NELLI News - Windtunnel Trip
Autocross Follies
or how you can find happiness
while losing your way through
the cones.
On the second Sunday of May a small but enthusiastic bunch of NELLI
drivers traveled to Ft Devens in Ayer, Ma to compete in an autocross.
The event was hosted by NESCC, the New England Sports Car Club, an
affiliate of the New England Region of the Sports Car Club of
America. Four drivers came with their Lotus cars: Mark Michalski,
Lotus Europa S2; Tim Marx, Elan S3; Phil Zarrow, Elan S3; and John
White, Europa TCS. Karen Michalski, Foster Cooperstein, and Doug
Nicholls were also there.
The event was run in general conformance with SCCA SoloII autocross
rules and classes. The two Elans were in AP, and the Europas, both
of which have been modified, were in ASP. The course was laid out
along three airport runways that form a triangle. It was basically
some quick turns leading to a slalom to a sweeping turn on each of
the runways. The course was about a mile long, and most drivers were
using only first and second gears with a bit of third if you were
going quickly.
Unlike many parking lot events, there was no hard acceleration/hard
braking in the course. It was more about maintaining speed and car
control. It was also about being able to find your way through all
of the cones without knocking any over (time penalty) or missing any
gates (disqualification). There were more than eighty cars competing,
from tired VW Jettas to purpose built open wheel machines. Fastest
time of day (60.117 seconds) was by a formula car powered by a
2-stroke 200hp engine.
Mark and Tim both did rather well with Mark posting the fastest
time of the NELLI entrants. Phil Zarrow managed to get a clean run
in after a couple of tries, but John White never seemed to be able to
find the course all the way through. Maybe next time.
We had a great day, and although some had more success than others, everyone enjoyed the event. This was a new experience for some of the drivers, and it is clear that there is a learning curve to be overcome.
The NESCC is having their next autocross at Devens on July 6, and it is highly recommended to all NELLI drivers. You don't need a Lotus to compete, and there are classes for all kinds of cars. Everything is done in a low key, relaxed and very friendly manner, so come on out and give it a try.
Last Updated: June 11th, 2003