In reply to dean1484:
Neat. The crossover is staying though. We try to put the cones far enough out that nobody hits the crossover ones. Even if they do, it's not really going to delay us all that much.
In reply to dean1484:
Neat. The crossover is staying though. We try to put the cones far enough out that nobody hits the crossover ones. Even if they do, it's not really going to delay us all that much.
When I designed my first course, people were complaining up and down before they ran it. And then they ran it. The comments I got afterwards: "It drove a lot better than it looked."
In reply to ProDarwin:
Simple solution there would be to move worker station 6 over to the far left side of the drawing and put an extra runner at worker stations 4 & 5.
With 3 worker stations that close, it shouldn't be a problem. I would personally add a pointer cone to force everyone to the right side for entry into that first slalom. Should prevent any murdering of crossover cones from someone attempting it the other way.
I like to put a pair of cones at the entrance to slalom's this prevents a weird entry angle.
Is it going to be punishment of some variety to be assigned corner station #2? My guess is that those guys are going to be BUSY.
One of the clubs I've run with used to use crossovers at the start -- til one day the starter got confused, started another car too soon, and there was a car-to-car collision. Oops. :(
I'm a fan of finishes that don't result in cars getting out of shape and sliding into the timing lights. That's $500 the club doesn't really need to spend.
Constructively, the gate with 3 cones on either side lines up with the gates across the way.(sort of near station 4). it appears closer than the actual next cones on the course. Maybe only do a regular 2 cone gate, with pointers between it and the element on the other side. Basically something to clean that sight line up some.
As to the timing lights, put the expensive part on the inside. Keep them far enough apart, and the equipment should be safe.
mthomson22 wrote: Is it going to be punishment of some variety to be assigned corner station #2? My guess is that those guys are going to be BUSY.
Thats why I suggested moving station 6 from next to the slow down lane to the far left.....lets the current 1,2 & 3 do a better job and safer time watching for cars.
Thanks for all of the feedback! I do plan on using quite a bit of it. Our workstations are "flexible" (the spots are pretty much just the radio/flagman) and we reserve the right to change up the course at the actual track. I will look at that 3-cone gate for sure. And yes, we do have a drive-through before course walking is allowed to start so we can ensure it's not a complete clusterberkeley of a course.
Corner position 6 looks like it could be hazardous. Coming out of that tight section and red mist near the end could lead to someone getting too hard on the throttle and putting themselves into a tank slapper that shoots them strait at the worker on the outside of the exit. They are going to be pointed right at the workers when the track opens up to go WOT.
I would move the second hair pin up to or just above the midway cone, then make that tear drop above much sharper so that they are pointed well away from the corner worker when they go to WOT.
Position 4 looks rough too. Looks like they will be dealing with cars coming from both directions at pretty high speed pretty frequently.
yamaha wrote:mthomson22 wrote: Is it going to be punishment of some variety to be assigned corner station #2? My guess is that those guys are going to be BUSY.Thats why I suggested moving station 6 from next to the slow down lane to the far left.....lets the current 1,2 & 3 do a better job and safer time watching for cars.
We usually have 50 or so participants, and usually have 8 or 9 corner stations, manned with a radio guy and a chaser. Could you add a station or 2 to alleviate the load. FWIW we run 2 groups.
Hey, Jav, I recently took over as chair of our club's autocross program, too. I've got a bunch of course pieces made up in SketchUp I would be happy to share. It might take me a little to get them organized. The program is free from Google.
Javelin wrote: This is what we are going to run at Portland International Raceway on Sunday July 14th with the Oregon Porsche Club of America.Thoughts? Feedback? I've modified previous layouts before, but this is my first all original to get chosen.
for me too, my first thought was that station # 2 will be busy. That is not a bad thing just staff accordingly. What I guess they will be busiest with are the two single pointer cones directly east and west of the station. These cones will be hit at speed too and carried away so keep plenty of replacements on hand.
As you have the slaloms laid out, if taken from the proper side, it is more of a one cone chicane than a slalom. That is not bad, just not a slalom. I like to have two slaloms on a course if possible. One with a tricky increasing distance between cones, the other with a tricky decreasing distance between cones.
This course will carry its biggest speed at the far east end as it goes past worker station 4 for the first time (if the offset cones in the middle are not too restrictive.)
Do the purple lines represent a curb or immovable object?
If yes, coming out of the northern-most turn, is there enough distance to the west of the cone if someone turns in way too hot? what is the rule, 25 ft?
If the purple is not a barrier, are the workers safe stationed there?
I like it and wish I could run it. Have a good time!
I have to ask, why are you using what looks to be an aerial Polaroid from 1976 instead of a screencap from Google or Bing maps?
Other than that, it looks like a really fun course. I won't be able to make it to Sunday's event unfortunately. Hopefully I can swing the August event AND have a running/driving sporty car to participate with.
I don't have anything constructive to add. I'm just wondering why Iowa, the land of wide-open spaces, doesn't have awesome lots like that to build courses on!
Looks seriously great. I second concerns about station #6 and almost suggest putting it in the center of the whip-around. Hope they can run fast if someone biffs the finish (expect serious spin 4+ cone action).
I will be there, my only input is I have noticed when you guys test run stuff it tends to be in a small car (miata, 914, etc). I would like to see something larger used, some of the tight elements can just kill the bigger cars if they are "perfect" for the little ones. J
Looks fun, can't wait!
Mr_Estrotica wrote: I have to ask, why are you using what looks to be an aerial Polaroid from 1976 instead of a screencap from Google or Bing maps?
LOL!!! It actually started as a fresh Google Maps screengrab, which I then printed and hand-drew the course on, then scanned in as a B&W pdf, then pasted onto Paint to add in the color and saved it as a jpeg! Then I compressed it to the host online to hotlink to GRM. 
In reply to Jcamper:
We used a 996 widebody last month! I'll see about using something bigger, maybe the 5.
It was a good course! Several people (including myself) missed a gate on our first runs. I improved my time about 5 seconds from my first to my last run, narrowly beating a Nissan Leaf. 
Thanks to Javelin for helping run a fun event and riding along and giving me some helpful tips (even if he could never convince me to get out of 1st gear 
)
You'll need to log in to post.
