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Official Chicagoland Autocross Event: Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates 8/31/14

intoflatlines

Drag Race Newbie
NEW THREAD: http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83033

PLEASE TRY TO KEEP ALL POSTS IN THIS THREAD RELATED TO AUTOCROSS IN SOME WAY, THANKS! :thumbsup:

Time until Autocross (Thanks to Tuna)



A couple of us are members of the local BMWCCA chapter that hosts 6 autocross events per year. Located at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Maywood Park in Maywood, and one at the Tire Rack facility in South Bend, IN.

This thread serves the purpose of listing the dates/locations of the next event(s), as well as possible signup info and guest slot availability.

If you do not want to worry about guest slots being available (they are claimed very quickly), please sign up for the BMWCCA club using this link (by using this link, you and I both get a raffle entry into the BMW M-Performance driving school): https://www.bmwcca.org/join/475691

The next event is 8/31/14 at Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Guest spot status:

- Kevin
- Joe
- John
- Jackie

Racing:
- Kevin
- Joe
- Adrian
- Jay
- John
- Tuna
- Jackie
- Aaron
- ?

Spectating:
- Spid360
- Jaberballs
- Carl
- ?

Schedule:
- Arrive ~8AM, check in and get your wristband
- Prep car, walk the course
- Mandatory driver's meeting at 9:20AM sharp (if you miss this you will not be allowed to drive)
- First car out at 9:30AM
- Drive, rest, or work depending on your schedule. You must work during your assigned time slot or else you will be disqualified and people will think that you're an asshole.
- Leave ~3-4PM.

Notes:
- Helmets available to borrow onsite (free!)
- Rules/tech info (READ THIS!): http://www.windycitybmw.com/photo.aspx?moid=41246
- Spectators must sign the waiver at the check-in table and receive a wristband
- Bring sunscreen/hat/etc., be prepared to spend several hours on your feet
- Empty everything in your car the night before (including floor mats, trunk/glove box contents, etc.), or do it when you arrive.
- Walk the course at least twice!
- Driving with an instructor is highly recommended (for your first couple laps at least)
 
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intoflatlines

Drag Race Newbie
TIPS FOR AUTOCROSS NOOBS REGARDING WORK ASSIGNMENT!

If you are driving, you will also be working the cones. This means that you will be on-course when cars are running timed laps. You will be stationed at a particular location on the track with a red flag, radio, and extra cones. Your job will be to watch the cars as the pass through your area, reset any cones that are nudged/knocked over, notify scoring of any penalties, and red-flagging cars if an unsafe condition occurs or if instructed over radio. Over the past couple autocross events with a large percentage of new autocrossers, I (along with several veteran autocrossers much more experienced) have noticed a significant amount of mistakes by new cone workers that hopefully we can avoid by keeping in mind the following notes:
  • Working the cones is an important/serious job. People's valuable run times depend on the quality of your work. Missing a penalty call on a run gives that driver a 2 second advantage, and calling a false penalty essentially eliminates that run from contention.
  • Cone penalties are as follows: If the cone is not standing up on its base, it is a penalty. If the cone is standing up on its base and is completely outside of its chalk box (drawn on the surface by the staff), it is a penalty. If a cone is standing up on its base and its base is touching any part of its chalk box, it is not a penalty. See image below for examples.

  • You must automatically call a DNF (Did Not Finish) on any car that misses a gate, misses an obstacle (e.g., misses a slalom cone), hits the timing gear, or hits any cone in the rolling stop box at the end.
  • If you see a car nudge a cone that has obviously not moved it far enough to be out of its box, you should still go out to reset the cone just in case. Even if you think a car might have just touched a cone, you should reset it. Sometimes a few millimeters of cone movement can make the difference between a good time and a ruined time.
  • If you need to reset a cone, run, don't walk to and from the cone, no matter how close it is. Cars are sent out in a staggered format, meaning that there will always be 2-3 cars driving at speed on the track. If you stroll out to a cone to reset it and stroll back, you will likely find yourself out of position by the time the next car comes around. You might be out of their way, but you could distract/startle the driver which could ruin his or her run, or you could even be at risk of getting run over by an out of control car. So yeah, run, don't walk.
  • It is helpful to have hand signals worked out so that you can communicate to the person at your station that is holding the radio. For example, a car goes by and touches some cones. You run out to the cones while your radio/flag person stays at your "base". You get to the cones and see that all are still standing inside their boxes, so you signal back to the radio guy with the baseball umpire "safe" motion. Or, you find that cones are outside their boxes, you hold up the respective number of fingers so that the radio person can call the penalties in quickly.
  • Sometimes, a car seriously loses control and knocks down an entire row of cones. If this happens, multiple people from your station (and sometimes other stations) will need to run over and get things reset quickly. Keep an eye out for the approaching car. If you find that you cannot get things reset and people are still in the way, you need to red-flag the car and get them safely moving along so the whole course does not get red-flagged.
  • Always be aware of the other cars on the track. You might be focusing on the next car coming up to your area, but the car way behind him might get lost and accidentally head into your area, or in the path of another car. Or if a car makes it past your area but then spins out or has a mechanical failure at the next area, you need to be aware of that in case he can't get out of the way before the next car approaches. If you see a dangerous situation, red-flag.
  • Make sure to wear comfortable shoes for running/walking/standing. You will be on your feet for some time. Make sure your laces are tied, etc.
  • Working the cones is fun (in my opinion) and a great time to chat with people, but remember that your primary role is to work. Safety/cones/penalties come first, chatting come second. Avoid taking videos, texting, etc. while working. You will not be able to dedicate your attention to your job.
 
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intoflatlines

Drag Race Newbie
This is the parking lot that we will be using on Saturday. The area inside the yellow outline is for parking our cars, everything else is off limits for parking. As you can imagine, this will make parking near each other difficult, since people tend to take the closest available spot when they arrive. So if we want to park near each other we will have to park some distance away from everything, or arrive early.

Red is autocross lot
Yellow is parking for drivers
Blue is parking for spectators



if you are a spectator or arriving late, they block off the lot so that no cars can enter (for safety, since the entrance goes right across the staging area)... so spectators must park in the lot just across the street.

Finalized online registration list:

 
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Gunkata

Drag Race Newbie
2nd. I don't know if I can make this one or not, due to the holiday weekend and any plans, etc.

Is this back in Maywood?
 

Gunkata

Drag Race Newbie
oh nice.
 
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