De Anza Autocross

Chris Obert

Chris Obert

autocrosser, X driver
Every year De Anza College Auto Shop class holds an invitational autocross. De Anza is in the San Francisco Bay area just north of San Jose California, USA. The 2009 event is May 17.

This event is different from all others locally. You get three laps of the course, one warm up & two at timed speed. That's it! But the course is the same every year... Tech opens at 7 am, first car teched is first to run. No running in class unless all the guys in the class go thru tech at the same time. You spend a lot of time waiting, and Joe Public loves to come out & look at the cars on the grid & watch them run. The bleachers are full of cheering fans. And some of the drivers get pretty wild to get the crowd going!

The real fast cars usually have two or three drivers, they run as fast as you can change the drivers so the tires actually get warmed up by the last driver. New 25 compound slicks are the ticket.

I usually win my class, but top time is always just out of reach. And this year with three year old 35 compound tires and no one 'warming' my tires for me, I will be hard pressed to take the class.

I try to use this event as a yearly check over for my autocross car. After a year of events, some of them in slight precipitation, the car can be pretty dirty. So today I spent a good amount of time cleaning & waxing the visible stuff. It will look good on the grid. And I made sure everything else is OK. But it's still an old race car, and it shows it's used.

And I took pictures at the end so you folks could see the car without it's skin, and with it. If it works with the first picture I will load the 28 more.

URL]


OK, that didn't work, and I followed the instructions... So, no more pictures even though you guys love em.
But I think you should be able to cut & past these...

http://img22.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=052009002.jpg

If you want to come out & cheer this Sunday stop & say hi! And feel free to ask questions about the car.
 
Yeah, that brings back memories.....

Chris and I built the racer over the winter of 2001/2002, so it is now approaching 7 years old. Ancient in race car terms. But it has been a continuous development process. The car is faster now than it was when we built it - better handling, stronger motor, lighter.

Still looks good, Chris!!! Knock 'em dead at De Anza.

Ciao,
 
Love the photos Chris,

Is there any way to get bigger versions? Thanks in advance.
 
Great job on getting the weight down!

I must might have to steal a couple of your pics for ideas on my own.

Still looks great!

Eric Armstrong
 
Chris Obert said:
Every year De Anza College Auto Shop class holds an invitational autocross. De Anza is in the San Francisco Bay area just north of San Jose California, USA. The 2009 event is May 17.

This event is different from all others locally. You get three laps of the course, one warm up & two at timed speed. That's it! But the course is the same every year... Tech opens at 7 am, first car teched is first to run. No running in class unless all the guys in the class go thru tech at the same time. You spend a lot of time waiting, and Joe Public loves to come out & look at the cars on the grid & watch them run. The bleachers are full of cheering fans. And some of the drivers get pretty wild to get the crowd going!

The real fast cars usually have two or three drivers, they run as fast as you can change the drivers so the tires actually get warmed up by the last driver. New 25 compound slicks are the ticket.

I usually win my class, but top time is always just out of reach. And this year with three year old 35 compound tires and no one 'warming' my tires for me, I will be hard pressed to take the class.

I try to use this event as a yearly check over for my autocross car. After a year of events, some of them in slight precipitation, the car can be pretty dirty. So today I spent a good amount of time cleaning & waxing the visible stuff. It will look good on the grid. And I made sure everything else is OK. But it's still an old race car, and it shows it's used.

And I took pictures at the end so you folks could see the car without it's skin, and with it. If it works with the first picture I will load the 28 more.

URL]


OK, that didn't work, and I followed the instructions... So, no more pictures even though you guys love em.
But I think you should be able to cut & past these...

http://img22.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=052009002.jpg

If you want to come out & cheer this Sunday stop & say hi! And feel free to ask questions about the car.
Click to expand...

OK. I got there at 8:20 after a late start. I did not run until after about 2:30. Today I am sitting here in the fog with my jacket on, but yesterday it was over 100 degrees F. By the time I ran I had poured over a gallon of water over my head trying to stay cool, and probably drank almost as much.

The car ran fine, but the driver was not expecting the car not to turn in at the first corner at speed. Usually a tap to the brakes and the weight rolls forward so it turns... But not this time. Wheels locked, car go straight. I did knock down a cone by the time I got it stopped, then I backed up and completed my two timed laps. On the second pass the car did exactly as expected.

Class win was under 50 seconds, I did 54. Very few cars under 50, lots just over. I still beat a LOT of the normal cars, including my stop & back up trick.

After talking with Mark Plaia I need to adjust my front struts so I can get more weight transfer upon braking onto the front wheels. So between now and my next event on June 7 at Marina California airport I get to make some adjustments.

And it probably won't hurt to buy new tires, but that won't happen.
 
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