May 20th Novice Autocross School in Virginia

Autocross at Pungo VA

Coming up on Saturday May 20th, (which is Cher's birthday, which I only know because it is also Katie Nixon's birthday, which I know because I was there!), the Tidewater Sports Car Club TSCC will sponsor a day of instruction for new autocross drivers. This Novice School is now open for registration at this link: Autocross Novice School The event will be held at Pungo Virginia near Virginia Beach. I like to call this spot the PUNGO AUTOCROSS CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (PACE)!

That web page is Motor Sports Registration, which has lists of all kinds of motor sports events all over the country. If you are ever looking for some auto driving action, check it out and I bet you'll find something going on somewhere near you!

In the morning we will check out your car to make sure it is safe (does it have brakes that work? must have seatbelts! no dangerous stuff floating around inside).
After some basic instruction outside of the car, then we'll split the students into two groups, and they will start driving. By setting up a skidpad  where you just drive in a circle and feel when your car starts to lose grip and slide, the students will really get the feel of what their cars can do...and what the car WON'T do!

After the skidpad, drivers will practice car control by going in a slalom, and should be able to start slow and gradually build up speed with repetition. Weaving left and right  around cones that are in a straight line is harder than it looks, as the car shifts weight back and forth, so drivers have to get the feel for when to hit the gas, when to turn the wheel, when to NOT hit the gas, etc.  Most autocross courses will have some slalom sections, so this is a great way to practice this technique.

After the FREE LUNCH (OK, it's included with your registration payment), we'll have students driving a real autocross course, and normally we'll see them continue to get faster with each run for the rest of the afternoon. Compared to a normal autocross competition with only 4 or 5 runs per day, this school will give the student a LOT more seat time, and will enable them to gain confidence in their driving abilities, and make them better/safer drivers in everyday driving too.

Here is the official info on the school:

-Registration ends in 6 days on May 17, 2017 11:59 PM EDT/

The school is geared towards novices. For the first half of the day students will rotate between a skidpad and slalom. After lunch a course will be put together and students will work on the basics, on the course, with and without their instructor.

The event is currently limited to 20 students with additional entries added to a wait list. In the event of cancellations or additional instructors being available, people in the waiting list will be notified. We are committed to provide the best novice instruction we can and will limit each instructor to 2 students.

Schedule of events:

7:30                  Gates Open
7:30 - 8:00       Registration
7:45 - 8:15       Tech Car Inspection
8:30                 Drivers Meeting / Class/ Group instruction
9:20                 Break up into groups - Group 1 to Grid
9:30                 First Car Off
9:30 - 10:30      Course Driving Group 1
10:30 - 11:30    Course Driving Group 2

11:30 - 12:30    Working Lunch (Provided with entry fee)
12:30                Instruction resumes
12:30 - 1:30     Course Driving Group 1
1:30 - 2:30       Course Driving Group 2
2:30 - 3:30       Course Driving Both Groups                        
3:30                End of Day meeting all help clean up