Can't autocross cars that turn

Ever since I got into the Miata from the STi, I've dropped in PAX from being in the Top 80 to being in the 150s.

I thought, maybe it's just that it's a Miata, and I'm scared of no anti-lock and can't deal with rear wheel drive. I decided to do a test... I approached John Willemin, and he was gracious enough to let me abuse his STX-prepped WRX during the Pro Solo this past weekend.

Apparently, I can't drive that either. So that confirms it.... I can't drive a car that turns.

Despite that, though, I had a total BALL driving his car. There was no boost lag (like in my wagon in stock trim), and it turns (unlike my wagon and the STi). A Subaru that turns?? WEIRD. LOL

Was it dumb of me to drive a new-to-me car at the Pro Solo? Yeah, probably, since a Pro Solo adds another element to the race because of the start format. But that's ok. I wasn't any more comfortable driving the Miata so I figured, what's the diff?

John took his first set of runs, and got a rerun for a bad time. Then it was possible he was going to get a second rerun, but he was off course. When we finally got back to grid, we had to find a way to get a cone out from under his car, and get ready for me to run in a very short amount of time as the Grid workers were gunning for us to be ready now now now. In the process of getting rushed out of grid, I failed put the correct numbers on the car to reflect that I was driving. Despite a clean first run, I didn't get a time because the numbers were wrong.

I got a clean right side time, and then promptly coned my other 2 runs. After morning runs, John was 7th ("I was SEVENTH!") and I was 9th out of 12 in the class. I'm thinking, 9th with a dirty run being counted? I can make a dent in the standings if I can clean up the left side runs.

In the afternoon, John ran some great runs, and pulled himself into 4th, the final trophy spot. We made sure we had the right numbers on the car for my runs this time. Although I cleaned up my left side run, I didn't improve my right side time, red lit a run (.491... arrrg!!!), and coned another one. I had slid down a spot to 10th.

During my hour long drive home, while I slept, and during my drive back, I really thought about what I was doing wrong in my driving. I concluded that I don't have a spine. When I finish my runs, I'm not shaking from adrenaline, thinking I just scared myself. Yeah, that's not happening, and that means I'm scared to push the car.

But I shouldn't be scared! This isn't the Miata!! In the Miata, I'm scared to push the car because pushing the car guarantees I'll spin the car because I haven't learned how to "catch" it (via light throttle inputs and fast steering) if it starts to spin. I'm also scared the Miata won't stop because of the lack of anti-lock.

Instead, a WRX has antilock brakes and AWD. I understand that if I'm about to spin, put the pedal to the floor and likely the car will pull itself out of it. If I need to stop, stomp the brake pedal to the floor and it will stop. Thus, there is no reason to be scared to push a WRX; it does not have the same tendencies as the Miata!!!

Having figured that out, I resolved to scare myself while driving.... to push the car... to find a spine.

John's Sunday morning runs were fantastic. He pulled out some awesome times, and placed second in the class. CONGRATS to John!!

Meanwhile, I talked about the course to trusted people, and tried to find my confidence in others. Unfortunately, I don't think that worked; if I don't believe in myself, it doesn't matter what others think. I knew I was still scared.

So I drank some liquid courage - Red Bull - to try and clear my head of the exhausted fog I was in and give me some extra adrenaline. Actually, that was very calculated on my part. I know that Red Bull gives me the jitters, and I was hoping those jitters would translate into my driving i.e. make me take risks that I normally wouldn't.

It was finally my turn to drive. After confirming (once again) that we had the correct numbers on the car, I got to the line, I staged the car and... in standard Pro Solo fashion, National's timing system bombed.

OMG you have to be kidding me.

It was so bad that I was told to pull the car out of stage. I turned off the engine, pulled out my iPhone, and started listening to high energy playlist on my iPod to try and keep my adrenaline up. Talk about icing the kicker.

Finally, National fixed it's crap system, and I got to take my first run (left side). I took off over a second. I was happy about that, since that meant I took more risks. But I needed to take off at least another second to be within the class' average time for the left course.

My right side time saw a little improvement, too, but not enough. Two runs left, and that's all she wrote. I red lit my last left side run, and spun on my last right side run while trying to push hard through a section.

I was disappointed in my last two runs, but I am happy that I made a conscious effort to take more risks. I never actually reached that "shaking from the adrenaline after a run" mode, though, but I'd improved my times a little. And proving my hypothesis that I can't autocross a car that turns, I'd spun the car, too.

Unfortunately for me, my improvement wasn't enough, and I found myself having dropped another spot to 11th at the end of the event. Disappointed because I expected to do better, even though I'd never driven the car before that event.

I guess the point-and-shoot nature of the STi really suited my driving style... less driving inputs and more focus on driving the line. Now I have to focus on both, and I guess I don't have the mental bandwidth to do it. Top it off with being scared of spinning and not stopping, and I have quite formula for autocross failure.

Anyone have a spine I can borrow?