Fortunately for me and other MCOers, the 2010 event was being held about two hours away in Ste. Eustache, Quebec and it was being organized and promoted by MCO sponsor, uber-fast driver, and all-around good guy, Carl Wener of AISA and Perry Performance. How could we possibly not attend?

The event was to be two days, with each day providing four attempts to set one’s best time. The course would be run in one direction on Day 1 and in the opposite direction on Day 2. Scoring would be based on the sum of each driver’s best time from each of the two days. As in any autocross the event, the number of trophy-winning spots in a given class would depend on the number of entries in that class. Lastly, there would be overall winners based on PAX factors, a set of correction factors that are meant to eliminate the differences in vehicles, thus allowing drivers of very different cars to be compared against each other. PAX has its supporters and detractors, but we won’t get into that. On to how things went…

Day 1 – August 6, 2010 – The Most Unproductive Day in History

I woke-up bleary eyed at 5:30AM on Friday, stumbled to the shower, tossed my stuff into the car and went in search of fuel and my morning latte before meeting the Pat, Shawn, Jamie, Greg, and Chris at Timmy’s in Orleans. We grabbed some food and chatted a bit before setting sail for Ste. Moustache with Greg mentioning that a stop in Hawkesbury would be a good idea. Pat, not known for rest stops, took the lead, followed by Shawn in the truck, Chris and I. Jamie and Greg brought up the rear. We stayed in this order as we drove by the Hawkesbury Timmy’s that Greg had envisioned as his bladder break spot.

As we crossed the bridge into Quebec, Greg, realizing that Pat wasn’t going to pull over, shot up to the front of the convoy and guided us all of the road into the first gas station he could find. Virtually everyone took advantage of the stop and grabbed some fluids or deposited some fluids — white guys and their tiny bladders.

The rest of the trip was uneventful as we followed highways 50 and 148 to the the track. Oddly, Pat pulled us off the road to verify our location (he was driving from memory) when we were quite literally 600m from the track gates, something verified by GPS units in my car and in Jamie’s car. We rolled in to the track just before 9:30AM and started unloading the cars and prepping them for a day of tuning runs on a small test course, just to get the cars set-up for what turned out to be a very slick surface. As usual, we were the first ones there.

As more cars arrived we began to size-up some of our competition. In particular, a New Yorker in a first generation Miata that was in my class arrived and started running some laps. His times were a good 0.5+ seconds behind me, so I felt confident about my competitive chances against him. Little did I know…

Of course, the day was full of the fun jokes and teasing that permeates any autocross event. For example, when Pat smacked a few cones on the edge of the track and I ran to reset them, I found piece of plastic from some previous incident at the track. I sensed an opportunity to make Pat engage in senseless labour! I told Shawn to take the plastic to the paddock and tell Pat that it came off of his car. The poor kid then spent the next 45 minutes or so searching under his car for where it might have originated and searching his brain for what its function might have been. I eventually came clean, but we all enjoyed watching him fret about it. We eventually wrapped up our test runs, which resulted in my moving my rear anti-roll bar to its softest setting, which seemed to settle the rear end a bit. Thanks to Shawn for putting his ramps in the truck.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching other cars run, chatting, and welcoming our friends from MCO, St. LAC, and CADL as they rolled in. Obviously, we stuck around for the BBQ supper of hot dogs and corn supplied by Perry Performance and Toyo Tires before sorting out which cars would make the trip to the motel in Laval, who would ride in which of them, and how we would fit the luggage. In the end, I drove Ginger with Greg in the passenger seat and the rest of the guys piled in to the truck with Shawn. Our St. LAC partners in crime, Rob, Beth, Bill, and Bill, piled into Rob’s M3 along with the Physk.

After showers and clean clothing, we walked about 2.5km (just what we needed after a day on our feet) to the traditional Nationals “Drivers’ Meeting”. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. ‘Nuff said.

Physk and I, left around 12:30AM and began the walk back. About half a block in, Physk saw a pizza place and offered to buy me a slice. I agreed, but he proceed to buy an entire large pepperoni pizza. I ate two pieces as we walked. He at the rest. It wasn’t enough though. Noticing A&W lights in the distance he proclaimed, “If the A&W is open, I’m getting two Mozza Burgers.” Turns out it was open and yes, he got the burgers. I joined in with some onion rings and as we sat down, Rob, Beth, Bill, and Bill strolled in and ordered their food. We completed the journey to the Econolodge together and were confronted with what seemed to be an insurmountable challenge.

You see, our A&W mates were in one room. Physk and I were in another room that was adjoining to the room where Shawn, Chris, Pat, and Jamie would sleep, once they got back from the bar. When we left that evening, we left through the the adjoining room’s door, not our own, which resulted in my failing to remove the chain from our door, the only door for which we had a key. I think you see where this is going? Luckily the rest of the guys arrived just as I was trying to explain my predicament to guy at the front desk. If not for Physk’s stomach, we would have had to wait much longer for them to arrive. By now, it was 2:30AM and we climbed into bed. Physk bunked with me and discovered that I have one mean snore. For my part, I discovered that he’s significantly heavier than me, forcing me to move farther to the edge of the bed in order to avoid the cavity he create. Greg, he just suffered through the night as Physk and I snored. Still, he had his own bed.

Day 2 – August 7, 2010 – What was I thinking last night?

My Blackberry woke me at 7:00AM, earlier than my room mates. I was pretty wiped, but a shower, which was followed by the complimentary cold hotel breakfast, helped wake me up. The St. LAC crowd was leaving the hotel as I went for breakfast, which meant the truck would be a little more crowded on the way to the track, but we mitigated that by sticking slender Greg in the truck to make room for Physk with me in Ginger. Everyone looked tired… not as tired as I would have expected, but tired nonetheless. Arriving at the track, we did a couple course walks and prepped our cars before the mandatory drivers’ meeting. After that, Pat and I unpacked the MCO timing system in case it was needed as a back-up. Thankfully, we weren’t called upon all weekend. The first heat completed their first two runs with Shawn, Ralf, Phil,  Bill, and Kevin all looking competitive in their respective classes. Poor Bryan was having a hard time avoiding the cones, but was otherwise flying.

Then it was time for Jamie, Chris, Jordan, Rob, Beth, and Physk to run. Aside from Rob and Beth, who were in a class of two, the rest of us seemed to struggle a bit. I knew I was leaving a lot of time on the table, but couldn’t get myself to push in the right places and back-off where appropriate. Physk managed the first of two spins on the day. It wasn’t looking good for me in STE as the Miata from New York was finally showing his hand, setting some blistering times and making me look like a complete noob. I was relieved to learn he had been doing this for about eight years. I believe I was sitting 7th in class when we stopped for lunch, after our two morning runs.

The afternoon was better with most of us putting down our best runs of the day. Bryan in particular, in his stock Honda S2000 on Toyo R888 tires, laid down a scorching time that was 100% clean. I think there was actual applause when he came in. Day 1 of competition was a ton of fun, but was at the same time frustrating. I knew I could go faster, but couldn’t execute. The result, Joe T. from Toronto was beating me… in his Subaru.

This time, the post-event BBQ was followed by the traditional Olympic Competitions. First was a 75m sprint run in elimination format (top 6 advance, then top 2). Being fat, I was eliminated in round 1 (I wasn’t disappointed). Bill R. (who seems ready to compete at anything) took the win. Next was my personal brain child: the cone toss. Various techniques were used — under hand, discuss spins, etc. — but the win went to one of the staff from Perry Performance. Physk’s best toss nearly hit me!

The evening was a little tamer than the night before. Aside from Pat and Physk who went out with the St. LAC crew, the rest of us stayed in to watch our run videos, TV, and hit the sack early. That was a good plan as Greg reported that I was out… and snoring… instantly.

Day 3 – August 8, 2010 – The Angry Lion and the Octopus

As we all got up and prepared for the final day of competition, Physk commented that my snore sounded like an angry lion. Greg chimed-in that Physk’s snore was that of an octopus. For the rest of the day, I was known as “The Angry Lion” and Physk was “The Octopus”.

We packed up our gear, including the dozen muffins Jamie and Chris grabbed from the hotel breakfast area, and headed for the track where we would run yesterday’s course, with some minor tweaks, in reverse. The course proved faster and my second run of the morning proved to be my fastest. Unfortunately, Lady Consistency still had not found me and I floundered about on my other three runs, managing a totally mindless “off course” on my third run of the day. Luckily, the rest of the boys were doing better…

In fact, MCO’s haul of trophy hardware was significant:

Trophy Winners:

Eric: 1st in BSP (fastest PAX in Street Prepared) – Subaru Impreza

Phil: 1st in DSP – BMW 3-series
Shawn: 2nd in DSP – BMW 3-series

Ralf: 1st in DMOD (fastest PAX in MOD) – BMW 3-Series
Klaus: 3rd in DMOD – BMW 3-Series
Alain: 4th in DMOD – Subaru Impreza

Me: 5th in STE – Mazda MX-5 (Miata)

Bill: 2nd in CSP – Mazda Miata

Bryan: 2nd in AS – Honda S2000

Pat: 2nd in FSS – Mazda 3

Jamie: 1st in CSS – Acrua RSX

Rob: 1st in BSS – BMW M3
Beth: 2nd in BSS – BMW M3

Bruce: 3rd in CMOD – Nissan NX2000

Greg: 3rd in ES – Mazda Miata

Chris: 6th in DSS – Subaru Impreza

Kevin: 7th in DMOD (would have one DSP, but moved to DMOD to let Phil and Shawn battle. What a guy, eh?) – Nissan 240ZX

Just as the trophy presentations wound-down, the rain started. We all scrambled to get cars packed. Pedwar and her mom had come for the afternoon of Day 2, so packing was simpler with the Scully’s ability to swallow cargo, so we managed to get out before getting too wet.

It was one hell of a fun weekend, full of great times with great friends. I could have driven better and come home with a better finishing position, but hey, that’s life. What is more rewarding though is the times shared with good friends, the funny stories we’ve written together, and the bonds forged and reinforced. Since I got into this back in 2008, I’ve been extremely fortunate to meet some great people and make some wonderful friends (you know who you are). The Angry Lion wonders where the 2012 Nationals will be held…

2010 Canadian Autoslalom Championships Results

The car is currently still at the former owner’s house. All we need to do now is coordinate trailering the car to our rental property, complete the basic prep work (interior stip, check brakes, etc) and then wait for snow, at which time, we’ll be trailering her to track at Capital City Speedway where she’ll spend the winter. Needless to say, we’ll be begging the other partner at bdubracing.com (Shawn) for help with the hauling.

Here are some pics:

It was still the dead of winter…
… when the MCO Solo II organizing committee convened its first planning meeting for the 2009 season. Having had a great time in the last six events (two podiums) of 2008 in Zhaan, our Mazda 3 Sport GT, I had volunteered to be “general labour” for 2009 so that I could contribute to the series and learn the ropes. Given that I’m comfy with computers and that most don’t like working with timing and registration, I had mentioned to the more experienced guys that I would be willing to help in that area. However, at the meeting, my “general labourer” status morphed into “Head of Timing and Registration”. While I was kinda worried about whether all the gear was going to fit into Ginger, I felt OK about the job as it seemed the more experienced guys would have my back even though I still couldn’t match-up all the names to the right faces. The meeting ended and we all headed home through the cold, snowy February night. Top down driving and autocross seemed and eternity away.

Wired or Wireless?
Having taken on the role of timing guy, the early spring was spent on a blend of learning the timing system with the help of luker and working on Ginger. While work on the car was going well, the timing system was proving pesky. It would behave perfectly during testing at my house, luker’s house, and DEye’s house, but refused to work nicely at Scotia Bank Place.

We discovered this at the MCO Summer Performance Driving School, which pedwar completed from Ginger’s driving seat. I spent the first part of the day as a cone monkey keeping the exercises in good shape as the students flattened cones, but we also took the time to test the timing gear in advance of the next day’s autocross, which would be be Event 1 of 2009. Lo and behold, the wireless system refused to work so we went to the wired system, the standard contingency play. It worked… or so we thought.

The next day arrived, along with a two hour long registration line! I was drowning in registration forms, freezing in the cold, and really feeling pressure as no matter how fast we took forms, handed out bracelets, and entered people in the timing system, the line didn’t get any shorter. Eventually, we got all 97 entrants registered and got the event rolling and as if the delay and the newbie organizing crew weren’t enough, we were then plagued by weird timing issues that really slowed things down as re-run after re-run was necessary. It was an exhausting, humbling day with only five timed runs.

pedwar and I were both driving Ginger and with all of the registration work, I had not been able to do a course walk or coach her on how to do it. The result was that she spent the day getting lost and my largely driving the course from memory (we ran the course in 2008) in a car that I had never really driven in anger. To top it off, the alignment specs I had put on Ginger were horribly wrong, making her an over steering nightmare, but driving aspect of the day was still a hoot and I think the autox bug had landed on pedwar’s arm and was preparing to bite.
2009 Event 1 Results

Inter-Event Hand Wringing
All the timing issues and the line-ups at the first event really had us concerned, but with only a week before Event 2, there wasn’t a lot we could do. Besides no one expected another large turn-out so early in the season, particularly given the challenges of Event 1. Boy were we wrong as we had 96 entrants, many of which were new and again needed to be entered into the computer.

On top of that, the timing glitches were even more plentiful, which cut the run count to four. Yes, only four. We were demoralized and I was feeling pretty shitty as the guy in charge of timing. :(

On the upside, we had fixed Ginger’s alignment making her much more controllable. pedwar arrived earlier and took more course walks, this time knowing what to look for and what to think about. The result was that she only had one or two DNFs and cut the gap between our times from 20 seconds to 8 seconds — that’s 12 seconds faster after only event! She was also hooked, not only on the driving, but also on the friendly atmosphere and great people.
2009 Event 2 Results

One Hundred and Ten!
Yup, Event 3 saw a field of 110 competitors, which meant long wait between runs, limited paddock space, and frayed nerves, making the on-going timing issues that much more annoying. Despite all this, we still managed four timed runs. No, that’s nothing to be proud of, but at least we held the line despite the larger field size. Discussion raged in the forums regarding how to address the timing issues. pedwar’s shoulder was becoming more an issue at this point and she decided that the violent steering required for autocross, coupled with the need to brace one’s head and body against the cornering loads was only making her pain worse. She watched from the sidelines, making Event 2 her last autocross of 2009. I kept getting more comfortable in Ginger and as my confidence grew, I was getting quicker. Course Map – 2009 – Event 3 – 2009 Event 3 Results

Regular Service Resumed… Almost
Event 4 saw another 90+ field, but with fewer brand-spanking new bodies, registration was becoming easier, allowing us to start on time. While we continued to face timing issues, the earlier start time meant we were still able to get seven timed runs. Everyone rejoiced as it was apparent that the organizing crew, composed largely of newbs (myself included), was starting to gel.
Course Map – 2009 – Event 4 – 2009 Event 4 Results

First Trip to PMG
To virtually every MCO autocrosser I asked, those three letters meant autocross nirvana — huge expanses of smooth, flat, flawless asphalt totally devoid of curbs, light posts, painted lines, or pot holes. A place where coneheads could push with reckless abandon that lay a mere 2 to 2.5 hours outside Ottawa in Blainville, QC.

PMG is actually the name of the firm that operates the Transport Canada automotive test facility in Blainville. The facility is huge, with a massive banked oval for high-speed testing and of course the large skid pad that we would be using. There is nothing dramatic about getting there, but going from the front gate to the skid pad is another story: waivers are signed at the front gate and cars are led in by security in groups. Once at the skid pad, parked cars must have their engines over the grass, not over the asphalt. Also, any use of jacks is to involve a plank of wood between the jack and the asphalt. Yes, PMG does consider the asphalt that precious.

While it was a beautiful day and our CADL hosts ran a great event, we were disappointed at the tight technical course. After all, we can do tight and technical at home. Here, we wanted 3rd gear speed and fast flowing corners.  I had a really hard time driving the course without cone penalties and was pretty frustrated all day long, but still had a great time.  After the event, I made 123go, the CADL/MCO double-agent promise me a fast course for the next PMG event, planned for late September.

Some Things Must Be Done, No Matter How Hard
Event 6 (or Event 5 if you only count the local events) was the first where the MCO Solo II imposed a cap on registration and began to require that current participants register on-line. We took some flack and there were concerns voiced by highly respected members of the community, but DEye made the hard call and stuck to his guns. The 75 driver cap worked and we ran with 78 participants. Even with continued timing glitches, we managed a relaxed six runs. The event flowed better, people had space, and everyone’s anxiety began to slip away. Change is hard, but sometimes its necessary.

As we progressed through the next events, we moved the cap upwards as we got better at dealing with timing glitches and could reliably hit our run target. Event 7, for which our CADL brethren joined us saw us hit 6 runs with 96 competitors. Event 8 had 83 competitors, each of whom got 7 timed runs. Event 8 also saw us discover that the wired system was actually the cause of our problems. Out of desperation, having tried everything else, we switched and ran problem free for the rest of the day! How annoying that the very strategy we adopted to avoid problems was causing the problems. Course Map – 2009 – Event 8

Once the switch over happened, we were rolling as we wrapped up the last point-paying, local event of 2009. All that was left was the members only event of October 13th, which saw 61 members swapping and sharing cars as we ran the course clockwise in the morning and then counter-clockwise in the afternoon — yes, that’s 8 runs and we had tons of fun runs, too. A great day, with pizza, beverages, and cookies. Does it get any better?
2009 Event 6 Results – 2009 Event 7 Results – 2009 Event 8 Results – 2009 Special Event Results

I’m singin’ in the rain!
The last MCO event of the year was back at PMG where CADL was hosting the annual Inter-Provincial Cup (IPC), where Ontario and Quebec drivers square-off to determine the fastest province. It’s all in good fun and since the event is run under the rules of the hosting club, the hosting province tends to win. We left for PMG in convoy bright and early under torrential rain that didn’t let up until the event was almost over. What this meant was that PMG’s flat, drainless asphalt was very, very wet, with lots of standing water. Combine that with fun course that 123go promised and it made for a hell of a fun day of driving, even if marshalling was cold and wet. Root_Moose and I traded cars for fun runs and I discovered just how forgiving Ginger is. She wants to please and does all she can to follow the commands I issue through the steering wheel and the pedals. Root_Moose’s AP1 Honda S2000 was a different matter. Unlike Ginger, it heard my requests, considered them, and then not-so-politely told me where to go — I spun three times on my first run, avoided a couple spins on the second run, and put down a respectable time on the third. bigdog and sfong, regular S2K drivers, were laughing at my bug-eyed expressions in the car. Root_Moose? He was off doing his best times with Ginger, who just a week earlier had needed to be towed home.

Needless to say, Quebec won the IPC and the results of the day decided the MCO series champions once I got home and entered the data in our timing computer. My work as timing guy was done for the season and I felt pretty good about how I had handled myself and I later discovered that my peers were pretty happy with me, too.

Discovering friends you didn’t know you had…
… is always a great thing and that’s what I found when I made it out to a few St. LAC events. Not only did I see another approach to running events, but I also made some great friends in the form of Rob and Bill and their respective families. If you’re ever able to make it out to a St. LAC event, even if its one of the two-hour evening sessions at Shannonville, I highly recommend it. Say hi to Rob, Bill, Greg, Rob Sr., and the Brunners for me. Next year, I’ll be a dues-paying St. LAC member.

St-LAC hosted my last autox of the year, again at Picton, on our anniversary weekend, which also saw Ginger and I hit the race track at Shannonville for the second time this year. I had so much fun, I went back on November 1 for my last hurrah of 2009.

Car and Driver: A Season-Long Progression
Through the middle of the season Ginger was a different car every couple of weeks as the Flyin’ Miata goodies got installed, but as she was improving, so was I. This graph charts how my times compared to FTD (Fastest Time of the Day) at the MCO events this season (I treated the members-only event as two events to capture my morning time vs. my afternoon times).

As for lapping, with no precise instrument for measuring my times, I’ve had to rely on video footage, which shows that between October 18 and November 1, I managed to trim 5-6 seconds of my laps at Shannonville with no changes to the car. I’m pretty happy with that after about 8 hours on track in my whole life.

Overall, this has been one of the best summers of my life. I’ve done things I didn’t think I would ever do, I’ve gotten to be a better driver than I could have imagined and I know I can improve more. My wife and best friend has also become enamoured with the scene and the activity and I’ve made a raft of new friends in the process. The crazy thing is that I get to do it all over again next year!!! :)