Considering we skipped spring and went straight from winter to summer, it’s time for the toys to come out and play again. Or so we thought.

Last week the car season kicked off with events happening at Stratotech Park again, starting with the Speed Freaks Season Opener which got heavily rained out (you can watch a clip of me driving my FR-S on my Instagram here).
Later in the week was the first round of the new Stratocross season which now features some fancy new hardware to be won for the top three positions of each class, courtesy of RA Motorsports. Competition, even if it is friendly, means that we ideally would like some ideal weather, but of course we got rained on (literally) for a second time this week.

Track conditions for the first run group were pretty decent with both the warmth and sun holding out for us. The clouds however quickly decided to do their best Thor impression, and the second run group would end up getting postponed while we all took shelter in our cars from the torrential downpour. That, and it’s a little bit dangerous to be standing in the middle of a field to marshal while it’s thundering. Something about static electricity…

I’ve had a few people ask me this past week so I’ll go ahead and address it here a bit more: yes, autocross is a great way to get started in motorsport! It’s relatively cheap to enter, not too harsh on the car or driver, and if you hit something it’s generally just a pylon, so minimal damage is done. If you’re still unsure, then come on over and spectate one of the events to get a feel for what it’s like. Also bring a helmet and don’t be shy to ask one of the drivers for a ride along!

The full schedule of Dan’s Motorsport Timing events can be found on their website, and with the season just getting started there are plenty more opportunities to get out there and have some fun. Congrats to all the winners of this round and I’ll see you all out there again soon!

-brandon.