A note from Metts Hardy, Competition Chair

What is autocross? Basically, there are two types of autocross; low-speed and high-speed.  The distinction is that speeds are limited to a maximum of 80mph in low-speed, although you rarely find a course where that type speed is possible; but in high-speed, the speeds can exceed 100mph.  The most important thing to remember is that you can drive at your own pace.  You are not racing door to door with other cars but, instead, racing the clock.  Most often you’ll find that the biggest competition is “yourself”, trying to shave those seconds, then tenths, and then even hundredths of seconds off your best last time.  Low-speed courses are typically setup in paved parking lots and consist of cones or pylons laid out into a series of turns and gates.  The objective is to navigate the course in the least amount of time.  High-speed courses consist of actual “road” courses.  It’s kind of like driving on an open country road, but maybe just a little faster but a whole lot safer. 

The easiest, and probably best, way to get your feet wet in autocross is to participate in a low-speed event.  Or even watch, or work the course, or ride with experienced drivers at events where the rules will allow.  No license other than a valid driver’s license is required in a low-speed event and no special equipment outside of an approved helmet is required.  Of course your car must pass a technical inspection to insure it is safe to operate in an event.  There is a license required to do high-speed events on road courses.  According to the NCCC rules, if you compete in three consecutive low-speed events over the course of three weekends, you can earn your high-speed license or you may attend an approved performance driving school.  This is to demonstrate that you are able to control your car and operate a safe manner at speed.  In high-speed autocross, you must also have an approved helmet and fire extinguisher, unless you are driving a convertible or Race Prepared (RP) car.  Then the requirements change a bit.  But since I know very few driving RP’s, we’ll just stick to the stock Corvette coupe for now.