mountainbiker2

I was always taught that the fast turns were more important to get right, because they cost you more time if you make a mistake. My buddy told me no way, that the slow turns will cost you more time if you make a mistake. What do you guys think?

thanks,

Steve A.

GTB/ZR-1

You're covering more ground the greater the speed--so I say faster sections... That being said, you don't want to overslow (or overdrive) in the tighter sections.

avizandum

There's alot to answering that question. If you're thinking of an autocross simply as a sequence of turns, you're missing some key points to driving. The best advice is to take the novice walks, especially when they're done by a nationally competitive driver which is often the case. Listen closely and ask your specific questions there where you can see & understand what's being said.

The old saying "Slow in, fast out" almost always applies, and all "turns" are relative.

What is equally important is to take a turn in such a manner that it optimizes the next section of the course - eliminating distance, lengthening a straight section, carrying more speed over a longer distance, etc. This accomplished by one of the most effective techniques which is "looking ahead". If you're focused on right where you are, most likely, you'll mess yourself up for what's ahead. It will initially feel like you're going to hit cones, but not so. A national champ once told me, "It's like looking for Sears at the mall. You're looking far ahead and you never paid much attention to the people you were passing on either side. And magically, you didn't collide with any of them."

Solofast

It all counts and you can't buy back time lost.

Can you lose more by screwing up a fast section. Maybe, but if you make even a small mistake, you can't get back the time, so it doesn't matter.

To win autocross at the top level you have to do everything perfect. I doesn't matter what you don't do perfect, if everything isn't darn close to perfect the run is trash.

You can't concentrate more on one area than another. If you do that you will give away time in the spot that you aren't concentrating on and you will get beat.

Autocross is one minute of intense concentration. It applies to every inch of the track. Walk the course, mentally note your marks and hit them ALL at the right speed.

TheSkunkWorks

This isn't as straight forward as it might seem. Looking at the track map for a given course (RR or AX), the turns which enter the longest straights are pretty much always the most important from which to leave with the most exit speed. Crash avoidance aside, if you're going to make a mistake do it coming onto the shorter straights.

IMHO while most drivers leave some speed on the table thru and exiting fast turns, more often than not it's actually in the braking zone where gobs of time are lost "in" the slow ones. My $.02, tho from a RR perspective, still relative...

autoxer6

There aren't any slow corners. You need to be agressive and at the limit in all of them.

froggy47

IMO completely course dependent.

If the fast turn is a long sweeper & you are giving up time thru the whole turn that's a lot of 10th's.

If the slow turn is before the fastest part of the course, equally bad.

BTW for the guys who don't know Steve & who think this is a sort of "basic" question, it's really a pretty astute question & he is a TTD guy at many SoCal (very competitive) events.

TheSkunkWorks

When it comes to getting a better handle on this stuff, the only bad question is the one left unasked.

Charley Hoyt

All good advice...but, It may be helpful to know that aside from being an instructor, Steve is one of the fastest autocrossers in Southern California (a group that has more than it's share of National champions).

AU N EGL

and what is SLOW for one person is too fast for an other.

Slow In Fast out is best. and keep your eyes UP the road.

Olitho

Yes. Steve is a VERY fast driver.

He question is a little slow though.

RX7 KLR

Slow turns in Solo will make or break a run. You might spend twice as much time in a slow turn as a fast one (particularly OCR PCA fast turns). Do you have data in your car? Look at the amount of time from entry to exit on the both types of turns, its eye opening.

In a slow turn you have to take into account braking into and accelerating out of it, both of these are potential areas where you can lose a lot of time. Ever brake just a bit late, or spin the tires coming out of a slow turn?

Do you think those girly CSP Miata's can keep up with you in the fast stuff? No, they are beating you in the slow stuff.

mountainbiker2

Thank you for the compliments and all the good advice. I'm going to be getting data acquisition soon I hope.

thanks again.

Steve A.