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Philly forum
| Terry's
Photos
"My first ride-along" - Philly Region Autocross 8/17/03 Article and Photos By: Terry "TAZ" Zorich
I've been to many autocross events, but always as a spectator or photographer. I've been wanting to try it for some time, but have never made the time to make it happen. The Philly Region's Solo II event at Boeing in Ridley Park on Sunday was no exception, but something really cool happened during the third heat. Tom Elliott, a friendly and outgoing guy with whom I'd spoken a few times before, offered (nearly insisted) for me to ride along with him on his next run. I put down the camera, found a helmet, and made it back to the car to fumble with the four-point harness with little time to spare before our run.
The light turned green. Tom dumped the clutch and I was pressed back into the seat with a force that surprised me. I'm used to riding 150 horsepower sportbikes that can do 10 second quarter miles and go 170+ mph, and I have owned two "fast in a straight line" LS1 6-speed Z28's, but admittedly, the hard launch and the handling of the Audi came as a bit unexpected. The course was fun; right out of the gate was a short chute leading to a left, with a single slalom cone followed by a tight left that sent us back through the starting area. This somewhat straight section ended with hard braking and a sharp right to negotiate the cone that started the second half of the course, which sent cars left, then right, then left again in a zigzag pattern and a final right towards the finish, which forced drivers to turn right as they tripped the finish line timing beam. During my ride, my initial thought - and the lasting impression that I took from the experience - was that things were happening much faster INSIDE the car than I'd envisioned. Watching from the sidelines definitely does not get you a good sense of how fast these cars are going. Avoiding cones at speed takes very quick reaction, a definite knowledge of the course, planning and thinking ahead, and good car control. I learned that the fast way through is different in autocross than in road racing; time and the extremely tight courses don't afford the autocross driver the same luxuries as his roadracing counterpart.
I've been threatening my wife that I'd be borrowing her new car (an '03 Mustang GT) some Sunday in the near future. After my ride with Tom, that day just might come sooner than I'd expected! Note: Photos from the Solo II event at Boeing on 8/17 (and other regional SCCA events) can be seen and purchased at http://EventPhotoNow.PhotoReflect.com __________________________________________________________________ |
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Tom's
ride is a beautiful, bright yellow Audi S4 - civilized on the surface,
but a more-than-capable performer, with a stiff suspension, AWD, and a
gem of an engine, Audi's 2.7 liter twin turbo. In autocross, being a
good driver doesn’t hurt either, and as I found out, Tom is exactly
that – a good driver. I was tightly cinched down in my belts, but my
host gently suggested I might feel less planted when he started tossing
the car around. I smiled and took a grip on the grab handle as we pulled
into the timing beam at the start.
In
the S4, the all-wheel-drive had all four tires clawing at the pavement
to put the power down; I can imagine the drivers of the big American
cars (like my beloved LS1's) would have the drivers working extra hard
to balance forward drive and grip. Despite my ~215 pounds additional
weight, Tom managed just over 30 seconds for the course (the third best
time of his five runs). I left the car with a big grin on my face, and
my only disappointment was that I hadn't gotten the chance to do a
ride-along sooner! Thanks, Tom, for the generosity, and for a
great experience!