RallyCross race at Orange County Speedway - Aug 1st, Rougemont, NC

thecarman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Location
Apex, NC
The Tarheel Sports Car Club puts on RallyCross events about once a month at a few locations just outside the RTP area (Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Chapel Hill, Durham and surrounding areas).

The next event is August 1st at Orange County Speedway, in Rougemont, NC, which is near north Durham and Roxboro.

These are like autocross, but on dirt. Only one car on the track at a time, course is layed out by cones, the course is about 60 seconds long. It is in the open, so no chance of hitting trees.

The track at Orange County is smooth - you can run a daily driver there. I wouldn't run a Corvette or anything low like that, but just about any car will work. No trucks or SUVs or Jeeps because the event insurance company doesn't want the likelihood of rollovers.

They are looking for more attendance - need at least 25 entrants pre-registered a week before each race, or the race is cancelled. So come out and give it a try!

You can pre-register here: http://www.thscc.com/rallycross/prereg_rallyx.html

Reply to this thread if you have any questions about the event. I'd be happy to discuss.

Some pics and vids from previous races are at:
http://www.thscc.com/rallycross/photos/index.php
 
More detailed information

The format of a race is that your group gets 3 timed runs in the morning and 3 timed runs in the afternoon. The scoring is cumulative - all your runs count. But to me, how my time stacks up against others is not as important as the fun I have racing in the dirt. With that said, I won the street-tire AWD class last August in a beat 87 Subaru, and got 2nd overall out of all entrants.

While one group is running the course, the other group works the course to watch for knocked-over cones, call them in to the scoring table, and set them back up. Knocked over cones are a +2 second penalty each.

We break for about an hour for lunch.

The race is usually over by 2PM, after which you can have "fun runs" that aren't part of the competition, but are still timed, so you can practice against the clock or just have fun.

You get a plaque if you place in your class, but there is no monetary reward.

I have been racing in this series for over a year. I started out with an 87 Subaru AWD wagon, and now have a 91 Audi Quattro. Neither car is far from stock. Last race at Orange County, in the Audi, I glanced down at the speedo, and hit 50mph at the fastest part of the track. That feels very fast on dirt (especially if it's slick). Most cars stay in 2nd gear the whole track - if that gives you an idea of the speeds.

Lots of people run daily drivers, but some run dedicated RallyX cars that are gutted to save weight, and there are several highly modded Subarus that throw a lot of dirt and are fun to watch.

Front-wheel-drive cars are very competitive because they are so light.

You can register for multiple drivers in a single car. Since the runs are solo (only one car on the track at a time), this works out fine, and each driver gets their 6 timed runs. I co-own my car with a friend from work. You can also have registered participants ride with you in your car, which is fun (and is also a good way for your co-driver to get a good look at the course before they run it themself).

Cars have to pass tech, which means no loose suspension joints or bearings (they shake the tires with car on the ground to see if they are loose), brakes work, seatbelts work, no loose items inside the car.

You need an approved helmet.

If this sounds like fun to you, definitely come try it at Orange County, since it's the smoothest course. The other 2 courses we run (near Clayton) have potential to mess up your car if you get too crazy, because they have some ruts you can get into.
 
No jeeps!!! Yaw must be scared of the cherokee:driver:

Sounds like fun, if I wasn't goin to the beach I'd enter in one of my clunkers from the car lot...
 
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