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A big thanks to all the folks that came out to the novice school yesterday. It was the first school that I've run, and in spite of more than a few glitches, we seemed to make it work. Lots of lessons learned for next time...

Hopefully everyone had a good time, and if you didn't, then shoot me an email and tell me why it sucked...

I hope I didn't get everyone sick. I still have no voice.

Scott

PS: For all of the volunteers, I'll arrange your free entry to a future event, if I forget, make sure to remind me!

I had a blast at the novice school and really learned quite a bit! I'm definately getting myself a little further ahead of the course now. Definately a lot of room for improvement but I at least have an idea of what I need to work on. Having an instructor there really helped out.

Big thanks to all those that helped set up, work, organize, instruct, etc etc!

I also learned that the gti with azenis and koni reds is far more fun than it was on blown stock shocks and hankook all season tires.

I had a blast, and the seat time was great. The only thing that I would have changed is to emphasize that you should park in your own pit area and not wherever you want to. It got frustrating parking a couple of spots from where my cooler and chairs were set up!

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Thanks to Scot and those of you behind the scenes for your work. I asked several students if they got their money's worth and all of them said yes!

I had a great time myself and will volunteer for any novice schools I can in the future.

I'd be interested in hearing about the lessons learned, especially if they can be applied to future events.

Here is the only complaint I heard... Saloms are too short and too tight. Each student that said this said that they just didn't have enough time to get into a rhythm to really figure it out.

Thanks again!

Yes, big thanks to the organizers and instructors!

Of course, I found out that I -still- have problems with slaloms. Oh well, I'll get them some day. I did find I was improving, with the help of my instructors.

As a side note, it's amazing how different the car feels with the STi struts and springs. Feeling the car actually rotate was awesome!

Thanks everyone!

-Mike

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2003 Mazda Protege5 (TheCheat)
2003 Subaru Impreza WRX (the wife's car, which she lets me race)

I think everything ran great. The students seemed like a good bunch, the courses were great, and I got as many runs yesterday as I did at the test&tune. Really enjoyed watching my students progress and get the adrenaline shakes. Had a great day.

The following story is dedicated to Wes Eargle...

I ran my last fun run with a helmet in the front passenger side floor. I didn't remember it until I got halfway into the slalom, then looked to see what was making all the noise - took me a second to decide whether to slow down & return the helmet or just continue the run. Decided to finish the run, naturally.

(it was a 33.5, in case you were curious, Wes )

I look forward to seeing you in STS PRO, Kevin

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Just a note to all the students and anyone else who was not able to make it to the school: The completion of the novice school does not mean that you are on your own from here out. If you would like an instructor to ride with you at events, all you need to do is ask any instructor you saw at the school or let someone know at registration or the driver's meeting the day of the event. Continued instruction is one of the best ways to improve. Donna and I still ride with and critique each others runs at events whenever possible.
We both really enjoyed instructing all our students, seeing the progress each of you made, and the perfect day mother nature provided. We look forward to seeing all of you at future events.

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

I had a blast, and I'm sure everyone else that I went with did as well. Thanks to all the instructors and organizers that made it happen. I'm looking forward to running in a few G-Stock events this year.

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I sold my Saab to the devil...
And all I got was this crappy SUV.

I just wanted, as well, to say thanks to all the instructors who took their time to make that event happen for all 40 of us.

Also, I wanted to state that it was nice to see quite a few women driving at the event (I didnt catch everyone's name, but I believe there were at least 3 driving - G35, WRX, and a GTi?). I know there are already quite a few VERY fast female members (Miranda and the Uber fast Blue Celica [sorry, I don't know your name yet!]). To ME, it is nice to see EVERYONE get out there and I hope everyone had fun.

Also, special thanks to my instructor, Kevin, who took his time to show me the correct way to drive the courses. It felt good at the end of the day to try to put all those lessons together and see how fast I could really run. I wanted to give that Chicago Box another try though. Between that and the turn around, I've got some work to do.

I do want to say that having the timing on the very last course was a good treat. I know, being Novices, that our times will vary WILDLY as we are still coming to grip with our cars and the courses; but, it was a GREAT measuring stick by letting me know quite easily which techniques were working, and which were not. Furthermore, it was GREAT to see the instructors get out there at the end and tear the course up (and even in some student's cars). I got used to see 40's all day long, and then the instructors started ripping off some 34's and 33s! It was a sight to behold to see them enter the slalom so controlled, and a certain celica not so controlled through the timing lights (I think he still ran a 36!).

I hope to see everyone at some future events, and I hope I can take a lot of the lessons I learned here and apply them to the 'real' autoXes. I know it is still going to be an uphill battle for me (4 runs compared to 15).

Next time, I am going to bring my camera and LOTS of sun tan lotion. That silver Gti that was ALWAYS lifting a wheel was a blast to watch and the Silver STi was the man to beat (NOV rawtime that I saw)!

Once again, thanks to all those who took the time to make the Novice event happen and thanks for giving us a place to run before the 'season' began!!!

- Brian Herring

Brian,
That blue Celica driver is my wife Donna. Stop by and say hi at the next event!

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

All in all I think the Novice School went very well. The weather was excellent which is always a plus. All the students got plenty of runs and I think most of them actually learned something. The goal was for them to learn and have fun and we accomplished both.

Special thanks to those who showed up very early (6:30am) Sunday to help setup. It definitely helped things stay on schedule getting an early start. Scott did everything in his power to keep to the schedule, and it worked out well though adjustments (like always) had to made.

I think the students really enjoyed having a full course setup in the afternoon. Each of them got three timed runs and there was even time left over for the instructors to play. Speaking of which, I saw several students hang around to shag cones for the instructors...thanks guys and gals!

Also I'd like to thank Jarret for letting me drive his Spec Miata. It was a blast even w/o power steering. Kind of like driving a go kart with a body on it. If I keep driving all these modified Miatae (what's the plural for Miata?) it's going to cost me cause I'll have to buy stuff for ours!

To reiterate what Chuck said, any student should should feel free to ask for any kind of help. I'm one of the three Novice Coordinators for 2004 and I will be more than happy to help. I think students will find that most THSCC folks are very willing to help a newbie so just ask!

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

Will do! You guys pulled up after your fun run to hitch the trailer, and I just got out of your way.

Also, thanks for the tip about the "turn around" cone, and the best ways to think about it. I had thought about doing it another way, but after hearing you say it in the walk through, it made more sense, and it seemed to help me get around the course quicker.

I will come by and say "hi". Thanks!

- Brian Herring

I'd like to add my thanks as well. I learned quite a bit of things related to autocross but also learned that I don't know how to launch or shift into second properly. So, besides learning new things I found out that I need to relearn old things.

The set up was perfect for a novice. The two small sections allowed me to concentrate on, well, small sections, and gain confidence without being overwhelmed. The last three runs on the larger course were a pure joy, the last two being me by myself to see what I could remember. My hat's off to Simon for his great instructions and the fun we had. Thanks to all of you involved with putting that together. I'm HOOKED! I'll be signing up for most of the autocrosses this year.

Regards,

Chris Landi
2004 Silver STi

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Fastest NOV of the day!!

- dow