1999 SCCA Solo 2 (autocross) Round 2
Rookie Stock 1 Solo 2 Championship Points for 1999
Today was Round 2 of the autocross season. The weather was miserable. Rain, wind, cold. I brought my camera, and while waiting around, took a few pictures of the people in the Modified and Prepared classes. I've since thrown away the original jpeg files to regain some disk space, but to give you an idea of what it was like out there, here is a scan of one my photos, published in the March 1999 edition of North American Pylon magazine:
Dennis or Peggy Hale in the pink 510, through the lake at the finish line
I worked in the first post-lunch group. Standing out on course, holding an umbrella, my fingers freezing, it was awful. Finally, the run group ended and I gridded my car.
The Oakland Coliseum parking lot was full of standing water. Sections of the course had water an inch deep or more. The rain was absolutely pouring. My tires were nearing the end of their tread life. This was not going to be a sticky course!
I usually look at the run times of prior run groups to figure out a time to aim for. But with the weather conditions so bad, I really didn't know what to think. I figured the low 60's would be good. My first run was 67.585 seconds. On my second run I exhibited my first spin in the Boxster! Coming around a 90-degree tight right hander, the rear end came around and did a 180-degree spin in addition to the 90-degree turn. It was fun, actually. But it didn't exactly give me a useful run, 78.867 seconds. On my third run I played it much more cautiously, turning in a 64.148, leaving me way down in 10th place.
