I asked this on the MR2 auto-x forum, I'm curious to hear what the Honda racers think of it.

When autocrossing, which situation would you prefer to be in?

1) All of your runs are consistantly in the same time range, and you peak by your second or third run

OR

2) Continuous improvement over the course of each run with the final one being the fastest, and there being a significant time gap between each run?

I've noticed that looking through the consistency results that the clubs I run in keep track of, I've gone from poor results like DNQs (meaning you had an off course so you aren't on the list) and 92nd out of 95, 81st out of 90, 78th out of 84, etc. last year, to a 21st and an 8th on that list so far this year. Is this a sign of improvement? My PAX results are slightly better than last year at this point, although I'm far off from the 2nd place in PAX I got at one event last year (my best after 2 events this year being 13th of 140 or so).

 

For a three-run event, I try to go out and drive the course faster than I think it can be driven. If I blow a corner, cone or whatever that's no big deal as I can eliminate that mistake without backing off too much. The general trend I usually see is .5 seconds or more per run improvement, unless I make a big mistake. If I've really gotten my best out of a run the subsequent runs will only improve by a couple tenths at the most.

I'd rather feel like I really nailed my last run than feel like I peaked and have just chosen the wrong lines. My times with respect to others whose times I know I need to be close to are the other barometer, so if I've gotten to those times and I've plateaued to the .1 improvement-per-run range, I feel ok. If not I'd rather be taking off half seconds or more at a time.

 

Kind of depends on how good a job I did on my course walk. If I know the thing by heart, I expect some consistency. Now if I'm consistently slow my first two runs, I'll either dial it back a bit, or turn it up a bit, depending on *why* I'm slow. If I'm slow and clean (no cones or DNFs) I turn up the aggression. If I'm slow due to cones, and the raw times are good, I turn it down a bit. So I guess my answer is "it depends."

 

This is a tough question..I think it is different for different people.

My first run is often "slow" i like to get a look at how exactly the car fits, and how things look when i am sitting in the car, and not walking. That being said..i still try to be as fast as I think i can get away with on the first run.

After that I pick up the pace, doing what i feel is in the car pushing some limits but not trying to overdrive. If that run is clean and quick..the last one will be a go for broke run. So i guess for me..its the peak on the last run that i like.

Robert Carpenter, who has a Pro Solo and a National championship in a CRX was my main competition for a while. (and now since he has a Celica is again) He seems to be as fast on his first run as he will be on his last. Often his first or second run would be his quickest. It was always impressive, and often disheartening to watch this. If he did go faster his last run..it often left people wondering how he had slipped an A-Mod car under the skin of his CRX.

For me I am always trying to learn how to hit the course faster. and be faster on the first run. I believe for me that it will lead to being even faster..or more consistantly faster in the final runs.

Jon K
http://www.seat-time.com

 

I try to learn the whole course on my walk through. Then on my first run I really concentrate on getting the first half of the course down. Second run the other half of the course. Then I try to put it all together.

Im lucky where we race because we always get at least 6 runs in 3 morning 3 afternoon. Knowing that my tires will grip better in the afternoon I run harder then.

Personally I try to make my fastest time on my fourth run. Sometimes this will make your competition run harder and make a mistake or two.

Anyone ever try to run and purposely try not to know your times? As of late Ive been curious if this would help or hurt.

In addition I think if your running very consistent times your not pushing the course. Thats why I try to put it all together the fourth run and push it really hard in the last two runs, more for learning purposes than anything else. Of course that all goes out the window if Im running behind.

 

Since my main focus is Nationals, and divisionals...i really only count the first 3 runs. If we get more than that its gravy.

As far as sandbagging...nope..If i go fast enough results will take care of themselves.

Jon

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RangerDan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Anyone ever try to run and purposely try not to know your times? As of late Ive been curious if this would help or hurt.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Never done that. I try not to pay attention to what my competitors are running so when we go to grid I always line up behind the next fastest person so I don't have to hear his times.

Personally, I've been aiming to peak with "conventional" driving by my third run in order to prepare myself for when the time comes for me to try national and divisional events. Any runs from then on I experiment a bit more with more aggressive driving practices.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sean O'Gorman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When autocrossing, which situation would you prefer to be in?

1) All of your runs are consistantly in the same time range, and you peak by your second or third run

OR

2) Continuous improvement over the course of each run with the final one being the fastest, and there being a significant time gap between each run?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I really don't remember the last time when my last run wasn't the fastest, so I'm definitely not in #2. Whether I actually prefer that, it depends. If I were able to run my last run’s time on all runs, then sure it would be nice being consistent. But I would take the option of doing one fast last run any day over doing all runs within 2 tenths of each other, yet all slower.

As far as strategy, it’s always go as fast as I can on every run. Then right after each run remain in the car and just run it through your head again to correct certain parts of it and figure out where you can still pick up more speed in. Then try to put these things to work on the next run. That's the only reason why the times keep dropping for me, unless a cone or two get in the way of that.

I am always impressed to see the few drivers out there who are able to run such incredibly fast times to within two or three tenths on ALL their runs.

 

I personaly look at 3 simmilar times to be a bad sign. I like to see .5 second incraments from run to run.

I used to have 3 consistant runs all the time but I think that was because I had become complaisant as a driver, holding back from an imaginary "edge".

Changing the car setup and having faster drivers co-drive with me has helped change that.