OK, I've kept quiet long enough... damnit why did you guys have
to drag me into this?
Nationals course != (not equal) confusing, hard to see
Nationals course != trickery
SFR course != dull and boring
Nationals course != too fast
Nationals course != only gates
Given that, it's possible to build an SFR that is both technically
chellenging without being confusing or difficult to navigate.
It can, and should, be difficult to read and find the correct line
and braking points. At least for those with lesser experience.
This does not mean that it should deliberately trick them into
blowing a braking zone and destroying cones at the edge of a
corner. It also does not mean that there should be as few cones
as possible to hinder finding the course. Personally I found
Roger's south course to be nearly undrivable, and the lack of
cones or even chalk lines definitely cost me a trophy spot this
year. That was unacceptable and my survey response says so.
What I don't like about many SFR courses is that we have a
tendency to create fairly constant width, snaking, chute-like
courses where the goal seems to be just stay within the cones.
There's not much variation in line or braking points. In fact,
there's very really a strong braking zone. Very constant speed
and steering.
What I see in Nationals-type courses that I enjoy is that the
key direction of the courses is defined by a few number of cones
(call them gates if you want, but they don't have to be) and the
method of travel through them can be modified to suit the car
and/or the driver style.
The biggest difference I see is our turnarounds (180s) vs. a
typical national turn around...
Ours:
/-------\
/ __--__ \
/ / | |
| | | |
National:
|-----------|
| |
| . . . |
| | | |
You get the idea. Our course forces you into the chute, while
the national course offers you options of late apex (with early
or late entry), double apex, Outwide-hard-brake-rotate-on-the-
gas-nail-the-apex, a momentum line, and mr-2 line, etc. It also
offers the option of missing the braking zone completely but still
being able to fight your way back. Obviously a good driver will
be able to figure out the " " ideal line quicker than a novice,
which also means that a novice also has the ability to change or
improve his skills (course reading as well as driving) especially
by watching the good drivers and make a real improvement (decrease
in time of course) that should make him want to come back and
learn something again.
I forget who said it (Brooks?), the SFR program should support and
improve novices without hindering those who do want to go to
Natioanals every year. There is no way someone who has attended
every local SFR event should be coming back from Nationals with
a quote like "I've never seen any course like that". That is bad
on our part. We failed to train and prepare our drivers.
Don't make courses deliberately confusing, that's a given. Don't
make them overly simple. Don't make them fast because fast does
not always mean fun. Don't make them quirky or awkward. But do
make them challenging to find the smooth way through. The north
course from last year was like that. If you did everything right,
it was an easy course. If you fell behind, you had a tough time
making up time.
That's my speech, sorry it got so long. In conclusion, a little
bit of everything every time.
--Darren
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