Devil's Bowl Novice School/Autocross#1 April 30-May 1

[pdudley42]

Dave, the school's intention is to introduce novices to the autocross experience in a setting fairly typical of what would be found at a normal event, hence the conventional course. The instruction should be on etiquette and technical, as well as the behind the wheel stuff. My intention is to have the course itself somewhat broken into sections, so the obstacles can be approached individually.

Art, your offer to help out with tech is appreciated. What's your mechanical background? Being a novice in no way precludes you from participating in tech, but if this is your first autocross you may already be at the saturation point on Saturday morning. The best thing to do is to hook up with Cyrus and Larson (the tech crew) on Saturday morning to discuss what exactly you should be looking for (and watch how they go about it) and see how you can help on Sunday. By the way, you would not need any extra tools.

[sachilles]

There will be no food service this weekend. Message from the track owner is that the kitchen is not quite set up yet, so he can not offer food at this time.
He might have a bbq grill going, but that would be about it. So be prepared, bring food with you.
Looks like awesome weather. I'm really regretting having to work.

[AdrenlinHit]

Yeah, I've broken quite a few GoPro mounts (from skiing and storage and other stuff, not on my car) so I think I'll be limited to a dash mount with the sticky tape or a homemade one with the universal tripod adapter (1/4"-20 thread FYI). Helmet cams are really jumpy and don't give a good idea of what's going on outside the car. The suction cup also looks awesome stuck to a door or fender so you can see the wheels and stuff in front of you. also looking backwards from the rear glass is sometimes neat. Best bet for normal view is probably suctioned to the top of your windscreen so you can see the hood and forward. One looking up at the driver from low on the dashboard is cool to see your reactions and steering and shifting too - or watching your feet. I've also seen some inside the fender well to watch the steering and suspension work - and some brakes glow red when they're hot enough which is very cool to see.

I'm still planning on camping but I haven't seen anything lately about the arrangement/fees/location/amenities. Can this still happen? Also, will there be trees for hammocks or just a field for tents. Thanks!!

[pdudley42]

Winston, we're good to go on camping. It should be free. We will probably still have access to the bathrooms and running water, but that is about it. The ground will likely be soft in most places. As far as a hammock goes, that's kind of a choose your own adventure of what's around the perimeter, but the field itself is wide open. The only thing we haven't heard back on yet is how big a fire we can have!!!???!!! Pack warm, weather man says mid 30s and clear Saturday night...a small price to pay for A1 autocross weather.

[343Saturn]

It's kinda last minute but I'm all signed up for both days. I'm not 100% sure what car I will arrive with each day but if help is still needed, I'm happy to jump in and do whatever.

[BugEyeRex]

I highly recommend bringing boots for mud!

[sachilles]

The track has a facebook page, if you want to check it out.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Devils-Bo ... 0931663335

I'm so bummed I have to work this weekend.

[pdudley42]

We've got the go-ahead to have a fire, but there is no fire pit. Does anyone want to volunteer to bring rocks/cinderblocks to make a fire pit? We will also need wood. Not a huge fire, but enough rocks to make a fire to keep a dozen or so people warm. With a forecast around 34 degreees, a maybe here is no good!!! You either can or can not help out. Thanks. I'm gonna go wash my car.

[ryed]

I met/spoke with Paul. I'll be a worker coordinator with Bev tomorrow, and with whoever is willing to do it on Sunday. I've created sign up sheets that I will bring down. It would be super-cool if when drivers come to registration to show their license/sign up if they didn't pre-register, they could then sign up for their worker position.

We'll have 4 check point stations, with a minimum of 2 workers per station. Only one worker at each station should be a novice. On top of that, we'll need experienced folks for timing, start, and someone to stage the grid.

The sign up sheet looks something like this:

Autocross Worker Coordinator Sign-Up Sheet
Devil’s Bowl Novice School & Test/Tune Day
Saturday April 30, 2011

Event Chair: Paul Dudley, Laura Wheelock
Registration: Bill Anderson
Tech: Cyrus, Larson
Worker Coordinator: Beverly Menard, Erik Reisner
Novice School Instructors: Bill A., Paul D., Nick G., Peter H., Chris R., Cyrus

Timing: ________________
Start: ________________
Grid: ________________
Checkpoint 1: ________________, ________________
Checkpoint 2: ________________, ________________
Checkpoint 3: ________________, ________________
Checkpoint 4: ________________, ________________

[8valvegrowl]

We've got the go-ahead to have a fire, but there is no fire pit. Does anyone want to volunteer to bring rocks/cinderblocks to make a fire pit? We will also need wood. Not a huge fire, but enough rocks to make a fire to keep a dozen or so people warm. With a forecast around 34 degreees, a maybe here is no good!!! You either can or can not help out. Thanks. I'm gonna go wash my car.

I have plenty of wood to burn. Rocks/cinder blocks, not so much. But I'll bring some stuff to burn.