.

I'd vote for it to be postponed (not cancelled) to another date. Like I said before I'll be there regardless, but better conditions would be nice.

Mike Winn · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:30 am **Posts:** 110

I say don't cancel the event as the folks who don't like autoxing in the rain just aren't going to show anyway. The ones who DO want to run in the rain will show up.

If you do cancel the event for rain, then you have turned it into nothing more than autox make-up days. If you're serious, you drive in the rain. This isn't exactly NASCAR.

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:52 pm

Considering that autocross is a "fun" hobby to me, and I very much dislike being wet and miserable ALL day, then I voted against having an event if you know it's going to rain all day long. If it looks like rain part of the day, then that's a different story.

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:01 pm

Karl Shultz wrote:

I'll be the only one to come out and say it I guess. I say cancel the thing.

Working the course while it's raining sucks. Standing around basically all day while it's raining sucks. Having to have the windows rolled down while you run in the rain sucks. Wet shoes and socks all day sucks. For those who change tires, changing tires in the rain also sucks.

Noticing a trend here? I hate it. I know that I will not melt and that I can bring spare shoes. But none of this makes me not hate it.

There. I said it. You can all start making fun of me for being a sissy now :oops:

Rice for President 2005!!!! I couldnt agree with you more!

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Very interesting replies and votes so far. Now I know why I wasn't sure what the "feel" was in the club for this question - it's been split up the middle most of the time along.

If this question was aimed at the event organizers only, I bet the vote would be more heavily weighed towards cancel. There are a lot of logistical problems - timing lights don't work in heavy rain, some of our stuff doesn't like to get wet, etc. One really big problem is - we know turnout will be low for a very wet event. Since our costs are fixed this means less income, at a time when we're thinking about how to finance a new bus. Another problem - some of the people who would choose not to come are probably people we rely on. Blah, blah, blah. None of these are big deals. A bad day autocrossing is still better than a good day ____. Fill in the blank

Matthew_Thomson · **Posted:** Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:11 pm

Vincent Keene wrote:

...but I hate to miss an event.

i think you meant miss the points opportunity :wink:

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Question - rain-soaked autocrosses

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