The new normal is now routine and fun is still fun. Socially respectful autocrossing with new and familiar friends is a great way to spend the day. Our CVR AutoX events may even be more appreciated now as the safe, easy, low-cost adrenaline rush of choice. You’ll go home with refined driving skills and with a big smile.

Another large turn-out and great weather helped make the August 8th Lime Rock CVR AutoX event memorable and the course ensured that it was. Fast straight-aways flowing into moderate and fast sweepers, an open yet “tank-slapping” central loop fed you back the way you came from, leading to a flat-out finish. Wow, this course was fast, long, and had great flow. It was so action-packed that you had to remember to breathe! Re-watch the virtual drive ( CVR PCA AutoX #2 2020, starting at the 5:19 second point) and that’s very close to how it felt to actually drive. The openness tested both experienced and new drivers alike and drilled home how important looking and thinking ahead really is. Such a seemingly simple skill is actually hard to master under the flat-out rush of speed.

The foundations of the AutoX-University were laid ten years ago and have evolved to teach 14 different driving skills and “Better Driving…Faster!“. Each course is specifically designed as the ideal place for learning and refining one or two of those driving skills. With insightful words from Chief Instructor Ed Bogue in the morning, then helpful feedback from our AutoX Instructors throughout the day, drivers get to feel the difference when they apply the lessons and see their times fall.
The August 8th AutoX-U lesson was about “Course Reading” and “Cornering“. Lime Rock’s smooth and wide B-Paddock provided the ideal spot to make a sprawling “open” course with the necessary freedom to vary your line into, through, and out of various corner types. Unlike fixed road courses where “THE line” is well recited and endlessly practiced, there is a lot to learn about how to determine your own line. This skill is built on understanding the reasons for theoretical “lines”, followed by feeling the difference for yourself under the relentless and unbiased ticking of the clock. The course was also the ideal spot to challenge the amazing cornering power of your Porsche until it gave clear signs of complaining. Was your car limiting you, or were you limiting your car? The course gave you lots of space to safely answer and feel the answer. Instant feedback is a marvelous learning tool. If you were unable to improve your times any further, AutoX-U Instructors were always able to offer insights to shave off more. That’s the AutoX-U edge in teaching car control and driving skills.

Join us again at beautiful Lime Rock Park on September 12th for a new course and new chance to further refine your driving skills. CVR is the only club that posts the actual course map and a virtual drive in advance. First look at the map with the blue/red line to see “where the course goes”. Next, look at the “no-line” map to cement the course in your mind. Now watch the virtual drive video several times until you recognize each corner and can consistently “look ahead” more than one “gate”. Go back to the no-line map and start thinking about what “line” you will take through the course. HINT: the line that Ed drives in the video is a very good line to emulate! Finally, when you arrive that morning, walk the course several times and ask an Instructor to walk one of those times with you. This briar-patch “homework” will maximize your learning and fun.
Our CVR AutoX web page has the sign-up link, schedule, and other helpful info; http://cvrpca.org/onthetrack.php?id=2 . Even with respectful social interaction, AutoX is still the one for fun!
Better Driving…Faster!