Autocross – Your Choice for a Low-Budget Race

Are you a racing lover? Are you still worrying about the high cost of auto racing? Don’t worry! Thanks to autocross, now you can have an exhilarating driving experience at an extremely low-budget. Take a look!

Autocross, which is also called Solo II, is an event where you can bring your ordinary street car to race in a safe and controlled environment. Usually, it is an empty parking lot, with numerous orange traffic cones standing on the ground. One thing you need to know is that it is not a wheel-to-wheel race, so that you don’t need to worry about hitting others’ cars in the competition. One car at a time, each driver competes against other drivers in their respective class by taking a timed lap on the course, with the goal to drive as fast as one can. Although I just said the drivers could use his or her unmodified street cars to race, sport utility vehicles are not allowed on the course due to the potential rollover issues.

It is never easy to start your first race. However, I’d like to give you some tips about having your first experience of autocross.

1. Try to avoid knocking over the traffic cones. Though knocking over the lovely orange cones might seem tempting to you, which might get you fast time in the competition, it is sad to know that each cone hit has a time penalty, typically two seconds, which means that just hitting one cone may ruin the whole lap.

2. You should get familiar with the course before the race. Walking around the course for a few times before you race may save you a lot of time later on the course, for you might get lost in the sea of orange cones. Also, you can get an instructor with you in the car for the first few runs. Usually, they will not only guide you through the course, but also offer you precious advice on how to approach different sections.

3. You should do your seat time first rather than try to go fast.

4. Talk with the veteran drivers between runs. There might be 45 minutes between each run. And you should use it to talk with those experienced racers. Generally, they are warm-hearted and are willing to share their experience with you.

Moreover, autocross not only provides you a place to drive for fun, but also gives you a marvelous opportunity to learn some driving skills, such as thresh-hold-braking.

Do you find autocross an interesting sport? I hope you enjoy it. Good luck!