The Regina Corvette Club

Autocross

In the Eighties we were fortunate to have, at no cost, unlimited Sunday access to the entire North Section of the Southland Mall parking lot. Remember, in those days Regina did not offer Sunday shopping.

Alas, progress dictates change and with shopping expanded to seven days a week the Club found itself without this venue. We subsequently began renting various lots at Regina Exhibition Park which satisfied our needs until surface deterioration made it impossible to continue using them. Following a couple of lean competition years we were able to start renting the lot at the Lawson Aquatic Centre.

Using this property sparingly to avoid aggravating local property owners, we did well for a number of years. Spurred by local residents, the City closed this facility to motor sports groups and we were again without a venue.

That is until some industrious Club members contacted the proprietors of what was at that time a respectable Kart Track located north of Regina adjacent to Highway 11 at Exit C. The Club dipped its toes in the proverbial waters and put on a local event. The following season the track was lengthened and widened to better facilitate cars as well as motorcycles.

In 2021 the Kart Track no longer wished to be a venue for motor vehicle racing and evolved into a RV storage facility. Currently the Regina Corvette Club is looking at options for a site where autocross can be held. During COVID all competition was suspended.

The Corvette Club of Regina is a member of the Canadian Council of Corvette Clubs and as such, stages events boasting participants from Manitoba to British Columbia and all points between.

Autocross General Information

1. All cars must be teched and properly signed sheets must be submitted prior to competing.

2. Everyone at the event (participants, spectators, marshals, etc.) must sign the waiver.

3. Regardless of whether the driver chooses to finish the run, he/she must exit the course through the stop box.

4. No alcohol or drugs are permitted before or during the event.

5. Burnouts or similar activities are not permitted (i.e. warming up of tires in pit area, etc.).

6. All competitors must come to a complete stop within the stop box at the end of each run. Any stop box infraction: including touching a pylon, breaking the plane of any opening or failing to come to a complete stop will result in a DNF for the run.

7. If the stop box is constructed so that the end pylon does not have to be removed (i.e. there is an exit opening) the competitor must wait for a signal to exit the stop box. A competitor not coming to a complete stop or fails to wait for a signal to exit will receive a DNF for that run.

8. All competitors must leave the course through the stop box. Failure to comply with this condition will result in the driver’s disqualification for that event and will forfeit any further runs that day.

9. A driver sees a red flag being waved he/she must come to a complete spot and wait for instructions from a course marshal.

Slalom Course Configurations:

THE DIMENSIONS GIVEN BELOW ARE MINIMUMS. THE EVENT CHAIRMAN MAY INCREASE THE SIZES IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY AND/OR A BETTER COURSE LAYOUT.

Cone Definitions and Meanings:

Using chalk to mark around the cones will help the course workers place the cones correctly and assess if you get a penalty time on your run. Cones outside of the box or knocked down will net you a penalty of two seconds per cone. A bumped or moved cone will not be assessed a penalty if, and only if, a portion of the cone is still in its marked-out box. Yes, if you can hit the cone, plop it into the air, and have it land within its box, you won’t be penalized. Don’t laugh, it’s happened before.

Traffic cones, often called "pylons" in autocross, are used to mark out the autocross course. In slalom, a cone on its side indicates that you are expected to go past the standing cone on the opposite side. A double set of cones will have the same directional meaning as a cone on its side.  Each cone is outlined in chalk. You can touch a cone as long as you don't knock it completely out of its box.

Gates:

The first cone setup you’ll run into is the gate. You’ll see gates at the start, finish, and at every obstacle. A standard gate is two cones side-by-side and a car-width apart. A gate with an additional cone on either side (either straight up or lying down) will indicate the direction you need to go. If you see a single cone at the left of the gate and two to the right, you’ll head to the right and vice-versa. If there are two cones at each side, you’ll enter the gate twice and so forth. You may even pass the same gate several times.

Slalom:

Next is the slalom, which can have two types of configurations. The first is the “optional” slalom, which allows you to enter at either side of the first cone.

Pivots:

Finally, you may encounter the “Pivot” cone, also called the “Cul-de-Sac”. This has a single cone inside a marked box with a cone gate that indicates you have to drive past it twice: once to enter and drive around the pivot cone, and then again to exit. You might see a pointer cone that indicates which direction you turn around, but usually they are optional. Normally, pivots navigate you in the opposite direction all the way through the course, and back to where you started.

Apex Points:

The geometric apex

For carrying speed and minimizing the turn severity.

To carry maximum speed through a corner, you need to take the route that minimizes the tightness of the corner arc. This minimizes cornering force and frees up precious grip for maintaining speed. This route tends to use the geometric apex of the corner and is usually known as the classic racing line.