I've gotten to where I, too, like the rolling terrain of the Everett site, but except for that and the good pit-to-course relationship, I don't look forward to events there: the lot is dirty and the courses speeds are just too low.

The dirt means that 'marble-zones' are generated, which makes the courses even more restrictive than their actual designs suggest. The relatively low speeds, means that one of my measures of a fun event -- whether I get to rev-limit in 2d gear -- is rarley met; once, maybe twice, per season.

Our other main site -- Bremerton -- is probably the cleanest place I've ever run, and the courses are, of course, fast. It suffers only from its shape, which limits course design options.

Regarding that Renton site, I ran a WW event there years ago, but it used mostly by the Corvette club(s). We didn't go there because the surface was, as Noel said, horrendously bumpy. Also, because we always used the magnificent, now defunct (sniff), Kent Space Center lot.

 

Ahhh... the Kent Space Center lot.... the stuff of legends. I was not into autoX in the days that it was in use, but I hear stories about it that make my eyes bug-out and my jaw hit the floor. 100+mph top speeds, 3rd & even 4th gear shifts, 70+ second courses and as flat and level as a billiards table. It sounds almost mythic, like something you talk about when telling tales around a camp fire.

I've heard that because of the existance of that facility it created many of the SCCA autoX national champions that we have here in the Pacific Northwest. So what happens now that there is no more Kent lot? Will this part of the country continue to turn out autoX-ers as good as those that were made in the Kent lot? Has autoX-ing in the Pacific Northwest seen the end of it's "golden age"?

 

Mythic indeed. Not the sheer speed we get at Bremerton, but lots of third-gear events, and its rectangularity afforded long, steady-state turns. It wasn't that flat and needed sweeping, but we designed wide-gate courses and had good line-choice, generally. The best part, IMO, was that we sometimes had nice, open, lined courses, which are really a blast.

(Speaking of which, I'd like to lay out a couple of those at Everett. I was thinking of volunteering as a course designer this year.)

There may be some truth to the idea that a steady diet of Kent-lot-based seasons helped produce National Champions. But, I think the Kent site's contribution to producing outstanding competitors has as much to do with its being a highly-utilized ground zero for twenty years, as it does the site's physical freatures.

 

Sweet! It'd be cool to see what you come up with. I think this year the idea is being bounced around of permanently marking a couple of courses like they did back in the days of the Kent lot. Maybe you can put your "signature" down on the Evt lot for posterity? Maybe we could even try out a Mark Snell Original Course when we do this meet/practice.

If you happen to be taking requests; I'd like to see a course that would call for 3rd gear once, maybe twice.

 

We've got a date: Saturday, March 12th

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....hreadid=109700

 

I'd like to attend with my Z, so count me in. I know nothing about autoX... I do like to race so MAYBE
Thanks, John