Autocross: My Take - Dec 15, 2018

By Mark Meyer

The 2018 autocross season wrapped up with Ultimate Autocross at Qualcomm on December 15. In addition to the usual autocross format, the instructors competed against each other in the super-fast electric Smart car with William Wong pulling off the victory.

It was a little more than a year ago that I attended my first autocross weekend starting with the Car Control clinic. I was a bit apprehensive about the experience as I knew almost nothing about autocross. The instructors & volunteers were knowledgable, fun, and welcoming. They made my first experience a great one.

Fast forward 14 months and I’ve since attended 5 more BMW autocross days, one HPDE at Thermal with the SD BMW CCA and 10 track days, including a weekend at Laguna Seca. While I’ve clearly caught the racing bug, there is little doubt that my first experience set the tone for what I expect will be many years of being a racing enthusiast. As I drove onto the lot on Dec 15, I was struck at how comfortable I had become and how cool it was to see the folks I’ve gotten to know a bit better since I started. Even though I’ve learned a lot since last year, I still found there was plenty of instruction to be had and a lot more learning that I need to do. I also found that the BMW club still did a great job at welcoming and teaching those who were new to the game.

If you’ve ever considered trying out one of the autocross days, take it from someone who was a little nervous about giving it a go. That first weekend experience is the reason my annoying little Miata is always at autocross. Maybe every month now Rob?