Underglow on a dark skidpad. It’s a whole vibe.
Therese in her S2000
2/26/23 AVS Gymkhana Results!
8 new drivers. 2 returning drivers. Freezing cold temps and hot fire skids.
It was finally time to return to the pad for some friendly competition! This time, a brand new layout at the AVS skid pad on a freezing February night. To exactly no-one’s surprise, a whole slew of Miatas attended - which makes sense, since it’s likely one of the absolute best cars for this type of course. Many were Indotech Motorsports drivers using their wheel to wheel racecars, but a few were more basic modified street cars, and even a pretty serious NC - mirroring our event winner from last time - but this time with a 2.5 engine swap.
Qualifying times once again split the drivers into two teams of 5. Team Weebspeed was led by top qualifier Wesley Chan in his almost entirely stock Subaru BRZ, and Team 2G1C was led by 2nd place qualifier Robert Roth in his drift-modified Coyote S197 Mustang. Interestingly, both would stay the top two throughout the night, but neither could beat their best time from qual. Perhaps the colder and colder surface temperature was hurting their grip? Perhaps the performance anxiety set in once the runs “mattered?”
The competition runs began with the two team captains. Wes would remain on top with his time of 55.72, with Robert closely tailing with a best time of 57.57. Both drivers had very different styles, suited to their cars. Wes and the BRZ: agile, precise, but without much thrust…Robert and the Mustang: assertive, smokey, unapologetically ‘Murican. It was Wes however, who would take the (nonexistent) prize for most exciting finish, spinning out on the approach to the stop box and JUST BARELY getting all four wheels within the cones.
With a best time of 59.82, relative newcomer to performance driving Dominic gave a nice boost to his team’s average. Then there was Wilson Lam driving his Indotech NB Miata, who was the only driver other than Wes and Robert to get his average time under a minute, by cleaning up his runs and absolutely nailing the e-brake entries. The other wild card was Yunni Zhai, who had never so much as been on a skid pad before. Her early practice runs were, to put it nicely, what you might expect from a driver who had never attempted a slide and had no real instruction. However, out of absolutely nowhere, she massively picked up the pace during the timed runs, figuring out rotation and keeping her foot on the gas. Her four timed runs had an average of 64.3, second only to Robert’s average on their team.
This one was really down to the wire. In second place, with an average Team Time of 65.56 was team Weebspeed, consisting of Wes, Skyler, Dominic, Manny, and Wilson.
Which means in first place, with an average Team Time of 65.21, only 3.5 tenths ahead, was team 2G1C, consisting of Robert, Therese, Bob, Yunni, and John.
Full timing can be seen on the left, and a link to Wes’ and Robert’s top time runs are posted below! When looking at the averages on the time table, remember to add or subtract the Scores for each run (ACNP, plus any cones or penalties assessed). We look forward to the next round!
What is the FastSideways Gymkhana?
Gymkhana is a timed competition on extremely tight, technical courses. So tight in fact, that for almost all cars the fastest way around is to slide the rear end. This unique type of performance driving lies somewhere between track driving and drifting, and is perhaps most similar to what Rally drivers do on tarmac stages with tight switchbacks. It’s one of the only forms of motorsport where the handbrake becomes a tool for speed, rather than style.
A timed competition that requires you to blur the line between gripping and sliding? That’s right up our alley.
Anyone can compete in a Gymkhana event! Front drive, rear drive, AWD, fast, slow, experienced, or totally new…all cars and drivers are welcome. With our team-race format, you don’t need to worry about how quick you or your car are. Each team gets auto-balanced and everyone’s times count toward victory!
How do I prep my car?
You don’t need to do anything any differently than you would for a normal track or drift event. There is some strategy you could apply, however: A car that tends to understeer may be difficult to navigate through our courses, especially in ultra-tight 1st gear turns. Staggering the tire compound, i.e. track tires up front and all-seasons in the back, is a great way to make sure your car rotates. If you are driving an FF car, this is even more important: rotation is key!
Make sure your e-brake is strong and tight! Sometimes, a quick rotation from briefly locking the rear tires is the quickest way through a tight corner.
As with any performance event, it’s your responsibility to ensure your car is safe, reliable, and keeps its fluids on the inside.
COMPETITION RULES
FORMAT
Maximum of 24 entrants, split into 2-4 teams.
Teams are decided by qualifying times, and averaged to be roughly equal. No teams are predetermined.
Qualifying times count toward final scores, so no sandbagging.
Each run during the "main" is given an ACNP score of 0, 1, or 2:
2 means you rotated the car expertly through all corners where appropriate.
1 means you tried, but it didn't necessarily work perfectly.
0 means you are an autocross nerd and didn't try.
Your score is how many seconds are removed from your lap time.
All times for each team are averaged to determine which team wins.
Timing is taken by hand only. All times are taken from the same perspective, and measured to the hundredth of a second.
After all competition runs are completed, if there is time we will do “fun runs.”
CAR CLASSING
None. Any car, any drivetrain, any tire, any amount of power, any weight. This competition is team-based, so all cars and drivers run together.
CAR RESTRICTIONS
Any car/truck/van/suv may compete except those that:
Have a “rollover warning” from the factory, unless the car has been suitably modified to make this a non-issue.
Have fewer than 4 wheels (i.e, no Slingshot, Reliant Robin, or Morgan 3 Wheeler. I don’t care if you say it’s safe. Not going there.
Are a convertible with no rollover protection. Not sure if you have it? Just ask.
Final decisions on whether or not a car is eligible or safe to compete are made solely by FastSideways staff, and are non-negotiable. Not sure if your car will be eligible? Just ask.
SAFETY
Helmets and seat belts/harnesses must be worn at all times while on course
No passengers allowed
5mph and no sliding anywhere except designated course
Only one car may drive on the designated course at a time
TIMED RUNS
All drivers must drive their own car (or the car they are registered with) for all timed runs (qualifying and main).
Hitting a cone is +1 second to your time. Each additional cone is one additional second.
Cutting the course is +8 seconds to your time for each area skipped.
Jumping the start is +1 second to your time. On a jump start, the timer starts as soon as you begin moving.
A run ends when the driver comes to a complete stop inside the stop box, with all four wheels inside the box.
QUALIFYING
Every driver gets 3 qualifying runs. To prevent sandbagging, each driver’s fastest qualifying time is added to that driver’s average. There is no ACNP scoring applied to qualifying runs.
After all qualifying runs are finished, teams will be decided by pairing up the fastest driver with the slowest driver, the 2nd fastest with the 2nd slowest, and so on. Each driver’s fastest qualifying time is used for team assignments. See below for an example of pairings:
LUNCH/DINNER
Once qualifying is finished, we will break for lunch or dinner. Team assignments will be made during break.
TEAMS
Once teams assignments are complete and when drivers return from break, cars will be shuffled into rows. After each run, drivers must return to their team’s row to go back into rotation.
Teams may decide on a team name if they wish, and submit it to timing at any time.
MAIN EVENT
Each driver gets 3 competition runs each.
ACNP scores are applied to every run. For instance, if your run time is 42.6 seconds, and you receive a score of 2, your recorded time is 40.6. If your run time is 39.8 and you receive a score of 1, your recorded time is 38.8. If your run time is 49.3 and you receive a score of 0, your recorded time is 49.3.
SCORING
Each driver’s runs minus ACNP, plus their fastest qualifying time are averaged to determine their Competition Time. Then, each Competition Time for a team are added together to get the final Team Time.
Take the previous example, now as final Team Times. Here, Team D is the winner:
MECHANICAL / BIOLOGICAL FAILURES
In the event of a mechanical failure, or if a driver has to leave early for any reason, that driver’s slowest recorded time will be copy / pasted onto all runs that they miss. If a driver makes NO timed runs, the slowest recorded time from ALL drivers will be copy / pasted onto all runs that they miss.
PRIZES
The winning team all receive $20 each.
The fastest driver of the event receives $140 (on top of the $20, if their team wins).
The fastest driver on the other three teams each get $80.
FUN RUNS
After the competition finishes, we will do a quick awards ceremony. If there is still time, the pad opens for Fun Runs.
There are no prizes, and the times do not count toward the competition.
Only one car may go at a time.
There is no guarantee that everyone will get to drive, or get to drive the same number of runs.
Now’s your chance to experiment with getting a little more sideways :)