Devil's Bowl III Feedback

[pdudley42]

I wanted to say thanks to all who helped out making 9/11s autocross a success, especially to Eric R, Laura, and Jason M. We had a LOT of new faces there and even when timing bit the shed in the afternoon, we still pulled it off. 9 runs each (15 for Russ).
What I'm really looking for here is feedback. This was my first event as chair, and I know I left some things out of the drivers' meeting (like the snail-pace course-exit thing). We split up each run-group in half, which I thought worked beautifully. Shorter lines, warmer tires, and no need to stop for lunch. I really liked the course (wish my car could have been there), but I'm curious in retrospect if it seemed complicated to the rookies?
Feedback appreciated.

[stig]

The course was a blast. Found out that my stock handling daily driver is better than the gutted/suspension modded prepared thing... eh?

I agree on splitting the run groups in half working out great. Time to watch (and eat!) without leaving your car in everyones way, not having to sit in it for however long and move it one carlength at at time, etc. Definitely a good idea there.

Couldn't have asked for better weather, everything seemed to go smoothly (until the timing thing in the afternoon, but still), lots of runs, etc... adds up to a great day

Also, three of my tires are now officially at the wear bars

[tiFreak]

checkpoint 1 was awesome, didn't have to pick up a single cone all day

I liked being able to just sit and watch other cars too

I noticed a few drivers confused the pointer cones for the second lap sweeper as pointer cones for the first lap slalom, maybe if the cones were standing instead of laying down it would have been easier to figure out

a lot of those turns were really tight too, might just be that I'm not a great driver but I had a lot of trouble with them

[bean]

I really loved the split run groups. Made it a lot more fun when you could take care of your 3 runs quick and relax for a bit before going out to work, or relax for a moment after coming in from working, or to get food. Sitting in line baking in my car between runs last event really put a damper on the fun quotient.

The course layout was great. Actually getting to use 3rd gear and put my heel/toe skills to work was nice. And it was interesting watching so many different approaches to the really tight corners.

In short, I really enjoyed this event.

[ryed]

Paul, I think this event was a huge success. As all have said, the split run groups was a welcome change. It made the day more enjoyable & efficient in many ways. I thought the course was great. The # of "off course" calls were fairly minimal, so probably not too difficult for first-timers overall.

Staging timing up in the grandstands was also a big success. Timing could see the whole course, and the large display was nicely visible to drivers as they exited the track.

Thanks to Nick for supplying the ratchet straps to secure the tent, table, and large display. The club should invest in a few sets.

Bummer about the timing issues towards the end of the day. But quick thinking and Yankee ingenuity got the cars rolling again with the stop watches.

So when will the October event be?! I need to schedule my weekend days off!

[GTI_VT]

The whole event was a blast. The course was great as well as the weather. The group I came with it was our first time and the crew was really helpful. We are hoping that you guys have another event before the snow comes because a bunch of our buddies would like to try it.

[Elmer Fudd]

had a great day, loved the 4 group setup. found out the beetle was better then I expected on the track, extremely neutral, but less fun then the slower rx7. got a hell ride in a m5, cobra, v8 miata, and a turbo miata. realized that I get flustered easy on the track, making me do silly things like 3rd laps, or entering the slalom on the wrong side.

[343Saturn]

Great job to Paul and everyone who made it happen! The event went very well in my opinion and I agree that the split run groups was a great change and definitely recommend making it the norm. There initially seemed to be some confusion over what we were trying to do but everyone seemed to get it in the end. Maybe just a bit more explanation of it for the new folks at the drivers meeting next time.

I really liked the course and didnt think it was too hard to learn. There were a couple of first-timers I was working with and they seemed to find their way around without any problems. I also think it was far easier to get through correctly then some of the "sea of cones" that you get in the larger parking lot venues. All things considered, this course was probably my favorite design thus far and I think the speed changes required by the two kinks really made it more interesting. I appologize to the workers at 3 that must have thought I really had something against that one cone by the end of the day .

It was great to finally get some fun runs at the end of the day. I had a blast giving ride-alongs and shredding more tires and brakes .

[lwheelock]

Great job to Paul and everyone who made it happen! .

Huge thanks to Russ who gets double worker points for doing Tech and Worker Coordinator. Also to Eric for saving my butt at Registration, and Jeremy for being suckered into the other worker coord position. It was great to have the support of the "veterans" but it also made me think we need to have a training day with the next generation of club members for tech/registration/timing/chairing.

Paul/Nick awesome job chairing, really fun course. Great idea with the sub divided run groups a lot easier than running 3 groups i think because we weren't trying to track down workers who were in their off time, and only had a few deserters at the end of the day. The grand stand timing worked out beautifully.

My only critique comes from being the most educated timing person at the event, we need to train a lot more people on the ins/outs of that software and setup myself included. I fudged my way though the whole thing and still have no clue what happened at the end of the day.

[Rabbit Farmer]

I agree that we need to understand the timing software a lot better.... need an easy tutorial. DB #2, Julie and I were having issues with removing runs (there has to be a better way!) without shifting the times from one driver to the next. Ack!

Wished I could have made it, but need to get my car done....

Steve