Fancy footwork and practice are required to have a good time at a country line dance. Or at least that’s what it looks like in the film The Accountant II, as Ben Affleck tries to impress a waitress that caught his eye. The same applied to The AutoX II, held on June 7th as we did our own line dance. The dance floor in our case was paved, and just like Ben, sneakers were the shoe of choice, not cowboy boots. After all, we wouldn’t want to step on the toes of the pylons.
To help our dancing technique, the AutoX-U lesson was about Picking your Line through a combination of corners. The course was designed specifically to highlight that skill. Wide open “track out” areas tempted you to use them, but the clock was always whispering in your ear that “for a good time” you needed to get close to pylons, and to chop distance. Fancy footwork was indeed required in several sections to keep your right foot planted, pivot it to the left (pedal) at the last split-second possible, then ease off to maintain loading on your dance partner’s front shoes and avoid bumping into neighboring pylons. Yee-ha!
Speaking of lines, the weather had its own. A green, yellow, and red one swept across the state. Thankfully we two-stepped our way to noon with only a brief passing green band that quickly dried, giving everyone several completely dry runs before the last runs that were damp to wet. We got yet another perfectly timed reprieve that allowed us to break down the course, celebrate the great driving with trophies, then pack up before a big downpour on the way home. Later, I learned that less than 5 miles south, our slight morning rain was, in fact, a torrential red cell that flooded some roads. Getting lucky on the dance floor is a nice thing!
Wide-open spaces tempted you to carry more speed than was prudent. For example, the “inner loop” 180-degree skid pad section required a lift, then a light tap of the brakes (some explored left-foot braking), and finally a slow dance with the throttle on the way out. Exceptions to any of those steps produced some great spins. Congratulatory applause was heard as recognition of the driver exploring the limits and learning from the experience. Phrases like: “That was perfect”, and “What better place to learn that?” could be heard at their instructor’s post-run debrief, celebrating the advancement.
An amazing by-product of the day was the ability to see for yourself just how small the difference was going from a dry, to damp, to wet surface. Flat out driving only slows about 6% in damp conditions (a sheen to the pavement and some spray from your tires), and only about 10% in the wet (shiny pavement and significant spray but no real big puddles). Of course, you had to dance nicely with your partner to achieve those small gaps. Violently quick smoothness at the limit was the key to achieve fast times, not the slow cautious version that many associate with the term “smooth”.
Check out the AutoX results on the CVR Member’s Only web page to see for yourself ( Member Login – Connecticut Valley Region PCA ). Note that the first 4 runs were dry or just slightly damp, then the 5th and 6th runs were either very damp or wet. A safe AutoX course is the best place to learn how to drive really fast in the dry, or wet. Better Driving…Faster! is not an idle slogan.