The return of the Tri-pod

The last time I went auto-crossing was in El Paso. I took the Corrado out and had an unfortunate run in with a very pissy individual in a Grand Am. I’ve kept track of his participation with the pan am region; in general he continues to suck and I never should have relinquished those points. What an ass.

This last Sunday the Rio Grande region hosted an event in Santa Fe. A load of Volkswagens were in attendance. As far as I can remember there were: two R32’s (one red one blue), a 1.8t Jetta with NMTARC (hey, I started that club) badging, a grip of mkII GTI’s, a 4 door Rabbit with an 8v turbo, and everyone’s favorite 1983 bone-stock diamond silver Rabbit GTI.

When I walked up to the registration desk I was greeted by a few familiar faces, one of which said: “ahh, the return of the Tri-pod.” (For those of you that don’t get the joke, this is in reference to the rabbits tendency to lift its inside rear wheel when cornering.) Another guy said: “What no rental car?” (I went almost an entire year racing Enterprise rental cars) Next, Tom asked me if I wanted to be a Novice director – to which I answered: “Hell, yes!” What a way to make an entrance, I love racing with the Rio Grande region.

I had a blast being a novice instructor. Basically, you sit in the passenger seat of a sports car with someone who has either little or no idea what they’re doing and hold on for the ride of your life. Afterwards you suggest areas/methods for improvement. It’s everything I love all rolled up into one (squealing tires, roller coaster rides, and pointing out peoples flaws).

Over all I did very well. I got a few comments along the lines of: "Good run!" Results here.