And, really, more autocross cars need disco balls.
Tired of shagging cones in the hot sun? Looking for a change to the same old same old?
How about a nighttime autocross?
The Martin Sports Car Club ran a night autocross this Saturday evening, and we entered our Garage Rescue Miata–probably our first night autocross in 25 years. The event took place at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center, the former home of the PRI Show.
The event format:
Course open for walking at 3:00 p.m.
Drivers meeting at 3:45 p.m.
Three runs at dusk.
Short dinner break.
Nighttime drivers meeting.
Three runs after nightfall.
Just one car on course at a time after dark.
No novices, no karts, and an 80-driver cap.
All cars required to have operating forward and rearward facing lights.
No points, no trophies.
Fun runs provided after competition runs.
The dusk part of the event ran like a traditional autocross, including multiple cars on course at once.
At the drivers meeting, event officials said that something on course would be changed after the daytime runs. Could it be the direction of the course, we wondered? Correct answer: Some offset gates were tweaked to slow down one section of the 40-second course. They shortened the finish a few feet, too, so give drivers a little more shutdown room.
The course was open for walking before the nighttime runs.
Another course change for the nighttime heats: Each cone was topped with a red Solo cup. A glow stick was then shoved through the base of each cup: purple for cones on the right, orange for cones on the left.
Each station had replacement cups and glow sticks on hand. (The glow sticks held up to cone hits. The cups, not so much.)
After dark, each corner worker was issued a reflective vest as well as an illuminated traffic wand–yes, like the ones used to guide airplanes to the gate.
So, how was it?
The lot’s lighting provided enough ambient light that darkness didn’t add any major challenges to working the course. Downed cones were quickly replaced to their boxes–outlined in chalk–although the Solo cups proved to be a bit delicate.
Some drivers ran with their headlights on, some only ran parking lights. We ran our headlights–H4 Hellas–and found the low beams to work well. Didn’t really notice the glow sticks once at speed, though.
The event's pace slowed down after sunset–remember, just one car on course at a time in the dark.
Was it fun? Very.
The entire event vibe was more chill than usual. Plus, no blazing Florida sun. And the darkness added the obvious driving challenges.
Would we do it again? Totally.
And, really, more autocross cars need disco balls.
Looks awesome! The world could use more sober, legal (as in NOT street racing) nightlife. Sports tickets just keep going up, local NASCAR tracks keep shutting down, you can only see so many movies and Magic The Gathering isn't for everyone.
In reply to GCrites80s :
I'd love to see night autocrosses become more of a thing. Of course it comes down to sites and noise issues, but at least Orlando has a place to hold them.
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