Autocross Registration Now Open

For the final event Oct 17th, the paper work is signed and we’ll be trying out a new site. The Centennial parking lot at Great America, in Santa Clara. Where the 49er’s hope to be playing in a few years (and right across the street from their HQ and training faculties).


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Courtesy of our sponsor, Silicon Valley Auto Group, we will have a nice BBQ cooked on site (tri-tip and chicken and garden burger for the veggies) along with all the trimmings, heck we’ll even have chairs and tables so everyone can sit down and enjoy it. Also thanks to SVAG we’ll have the trophies to give out to the season winners. Both Andrew and Jordan will be there. I’ll let Andrew address it the day of but they are planning a unveiling of the Evora shortly.

Registration is now open at:
http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/A9E96E5E-C771-7F8E-FBB23B03B928E9F1

Thanks,

Larry & Alex
GGLC Event Chair

GGLC Club Members win at SCCA Nationals

Congratulations to GGLC Club Members Shelly Monfort and Ben Martinez for winning their classes at the 2009 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championship. Shelly won her 3rd national championship in the Super Stock Ladies class in her Lotus Elise against heavy Corvette opposition while Ben took the D Street Prepared class in his Merkur XR4 Ti. Additionally club member Jesus Villarreal was the runner-up in C Prepared while autocross series regular Elise Sias finished 3rd in the Street Modified Ladies class.

Full results available at here (SSL) and here (D Street Prep). Photos by Norcalturbo

Autocross Registration Open (Aug 30, Sept 19 events)

We are now half way through the Golden Gate Lotus Club, autocross points season. Registration for both the August 30 (Sunday) and September 19 (Saturday) events is now open. Club members only, will be allowed to sign up, for the first week.

For our final event of the season in October, we are looking at a change of venue. Most likely it will be a few weeks before we get everything worked out. The site is where the 49er’s hope to make their new home. The Great America parking lot in, Santa Clara. It’s quite a bit larger then the Marina location with some elevation changes thrown in. Still a TBD…

Thanks,
Larry & Alexander
Event Chair

Health benefits of Autocrossing

At the last GGLC autocross Alex and I decided to try out a little experiment to see how your heart rate changes during the race. We used a Polar S720i to record his heart rate, an iPhone for video and a DL1 data logger to record G-force and speed readings. I used some simple PHP magic to sync the two data files together and used the Chasecam Dashware system to create this finished video.

You can see the speed, heart rate (BPM), longitudinal G (acceleration + braking) and lateral G in the dashboard on the top of the video. His average heart rate was in the low nineties while on the grid and rises to to 101 just before the start of the run. As the run progresses you can see it quickly rise all the way to 145 bpm by the end of the 45 second run. Just as interesting is the way his heart rate falls as soon as the run ends and drops to the low 130s just 10 seconds after the run. So now if anyone asks you why you autocross just say its for the health benefits 😉

Unfortunately the video quality is not as perfect and the heart rate only updates every 5 seconds but all in all it was a successful test of the system. I have already ordered a Polar RS800CX (1 sec resolution) and I plan to run this same setup for the duration of the Lemons race at Buttonwillow next month. So stay tuned for the health benefits of endurance racing 😀

Registration for GGLC Autocross Points event #3

Registration is set to up open first thing tomorrow (June 18) for the July 18th, Saturday points event #3 (of 6) autocross.

http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/EB52BFDE-B462-4DC9-E41A05DD70AF48DA

The usual drill. Club members only can sign up in the first week, then it opens up to everyone. Limited car count and at least 12 runs for everyone with lunch being brought on site. Coaches available for pretty much every session to help out if needed / wanted.

Running in the points series is not required, you can simply treat this as a excuse to take your car out for a *spin*.

Photos from the May event can be found at:

Tony L:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lint666/sets/72157618300061170/show/
Marc:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/terra-incognita-pics/sets/72157619175050016/

And a video clip, from a couple of earlier autocrosses:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o07e7lyVhwI

Thanks,

Larry & Alex
Event Chair

GGLC Autocross Points Event 2 registration is now open

The Golden Gate Lotus Club 2nd Points event of the season is June 27 (Saturday). Registration is now open. Club members only for the first week:

http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/6F77EFFA-A2CC-9A7C-9768EF6A67DC38A9

We are counting the best 4 of 6 events. If you are participating in the series, please make sure your vehicle details are up to date.

The standings as of the first event can be found at:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd7xn2fv_13gh3kst4n

Thanks,

Larry and Alex

Registration for Autocross Points Event now open

Registration for the May 16th (Saturday) GGLC autocross is now open. It is a full points event and registration will be restricted to club members only for the first week. Click the following link to sign up: http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/6FB47AE4-B961-A2CE-2F39ABAA19A997AE

We have also added a sign up option for setup (unloading equipment and setting up the course). You will need to be on site and ready to work by 7:15-20. And I will hold a drawing for the setup crew. For the winner, we will open a spot, so they can have double runs (at no extra cost).

Autocross Clinic Registration now open

Registration for the April 26 (Sunday) GGLC autocross is now open. It will be a practice day (50 spots) and clinic (10 spots). Club members only for the first week. Click the following link to sign up: https://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/5ACA3B0F-A561-14B7-0CC88C59E54B8980

We have also added a sign up option for setup (unloading equipment and setting up the course). You will need to be on site and ready to work by 7:15-20. And I will hold a drawing for the setup crew. For the winner, we will open a spot, so they can have double runs (at no extra cost).

For those of you who made our March event, times can be found at:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd7xn2fv_4dj25vjfx#fun

We should have photos up by this weekend. Once done you can find them at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/88898787@N00/sets/

Thanks,

Larry & Alex

GGLC Autocross Series – Practice Date

March and spring is just around the corner, along with is the start of the GGLC Autocross season.

Registration for our March 29th Practice date, is opening Friday (Feb 27) at Motorsportreg website. Sign up at http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/9F940494-DEAC-3D09-60CC30847B85479D

It will be club members only for the first week. Non-members after that. Same format as we ran last year- mid 60’s max on the driver count and 10 or more runs for the day.

Silicon Valley Auto Group (Lotus of Los Gatos) is back as our sponsor. They will be providing their usual bag of goodies over the course of the season.

April 26, will be more of a pure clinic. Great for family and friends who are new to autocross. Also for those of us that want to work off some rust or get some coaching. Driver count will max out in the mid 30 range.

May 16, June 27, July 18, Aug. 30, Sept. 19 and Oct 17 will be points events for club members. Same classes and format as last year. We’ll score the best 4 of 6 events.

This season, we’ve got “official” numbers decals. If you’re interested in picking up a set, please visit Chuforia Graffix.

A Few Details:
Make sure your profile is up to date on motorsportreg. The club will be picking up a software package to handle the bulk of the scoring duties. In particular we’ll need to have your car details correct.

Assistance: putting on a autocross, is very much a volunteer effort. There are a couple of area, that we’d like a pool of helpers to cover. Two or three to get the equipment set up. Four or five to help set up the course. We will need you to be on site 7:15- 7:30, to get started.

Thanks and see you at the autocross,

Larry and Alex
Event Chairs