Why does everyone race?? Does anyone want to share why they participate in solo 2?

[Tony Kloosterma]

I thought I'd steal this from Jenn and post it as a seperate thread

Why do I race????? I guess its always been in my blood

Years ago, many many years ago I was introduced to the sport of rallying and all cars general by my father. At age 12 I was at Harewood (working the gate as a 12 year old) I entered and won my first navigational rally at age 12 with my dad driving. He made me study route instructions for 2 years at the kitchen table before he would let me go in a real rally.
At age 13 I worked the gate at mosport....at age 16 I remember having to get a learners permit to compete in the International Canadian Winter rally, one where Scottish rally legend Andrew Cowan competed, at age 17 I entered by first special stage rally as a codriver.
At age 19 I finished 5th in the Tall Pines national championship rally
At age 23 i won the Penninsula Special Stage rally, an Ontario Championship event. At age 25 it was time to settle down and become a parent,,, closed up shop, put the toys away and never opened them again till 2001

With the kids grown I looked for a way to get back into motorsports.
Realisticly I wasn't going rallying again, racing was cost prohibitive, solo was a decent choice... I met a great group of people and was once again hooked.
I do it for the competition, for the friendships, for the rivalries and yes for the self satisfaction that an old guy can still hold his own.

So at age 50 we are off to targa to see if we can tame the ROCK, the cool thing is I get to do it with my son ,,,, kinda like years ago when I started rallying with my dad.

Tony

[finboy]

after the bass masters tour.. i needed something else to do

heard solo II was the place to pickup chicks

that was a LIE!!!!!

[13inches]

Why do I compete? (not RACE!)

Heck.....what else are you going to do with a s/c Miata? ;)

[DareBee]

If I didn't my car wouldn't be used for much more than taking up space in my garage. My wife would insist I sell it :eek: . Use it or lose it.
I probably would also have Finboy withdrawal :rolleyes:

[subaru_jenn]

I thought I'd steal this from Jenn and post it as a seperate thread

Tony

jerkstore! i would've gotten around to it! hehehe ;)

[sjd]

I compete in Solo2 because my wife won't let me take my daily driver to the track. (Solo1/Lapping days) I spent a summer at the Jim Russell school in Quebec when I was 18. I've always had a need to drive fast and a passion for all things automotive. (Which is why I'm changing careers and going back to school but that's another story) but when I was 18 competing was cost prohibitive so my skills lay dormant for almost 10 years. In 2003, I was encouraged to come out to Solo2 (Thanks Tod) since it cost a lot less than I thought. I really enjoy Solo2, even if I have been frustrated as of late with my driving.

[miataboi]

I do it to make others feel slow.
:D :D :D

[max attack]

Why do I do solo2?,because I can't afford to go road racing(or justify the cost of solo1)and for the most part the people are alright. :D (that miataboi is always stiring up stuff though! :p )
Why do I ice race?,those that have tried it know why!! ;)

My motorsports interest was sparked early as my dad raced stock cars and I was at the track in the womb.I didn't have much interest in cars as I thought 2 wheels was where it was at,did 3 levels of the F.A.S.T. motorcycle road race school where I was one of the fastest guys and earned a "top rider award" but sadly couldn't find the funds to start raing bikes.(getting married and building a new house at 21 years old made sure of that!!)
A buddy showed me a magazine featuring ice racing in the winter of 1995 and I was on track in 1996,bunch of work and money later and here we are-still broke and buying parts and tires!. :D

[J.C.]

I started autocrossing to improve my skill as a driver. To have a safe and controlled environment to push my new car (at the time) to its limits. It was a fantastic bonus to have good people to help me along the way. Now I am just trying to pass on what I acquired and have some fun at the same time. I can honestly say that because of this experience I am still alive today.

P.S. I feel strongly that everyone who drives on the road should be required by law to take an autocross school. It would make our roads alot safer.

[haniforama]

a related thread...

http://66.59.135.81/forums/showthread.php?t=5284&page=3&pp=15

[njansenv]

I grew up 'eating' any reading material I could find that was remotely automotive related, and have always enjoyed 'tuning' (I use that word liberally ;) ) whatever it was that I drove. I was (and am) the kind of person that would drive hours on a Sunday evening, looking for the most 'interesting' back roads where ever I could. I had followed SCCA Solo stuff in the US, but had written it off as an American thing until I found PITL. (Thank you)
Solo2 is a fantastic 'release', to push the car, to enjoy fully any tweaks you've made to it, and to become a better driver. I've avoided (at least) one accident thanks to experience gained wrt threshold braking, which I otherwise likely would not have learned.

The people are friendly, the cars are great, and it's a day to talk tech with other people who actually (seem to....) care about these things.

I do it for the fun, and will continue to try to keep it that way. As soon as it becomes a dominant factor in my life, I've told myself I'll quit, or take a break. For myself, (and this certainly isn't for everyone) I refuse to make it anymore than friendly competition, and prioritize it as such. If I make it out, GREAT, I know I'll have a great time with the people I've met over the years. I realize that this thought might irritate those who take things a little more seriously, and am sorry for that...as that isn't what I want to do. I go to Test 'n Tunes ( :eek: ) at Cayuga with the same attitude. To learn, to have fun, and to hopefully better my skills both from a tuning and driving standpoint.

Eventually, I intend to try lapping days, and maybe some Solo 1....time, and budget allowing. Unfortunately, I can't get enough of this stuff. ;)

[Gen1GT]

I race so that I can tell chicks that I'm a race-car driver... :cool:

LOL, seriously; because I love cars, especially my car, and it's fun to drive it in a manner which would normally be unsafe on public roads. I like being able to drive at(or over, for all those who saw my 180 at Woodstock) the limit and get to know how my vehicle responds in those conditions.

It's just plain fun...

[gatherer]

Well I race because I Can. I dunno why I do this maybe I'll find the reason or the limits of my tolerance for this sport on my trip. but so long as there are events and I have an entry fee in my pocket I'll enter.

[1morelap]

most fun I can have with my clothes on.

Best bang for the buck with my daily driver, it's safe, easy on the car,and I don't get "as many" speeding tickets anymore.

Finboy? can't pick up chicks? dude, that's another reason to run PMG. They have their own class, but they only like fast drivers :D ;)

[superdave]

jerkstore!


Thats an interesting saying.. :p


I like to push the limits of my car... the road isn't the best place to do it... and so I compete in solo II because its the only form of motorsport I can afford at this point in my life. Hopefully next year solo I will be morth within my reach cost wise... :)

[Gen1GT]

Thats an interesting saying.. :p


I like to push the limits of my car... the road isn't the best place to do it... and so I compete in solo II because its the only form of motorsport I can afford at this point in my life. Hopefully next year solo I will be morth within my reach cost wise... :)

Yeah, because if you try and push the limits on the road, some guy in a minivan will chase you down, cut you off and try to pick a fight with you, even though you're 3 times his size... :confused:

[Methanoxide]

This is my first year of competing but what got me into it:
I like the smell of burning rubber and un-burnt fuel... :eek:

[DareBee]

As JC said "I feel strongly that everyone who drives on the road should be required by law to take an autocross school. It would make our roads alot safer." I very strongly agree.

The people are the BEST at Solo 2 events. I have made many GREAT friends over the years and it is great to hang out with EVERYBODY - AND get a little adrenaline pumping after a great (or scary (whichever)) run.

[pmoisse]

I started racing about 7 years ago running fast winter navigational rallies (Ontario Winter Rally etc) after having been to sevreral stage rallies as a mechanic/car prep guy. I went rallying in several cars but ironically I was fastest in my Miata. I started running autocross the spring following my Miata winter rallies and got hooked.

Car hasn't been up to the challenge the past couple years but it's finally okay again and I'm having a blast this year. I race becuase it's always been something I followed on tvr, and when the chance came to try it in person, I couldn't resist.

Paul

'90 red Miata

[Marsh]

I've always been an import and sports car guy as long as I can remember. Dad was an american iron gan, but I always had to be different. I had read about autocross in magazines, but had no idea how to get involved until I joined an SAE team. I actually didn't really enjoy my first event, but the next event I went to was driving the autocross at the SAE competition. The SAE car hooked me forever.

[soloZ]

My first exposure to Autocrossing was I think in the early eighties when a club held an event at Durham college out side of Oshawa, I unfortunitly didn't see much or remember much of it(I was a kid) but thanks to dad I got to see it. Most of the time Dad would take my brother and I to Mosport(since I was born or seems like it) favorite races were the once make race series like Rothman Porsche,GM player challenge and of course the Honda Michilin series. Oh and the craziest people I have ever seen would race around Mosport on some of the fastest Go-Karts I've ever seen(they must have been nutts).

My first autocross event I ever entered in was a Corvette event and the previous event was when I met Finboy, so that was I think about five years ago now and I love this hobby/sport/passion there arn't many other things I would rather do on a Saturday or Sunday.

[subaru_jenn]

Practice makes perfect !

A couple more reasons to run in Solo2
:eek:

[JoeT]

Practice makes perfect !

A couple more reasons to run in Solo2
:eek:

Hey Jen,

I almost didn't recognize you in any of those pictures. See what happens when your dad gives you a Sentra instead of a Subaru! :D

[Crusher45]

I don't solo 2 anymore.

I'm too old for that sport... my reflexes have slowed... and I'm past my prime.

My wife won't let me race anymore... and I'm afraid that there are many others now who can beat me on an even playing field. So I've hung it up for good.

I now play checkers and Snakes and Ladders with my Son.
I am quite good at Karaoke now and go to bed by 9:00 PM

Tony, you are so full of brake fluid. Now that you are regional racing.

[haniforama]

I don't solo 2 anymore.

I'm too old for that sport... my reflexes have slowed... and I'm past my prime.


Past your prime is still FAR better than a lot of drivers I've seen - myself included!

[Cheers!]

After buying a sportscar (something that I've wanted ever since I knew what a car was) I began to modify her and make her faster and faster. Then I realized I could never use any of these mods on the street and the thought of having to pay even more for insurance when the cops bust me or worse crash and do harm to others made me look for sanctioned racing.

The easiest sanctioned racing to get into was Solo2, and from a poor university student budget it was all I could afford. It was fun, learned what the car could do and what I could do and realized I wanted to go solo1 racing. So this year I set out to go solo1 racing. Did the school, it was a blast, went to events 1 and 2 at shanny, blew the clutch missed the DDT race, TMP and calobogie was canceld so it's back to solo2 racing with the boys at PITL.

All of this while having parents and GF constantly asking Why do you insist on doing such a dangerous and expensive sport that consumes all your time. I guess they were really tell me I should go visit the bars/liquor store and crack house more often.... because that is where the money would probably go if the rx7 wasn't around.

Also setting up the car lets me use my engineering skills and education for real engineeering for once... instead of pushing papers.

Derek: if you ever want to sell your car let me know... it would be a perfect solo1 car to race in GT4.

[tony mcgrath]

No... I AM the real one.
:)


That'll teach me for not logging off when I leave a computer... Jeff step away from the keyboard...

Wasnt there a Star Trek episode like this once- duplicates of Captain Kirk -and someone had to shoot the imposter?

Anyway, someone shoot Miataboi for me :D

Tony - No Really - I'M the real one...

[Modfire]

i was raised around racing and stories of racing....

been watching formula 1 since i was a kid with my dad. I watch GT racing as much as i can. I haven't seen much the past 2.5 years... no cable :eek:

my dad and my uncles always raced... not always legal like ;)

anyway i just love the skill needed to race... i have been doing soloII for 2 years now. I plan on going into the regionals next year... beware the Sunfire LMAO.

I do it for the rush, beating my own times, and improving my skills as a driver.

[Pete@Marcor]

Wasnt there a Star Trek episode like this once- duplicates of Captain Kirk -and someone had to shoot the imposter?

Wow. You really MUST be old, to remember those shows. They did air in the 60's you know.

I got introduced to Solo a while ago by Jim Kenzie. I think it would have been the middle of the summer, 1983. Probably a couple of years after that old guy Tony.

[haniforama]

I got introduced to Solo a while ago by Jim Kenzie. I think it would have been the middle of the summer, 1983. Probably a couple of years after that old guy Tony.

I was 6 years old at that time :eek:

[Pete@Marcor]

I was 6 years old at that time :eek:

Uh huhn......... :rolleyes:

[tanney]

Regional racers are even bigger babies than you Solo schmucks.

:confused:

[JAYh]

Why does everyone race?? Does anyone want to share why they participate in solo 2?

Simple answer: because it's safer and, er, more legal than parking lot donuts, big smokey burnouts, country road "drifting" and other such activities. It's nice to have such a great sport where I can unleash my inner right-foot-hooligan. :D

The complex answer is just a more verbose way of saying the simple answer so I won't bother to write it.

- J

[DareBee]

Jason my car IS for sale! First $30,000 takes it

[foudelatwee]

Honestly, I don’t know why I love cars so much, I don’t have anybody in my family that ever raced a car, or loved racing or anything attached to cars, the only thing close to that is my father use to go to the yearly auto shows.

You know how stupid we can be when we are young and how we don’t care about safety, I remember every time that I had free time I would go for a drive, anywhere, I’m from QC city and there is lots of great roads, fun roads with lots of curves and hills that you can have fun speeding it. So I was always in my car, if I felt bored, sad, angry, happy whatever, I loved driving.

I almost always had sports cars. I was told by some people that I was nuts, crazy, big baby, that cars are not for girls etc…etc…so I king of not pushed further at that time, but I finally met someone who loves cars as much as I do, and he is a mechanic, so what could I ask more…now we found out about solo2, which is the best way for us to have fun and still be safe and cheap.

I wish I could do solo 1 but I would need to have a car just for that and I don’t have the money unfortunately…I don’t want to risk to crash my car that I love so much…and it’s our daily driving car so…

But if I ever have the chance, I would love to try solo1, even if I know that I would be scared as hell and not doing so good, just for the feeling, to know what it is…

[Cheers!]

Jason my car IS for sale! First $30,000 takes it

hrm... will you take an IOU???

If I had 30k it won't be going to a car it will be gonig towards the downpayment on my dream condo that faces the lake.