2011 Solo Performance Midiv Rallycross Championship

[Moby45]

copied and pasted from my local subaru forum. I am chief of course.


"2011 Solo Performance Midiv Rallycross Championship"
http://neoklascca.org/rally-x.php (http://neoklascca.org/rally-x.php)
Event #1 July 31, 2011
NEOKLA Region
Tulsa Raceway Park
Tulsa, OK
You must be a SCCA member.
Entry Fee: $45
Event Steward(Chair): Patrick Lipsinic Co Chair: Jared Maclean (Chief of Protest)
Chief of Safety: Jerry Doctor
Chief of Course: Corey Phillips
Chief of Registration: Todd Swain
Chief of T&S: Allen Richardson
Chief of Tech: Wes Wood
Chief of Grid/Impound: Bobby Jason
Chief of Waivers: Jeanie Creech
Chief of Workers: Needed
Cheif of Hospitality: Jeff Maize
Online Registration: http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/ ... 92DFCEA2D8 (http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/6798E1FD-0859-DC6F-C7993F92DFCEA2D8)

We will have a welcome party, registration check in, Tech and course setup and walking on Saturday evening in the grass lot. We will have free food and drinks. (No beer)
Food will probably be supplied by Adam Myers of BurnCo BBQ who used to be our solo chair.
More info to come with online registration. You will have to preregister with entry fee before the event. We may set a late fee 1 week prior to the event.
BTW, you will need to be a SCCA member.


Saturday, July 30th
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Tulsa Raceway Park
Welcome party with BBQ and drinks provided by BurnCo BBQ,
Course open for walking with Tech and registration check-in at the site

Sunday, July 31st
6:30 a.m. – Site opens
7:00 a.m. – Course open for walking, cars to grid
7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Registration checkin and Tech
8:30 a.m. - Drivers meeting (all competitors must be present)

8:45 a.m. – Worker check-in
9:00 a.m. – First car off
MiDiv event trophy presentation after end of competition on Sunday

[omahasubaru]

Want to go, but not sure I can make it.

I'll try and make the next event you guys may be having down there.

[Moby45]

Cool, hopefully this Midwestern Divisional will help us gain more interest for another one this year in Tulsa(or just Oklahoma in general).

Tell your friends about it though if they are interested in coming.

Out site is pretty good size but not as big as Colorados national site last year. I think we could get some pretty good runs though.

[captain awesome]

I'm in. Looking forward to beating you Corey. :D

[LGT-FST]

I will be there for this event. I am looking for a ride. pm me if you want to rent a racer. LOR

[captain awesome]

Glad to see someone coming all the way from Connecticut for our event. Should be a good time. Hot, but still a good time!!

They are saying it might rain on Saturday, so that would make things fun. I hope it does!!

[slowautoxr]

There's a few of us coming from Alabama. I'm sooo looking forward to this. I'll be in a white RS in stock trying to figure out what this 4WD business is all about.

[pomspeed]

Charles, it's just the same as an RX7.

Brent

[captain awesome]

There's a few of us coming from Alabama. I'm sooo looking forward to this. I'll be in a white RS in stock trying to figure out what this 4WD business is all about.

Glad your coming too Charles. We should have a good time this weekend. Make sure and come out Saturday night for the welcome party and course walk. I will be there. Feel free to say hi. I'll be in a white wagon with orange wheels (see avitar pic).

What hotel are you staying at?

[slowautoxr]

Ryan is coming with me as well. I think we're staying at the Hampton. We're leaving my house around 7:00. That should put us there around 6:00.

[omahasubaru]

I am coming. See you guys there!

[captain awesome]

Ryan is coming with me as well. I think we're staying at the Hampton. We're leaving my house around 7:00. That should put us there around 6:00.

Cool cool. Do you know where the hotel is? I'm just asking so if it's a rough area, I can tell you what parts of town to avoid.

[omahasubaru]

HOLY CRAP WAS IT HOT!

was fun!

Here are pics my buddy David took from the event. http://www.gotcone.com/pgallery/2011_rallycross/07_31_midiv_rallycross_championship/

[omahasubaru]

Jon thanks for the input about the site/event. With Warren there, he'll be giving us feedback about the event, but it's always good to hear from others. Would you say the roughness was part of transition from gravel road to grass? or would you say just rough due to grass vegetation being torn up? Would you say you saw anything in particular for what delayed the event so badly?

Brent

Oh and I wish Nebraska region would start doing a Rallycross test and tune prior to Nats like I remember doing with you guys for autox since '01. First time that happened I drove into Omaha at 8 am stopped at my Dads, unloaded all unnecessary junk and headed over to Aksarben for some fun. Temps in 70's with what seemed like 90% humidity.

Howard D. and I spoke... I also spoke to the Divisional Steward Jerry D. and spent a lot of time talking with Warren. They've all got the skinny on my feedback and are already discussing/planing steps to improve things for nationals based on what they learned/found/heard.

The cliff notes:
- event organizers and T&S personnel weren't clearly aware of how differently RallyCross is run than solo. DNF calls, oddly assessed bogey times, improper cone calls, etc.
- grid personnel not fully grasping how to manage re-runs, mechanicals, etc.
- timing equipment had issues with dust, so couldn't get too many cars on course at a time at all. lots of re-runs due to errors.
- course degradation

They were primarily solo people and tried to do things 'business as usual' which is a bad assumption. All told, they did great. I'm sure they were overwhelmed by it all and the heat definitely didn't help anyone. There were just some things overlooked and not quite handled properly. I believe a little preliminary training and time reading the rule book would have gone a long way.


The site itself is just rough... transitions were perfectly fine. Perhaps a course layout by more experienced rallycross personnel would help some. However the site just isn't even. It's rock solid though and except for a couple spots, held up extremely well. No rutting at all and by 3rd runs in the 2nd heat some cars were squealing tires.


As for RallyCross in Nebraska...
WE LOST our I-80 site for RallyCross as you know. The only remaining one we have access to, which is small, is under water due to the Missouri River flood. However, we may get a chance at some property to run on yet this month and/or next month, however I doubt it will be like Tulsa in anyway.

THERE IS NOTHING even close to my area for RallyCross. But... I'm supposed to be meeting w/ the folks in KC Region this weekend as they have a site and want to put on an event, but never have. I'm hoping to check out the site and help them out with it.

Thanks - Jon

[pomspeed]

Thanks for adding my post here, I editted it out from your build thread. Also I just got a call from Warren, he's such a cool friend to have, must be because he's a dog person, :thumbsup:. Anyway, I did suggest that they try a hose timing system even at this event, hindsight before hand. Sorry that the dust did what dust does.

As for the heat, yeah, it really alters thought processes when you aren't used to 100+ racing conditions, I lucky that way though. We did a two day event, 104-108 both days 8 runs/2 minute runs.

Thanks for the help giving feedback. Everyone else post up, I know I saw one wagon with a "DI support" sticker on the windshield.

Brent

[captain awesome]

It was a fun event. Very hot though. But thats just the way it is during the summer in Oklahoma.

As for the organization, yeah it could have been better. But, all in all it went fairly well. I'm sure that things will be learned and it will get better as time goes on.

My day definitely did not end as I had planned though. On my co-drivers 3rd run, second gear in my wagon decided to go pop. So that ended our day. But at least I can say that I had a good time before that!!

Just for reference, here is my car during the event:
http://i986.photobucket.com/albums/ae350/micahgarvin/wagonrallyX2.jpg

[Moby45]

I really appreciate yous guys for coming down to our rallycross event. Its a great help having other people who have been doing this for a while to come down and help.

As far as our region goes, there are only 3 maybe 4 who know the ups and downs of rallycross and none of them were working timing and scoring.(me) Lol.

Nationals will be a good thing for us because we have tons of interest in rallycross here but as I said, me and 3 other people only know how one works. So with the National peoples coming down it will really give our members here a proper way to get some issues fixed.

Our timing lights were going to be a hose type system but kind of ran out of time and resources pretty fast. They will be around for any future ones. Our chair for the event also forgot how dry it had been hahaha.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing all of you guys at Nationals. Our site is a really nice site it just needs some work to it because of it being a rough cow pasture.

Also happy to see some DI support there. I am going to talk with Aaron sometime soon and see if we might be able to get a DI support booth at nationals.

AGAIN, TANKS GUYS!! Also looking forward to any help we can get.

p.s. The course design was bomb(lol I did it.) lmao

[rallyxPOS13]

I can echo Jon's comments.

The site was hard packed and fairly rough compared to what I've run in the past, but as a result, it held up nicely.

I think your region has all the same teething problems everybody does when starting out with Rallycross, transitioning most people from an autocross mentality. Whereas I got the luxury of going through those teething pains in a field out in the middle of nowhere with 12 guys who wanted to rally, your region is under the microscope of hosting a Nationals on the horizon. So don’t take this criticism wrong, we’ve all been there!

Some constructive criticism for the future:
-When designing a course, plan for your timing system to fail. Line up your start/finish lines parallel to a view from the trailer, so that way you can either manually trip your computerized system, or fall back to stopwatches. Have a plan in place to fall back to manual timing, and a break in class in mind to make the switch.
-Educate your autocrossers. At the drivers meeting, make sure to highlight the differences between the two sports. Make sure to note the ‘missed gate’ penalty vs. an autocross DNF, and make sure the scoring trailer personnel know the difference as well. (My corner captain was corrected by radio control after calling in missed gates)
-When designing a course, keep the plan loose, and let the surface determine the course layout. There were some rough patches out there, but most of them seemed to be right at the point of turn in, making them a bit more dangerous and disruptive. I noted many of these on my walkthrough the night before. If you can, design the course with some feet on the ground, and have some wiggle room to adjust for minor changes while maintaining flow.

-Matt

[omahasubaru]

I can echo Jon's comments.
I think your region has all the same teething problems everybody does when starting out with Rallycross, transitioning most people from an autocross mentality. Whereas I got the luxury of going through those teething pains in a field out in the middle of nowhere with 12 guys who wanted to rally, your region is under the microscope of hosting a Nationals on the horizon. So don’t take this criticism wrong, we’ve all been there!

Yes... It isn't easy at all. I'm far from an expert so please don't take my comments the wrong way. I spear headed getting a rallyx program off the ground in my region in 2004/2005 and it was not easy. We used stop watches for a long time before we started to try our solo timing equipment. With some revisions to the software we now use it consistently without issues. However we have never seen the dust up here that you guys had. A hose finish line seems like a very smart choice.

[Moby45]

I was just kidding about the course lol. But how the turns and stuff entered rough spots was all for the Safety Stewards to determine. J.D. gave me a 100% on the course even though I told him and the other SS's that the course is ready to be changed at a moments notice. Lol

Since I didn't have an SS telling me there were problems, in my eye that means it was problem free. [sarcasm] hehehe

But in all honesty I am just happy we had an event and had people from out of state come join us and help us. It is very much needed and appreciated.

[pomspeed]

Funny thing is I recommended that trying the hose system at your event would've been a good thing. I should've contacted some of you and helped you set up your own hose system. I bought extra everything to use as back ups or for other regions. Sorry to hear about the timing issues with dust.

[omahasubaru]

Moby45, the course was good. I had a blast on your course and it was hands down the FASTEST (top speed) course I've ever been on. I almost ran out of 2nd gear. Wish I could have run it backwards as it was going to be nuts that way too.

[my opinion]
My only advice revolves around what 'I' feel shouldn't be in a rallycross course, and that is a slalom. It's supposed to be scalled down 'rally' in a way. You can do offsets, hailbail style manuevers, but I am not a fan of slaloms in Rallycross as it just doesn't give you that Rally feel ya know?
[/my opinion]

And yes... when we started doing RallyCross in my region we put up slaloms. We did 'solo on dirt' as that is what we knew. It just evolved into really trying to make it feel like a scaled down stage as much as we could.

[slowautoxr]

During my course walk I noted some surface issues but nothing that I couldn't adjust for. The course design I really really liked. Fast areas, slow areas, technical areas, plenty of room to work the car around. I tend not to use very many slaloms in my local courses. It worked out fine here since the surface was so hard. Moby you were pretty sneaky. The slaloms were positioned in a technically challenging way. I liked them.

I walked the course after it was all over. The surface is hard but it still continued to degrade but not rut. There were some surface issues that really only consisted of a couple of whoops. Some I saw during my initial walk. Others I didn't see until the post event walk. I don't think I saw any rocks of any significance. Just hard dirt and powder. Lots of big cracks in the ground. It'd be easy to lose some keys in them. I would say that the surface was smoother than what I've run here in Alabama and Tennessee.

Matt is spot on in his constructive criticism. I don't think I know a single rallycrosser who objects to stop watches. As far as I'm concern, optical timing systems have no business in rallycross. Manual timing is perfectly acceptable. Pneumatic timing is really the only solution to automatic timing in dusty conditions.

And Brent, I like 4WD. It's nothing like my RX-7 though.

[pomspeed]

I agree, my first rally school was in a friends Mazda ProRally prepped RX7. Unfortunately it had a really tired 12A motor.

So would you guys guess that for 45+ drivers/3 runs that it would survive double the entries and double the runs for one day?

[omahasubaru]

Yes. Even if slight adjustments were needed, I don't see an issue.

There is room to put together probably 2 separate 50-60 second courses there easily too.

Thanks - Jon

[pomspeed]

cool, that is what I hope becomes a reality, being able to have two courses at 50-60 seconds and both being able to be run at the same time, because eventually I envision there will be that many competitors, but I'm only talking about 100-120.

[omahasubaru]

For those curious about the site, I did a quick layout of how things were setup.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-C_sLVWwqisw/TjhAGZcq5kI/AAAAAAAAJYw/Y9WeY9kOt60/s800/tulsa_layout_midiv.png
google maps link (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Tulsa+Raceway+Park,+North+Garnett+Road,+Tul sa,+OK&hl=en&ll=36.199222,-95.847602&spn=0.007203,0.010986&sll=35.101934,-95.712891&sspn=59.976827,90&t=h&z=17)

I'm estimating from memory on everything including the 'available area' for course use. Please note that a lot of the more northern parts are even rougher than areas used.

I added a location (ballpark) to some of my pics from the event (https://picasaweb.google.com/jon.d.simmons/RallyCrossTulsaOK20110731) to give you an idea where on the lot they were taken from.

[Moby45]

Yeah the sight is rough for sure. But not a rocky rough..just bumpy.

Its an old cow pasture so it should wear decently. The thing im glad about is that it didnt wear into ruts or dig up any sandstone that NE oklahoma is known for.

I cant wait to see what the nationals people come up with as a course. There is plenty of room to make over a minute long courses.

Just be sure to tell your friends to allow suspension travel. Lmao!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

[Moby45]

Oh btw...i will post our course map up a little later in conjunction with Omahas post.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

[slowautoxr]

Moby I think you should put in for a Nationals course design.

[pomspeed]

Charles, what is the surface like for your area?

[omahasubaru]

Here is a video clip from the event, for those wanting to get an idea for the site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csuSEm-hI1Y
I'm at the very end 9:14 and on

[slowautoxr]

Here in Alabama we have nice red dirt. Really slick when wet. Becomes rock hard and dusty when dry. Usually perfect if it rains within a couple of days of the event.

[Moby45]

That red dirt was on a lot of circle tracks my dad raced on(sprintcars). I would like some red dirt. Although its a pain for washing...guess thats why we dont wash? Lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

[omahasubaru]

Dirty Subaru's Compilation video by that same guy. He's got a lot of footage from the weekend and seems to continue to be uploading bits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHp0g0l6Vlg

[omahasubaru]

...and roof cam footage from Pat in his PA 2.5 RS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJaMxvD-6gw