Jay,
You're name is familiar to me, even here in the hills of Ohio. I think
you're on the left coast somewhere, aren't you? Certainly you must be
autoxer of some repute. Anyways, no I never do get a chance to look at a
speedo on a course. But I know my rev limiters in the gears and I am
quite capable of telling when I've topped out in second or had to go to
third. In addition, in the midwest sometimes we measure speed .... with
radar guns. Wow!
And we don't measure "average" speed. The instance where you mentioned
averaging 45 mph was hardly your top speed on that course. Could it have
been north of 55? Maybe and most probably it was. It almost had to be.
Faster courses often safer? Yes. Faster courses are usually set up on
larger sites where you don't have to break the 50 foot rule for curbs,
have crossovers to add course, etc. There's much more room to be safe.
And usually they have straightaways thru the timing lights instead of a
(stupid) chicanne. But that's another arguement.
I'll be thinking of all you safety nazis when I choose to drive away
from an event because it's slow, tight and stupid. I have that right.
And 55 mph is well within the rules. Even occasional use of 70 is OK.
And just like I'll leave an event that has a slow course, you can choose
to leave an event if it's too fast for you.
John Whitling
Jay Mitchell wrote:
> John Whitling wrote:
>
> >If we spent all of our time on slow autox courses I wouldn't
> still be doing this.
>
> What exactly do you mean by "slow?" If you've got enough time to
> look at your speedometer in a Solo II run, you're not going as
> fast as you can.
>
> >For me, your normal Pro Solo is SLOW solo. No fun.
>
> Maybe this just isn't your sport, then. Ever tried bungee
> jumping? I understand it's a real rush....
>
> >There should be a place for fast courses in solo.
>
> There are two. They're called "Solo Trials" and "Solo I." If you
> can't get your cookies at Solo II - legal speeds, then one of
> these might be just the ticket.
>
> What do you really mean by "fast?" It's not the same as "quick."
> I can go over 120 in my car on a straight stretch of freeway.
> That's moderately fast, at least to me. Not exactly my idea of
> fun, however, nor terribly challenging. Anyone can push the loud
> pedal.
>
> > They are often safer courses too.
>
> Maybe you'd better offer some f'rinstances so we get an idea of
> what you mean by that.
>
> >Any courses slower than 55 or so are way too slow for me.
>
> Well, we all have to start from zero. On a 3/4-mile course if
> your time is, say, a minute, your average speed will be 45 mph.
> Is that too slow? I claim the numbers don't tell you squat.
>
> >Slow courses are not fun. They are usually littered with
> >too many maneuvers jammed too close together, and usually by
> rookie course
> >designers.
>
> I can go along with the concept, but how many maneuvers on a
> given size lot is too many? There's a pretty wide range of
> answers to that one, and I've had lots of fun on courses I
> suspect you'd call "slow."
>
> Jay
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