08-25-2006, 06:07 AM
Let me be the first to say that I think things might look a little worse than they are because almost all of the alumni don't autocross much anymore if any. So naturally it looks pretty bad that we don't see some of the new folks out that much anymore.
I think that if you want to do HPDE's or get into racing that starting off autocrossing is key to you doing so successfully. Its cheap, very low to negligible risk of crashing, and its an excellent way to build your car control skills. Just about everyone who is tracking or racing now started out with autox. Karting is also another cheap way to build your skills. I really hope to see more karting events this year.
One thing I wish the club did more of (and this goes for alumni too) is get out to watch professional races. I'm not saying we should be driving all over the country to watch 10 races a year but at the very least there is 3 or 4 really fun events at VIR and the 12 hour at Summit. Before Chan and I started the club one of the things that really got us hooked was going to watch pro races at VIR. This was way back before I had even autocrossed for the first time (after that I started autocrossing my automatic Civic).
I think people misunderstand the social stuff a little bit. When we started the club we realized that part of the key to getting people to participate was that we had to build relationships in the membership. Movie nights and parties were a good way to do that. Still, I think that there are a lot more motorsport themed social events we could take advantage of.
One thing I'd like to point out is that part of the reason of starting MM was that we realized that HPDE, racing, autocrossing, spectating could all be cheaper if we pooled our resources together as a club. For those that are concerned about the cost of some events, you can really take a lot of the sting out of it by cooperating. That's exactly what we did at Laguna Seca this year where we saved about $200-300 each by getting a RV together.
I have more thoughts on a lot of things but that's off the top of my head.
I think that if you want to do HPDE's or get into racing that starting off autocrossing is key to you doing so successfully. Its cheap, very low to negligible risk of crashing, and its an excellent way to build your car control skills. Just about everyone who is tracking or racing now started out with autox. Karting is also another cheap way to build your skills. I really hope to see more karting events this year.
One thing I wish the club did more of (and this goes for alumni too) is get out to watch professional races. I'm not saying we should be driving all over the country to watch 10 races a year but at the very least there is 3 or 4 really fun events at VIR and the 12 hour at Summit. Before Chan and I started the club one of the things that really got us hooked was going to watch pro races at VIR. This was way back before I had even autocrossed for the first time (after that I started autocrossing my automatic Civic).
I think people misunderstand the social stuff a little bit. When we started the club we realized that part of the key to getting people to participate was that we had to build relationships in the membership. Movie nights and parties were a good way to do that. Still, I think that there are a lot more motorsport themed social events we could take advantage of.
One thing I'd like to point out is that part of the reason of starting MM was that we realized that HPDE, racing, autocrossing, spectating could all be cheaper if we pooled our resources together as a club. For those that are concerned about the cost of some events, you can really take a lot of the sting out of it by cooperating. That's exactly what we did at Laguna Seca this year where we saved about $200-300 each by getting a RV together.
I have more thoughts on a lot of things but that's off the top of my head.
2018 Ducati Panigale V4
Past: 2018 Honda Civic Type-R, 2015 Yamaha R1, 2009 BMW M3, 2013 Aprilia RSV4R, 2006 Honda Ridgeline, 2006 Porsche Cayman S, 2012 Ducati 1199, 2009 Subaru WRX, 2008 CBR1000RR, 2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R, 2000 Toyota Tundra, 2005 Honda CBR600RR, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1997 Honda Civic EX
http://www.aclr8.com
Past: 2018 Honda Civic Type-R, 2015 Yamaha R1, 2009 BMW M3, 2013 Aprilia RSV4R, 2006 Honda Ridgeline, 2006 Porsche Cayman S, 2012 Ducati 1199, 2009 Subaru WRX, 2008 CBR1000RR, 2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R, 2000 Toyota Tundra, 2005 Honda CBR600RR, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1996 Acura Integra GS-R, 1997 Honda Civic EX
http://www.aclr8.com