San Francisco SCCA

Has anyone run autocrosses with the San Francisco Region SCCA? The have a lot of events scheduled which is good. However I am wondering how many runs people are typically getting. If I am only going to get 3 or 4 runs per day I will probably not join.

http://www.sfrscca.org/

I have a love/hate with those events. You couldn't ask for nicer guys running the show, and the participants are a great group as well, with consistently interesting machinery and good courses. That said, even though the fields are somewhat smaller due to the economy, it's hard to get out of there without killing 6 hours for 3 or 4 runs - which is a nasty wait-to-drive ratio. If you are running afternoon, you can usually get a few fun runs on the back end. But if you compare that to a good track day, it's no comparo.

There are other options though. UFO is very active for one. I haven't been to their events, but have heard good things.

If you're close to Monterey, you're in great shape because lots of clubs use the Marina course, and you could probably score an autocross per week there.

Also, there's a great local auto-X forum, if you want to get much more information:

http://www.baautox.com/forum/index.php?t=i&rid=0

kreb wrote: I have a love/hate with those events. You couldn't ask for nicer guys running the show, and the participants are a great group as well, with consistently interesting machinery and good courses. That said, even though the fields are somewhat smaller due to the economy, it's hard to get out of there without killing 6 hours for 3 or 4 runs - which is a nasty wait-to-drive ratio. If you are running afternoon, you can usually get a few fun runs on the back end. But if you compare that to a good track day, it's no comparo. There are other options though. UFO is very active for one. I haven't been to their events, but have heard good things. If you're close to Monterey, you're in great shape because lots of clubs use the Marina course, and you could probably score an autocross per week there.

That's just the way autox is though - nothing specific to SFR. Any large competitive region will be the same way.

kreb wrote: I have a love/hate with those events. You couldn't ask for nicer guys running the show, and the participants are a great group as well, with consistently interesting machinery and good courses. That said, even though the fields are somewhat smaller due to the economy, it's hard to get out of there without killing 6 hours for 3 or 4 runs - which is a nasty wait-to-drive ratio. If you are running afternoon, you can usually get a few fun runs on the back end. But if you compare that to a good track day, it's no comparo. There are other options though. UFO is very active for one. I haven't been to their events, but have heard good things. If you're close to Monterey, you're in great shape because lots of clubs use the Marina course, and you could probably score an autocross per week there.

Ditto to kreb, great events, good courses, too many people, only 3 runs usually. In the central valley, if you want to make the trek, the Sac and Fresno clubs offer much smaller fields with decent courses, and good people that aren't afraid of letting noobs in to help. UFO, PCA, and American AutoX also have nearby series. These also have smaller fields. As with any event, circumstances, or unfamiliar protocols may have you out there longer than you had planned. I find a healthy dose of patience goes a long way.

Enjoy, Eric G

Also the Golden Gate lotus club is pretty well thought of, I have never run with them but I hear good things:

http://www.gglotus.org/

http://www.americanauto-x.com/

GTwannaB wrote: Has anyone run autocrosses with the San Francisco Region SCCA? The have a lot of events scheduled which is good. However I am wondering how many runs people are typically getting. If I am only going to get 3 or 4 runs per day I will probably not join. http://www.sfrscca.org/

GTwannaB,

You don't have to join for a full year to come to try it out. You can buy the SCCA "Weekend Membership." Our events are a little on the large side so typically you will only get 3 to 4 competition runs. However, when we have extra time at the end of the day, at no extra cost, we allow as many "Fun Runs" as we can get in before we have to pack things up.

As Kreb points out there are other clubs in the area that you could get seat time with. UFO, the BMW club, and the Lotus club are possiblilties. Most of them tend to do events down in the Marina/Monterey area. If you don't mind the drive, you can get more runs.

I am the guy who does most of the "Novice Walks" for the San Francisco chapter. So if you have other questions, please ask.

If you're north enough in the bay, you can come and run with ESCA in Santa Rosa.

We don't use SCCA classing, but something has to go wrong for us to not get at least 8 runs in a day.

Bad news is you have to either be a member, or get a guest pass from a member, to run an Event. I'd be happy to burn one of mine for you should you like to check things out.

DILYSI Dave wrote: That's just the way autox is though - nothing specific to SFR. Any large competitive region will be the same way.

Disagree. This is why I no longer run SCCA (Detroit region in my case). It was fine 10-15 years ago when I was young and single, but now with a family I have no interest in paying $60+ membership fees, then paying $35 entry fees to stand out there for 8+ hours and get 4 runs.

Find an smaller independent club. I run with the DRSCC's Entry fee's are around $15, club memebrship is similar (different club's have different fee's, in my case FMC (Ford Motorsport Club)). I can turn up a7 8:30, and because you can run and work when you like of there by 1:30 after 5 runs and spend the rest of the day with the kids. The rules make more sense too, or did but that's another issue.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

DILYSI Dave wrote: That's just the way autox is though - nothing specific to SFR. Any large competitive region will be the same way.

Disagree. This is why I no longer run SCCA (Detroit region in my case). It was fine 10-15 years ago when I was young and single, but now with a family I have no interest in paying $60+ membership fees, then paying $35 entry fees to stand out there for 8+ hours and get 4 runs. Find an smaller independent club. I run with the DRSCC's Entry fee's are around $15, club memebrship is similar (different club's have different fee's, in my case FMC (Ford Motorsport Club)). I can turn up a7 8:30, and because you can run and work when you like of there by 1:30 after 5 runs and spend the rest of the day with the kids. The rules make more sense too, or did but that's another issue.

Note that I said "competitive". Yes, there are smaller events that I could go to than Atlanta Region (which is similar to SFR). But I don't get to run against multiple national champions at those. Since my car costs approximately $30 per run, I don't want to waste runs against people who aren't pushing me.

DILYSI Dave wrote: That's just the way autox is though - nothing specific to SFR. Any large competitive region will be the same way.

NER SCCA is one of the most competitive regions anywhere and we typically get 6+ runs with 100-150 car fields. Of course, it wasn't always this way.

Great info. I will check out some of the local clubs. I just moved back to SF so this is real helpful. My impression is that the SCCA autocrosses are more competitive which drives up the attendance. My $1500 Nissan is usually the crappiest car at the event with a not so impressive driver. I am in it more for fun that anything else.