derBayerische July /August 2022 - 28

Steven Biondi attended with the permission of his parents
(and the keys to their car) in a Laguna Seca Blue E46 M3.
The Cheapest Upgrade With The Biggest Return
By Corey Brown | Photos by Fraser Dachille
P
eople often ask what is the first
thing they should upgrade on
their car? In my opinion, it's
the space between the driver's seat
and the steering wheel. The best
way to accomplish this is more time
behind the wheel and instruction
from experienced drivers. I recently
attended the NCC Autocross
Novice School in preparation for
participating in the autocross season.
With the school only costing
$100, you would be hard pressed
finding a more effective upgrade
for your car at that price. You are
required to wear a SNELL certified
helmet, but free loaners are available
at no cost.
So, what do you get for your
$100? Upon arrival, I completed
registration and helped myself to
the complimentary donuts and coffee.
This was very appreciated with
28
an 8:30 a.m. start time. The Novice
School begins with about an hour
of classroom instruction, which
gives a general overview of how an
autocross is set up and also
includes helpful driving principles.
The school applied the " learn by
doing " philosophy, so once we
werence done in the classroom the
organizers walked through a
demonstration on how to prepare a
car for an autocross (all of which
could be applied for your fun
Sunday drive on backroads).
NCC Autocross Chair, Fraser
Dachille, was kind enough to set up
his car as a " what not to do "
example. After students ensured
their cars were properly cleared of
loose items and completed tech
inspection, it was time to drive!
We moved our cars to the
autocross course and we were
divided into three groups of
approximately seven cars. The
instructors had set up three
different stations that focused on
specific cone configurations
(corners) you would encounter on
course, and to emphasize driving
principles introduced in the classroom.
After conducting a course
walk and planning how you want to
approach the corners, the instructors
would accompany you as
you drove. There were about four
instructors at each station. The
instructors were great at assessing
driving ability and tailoring their
feedback to specific focus areas.
They were always positive in reinforcing
good technique. They were
genuinely excited for students'
successes. With so few cars per
station, you only had around 60 to
90 seconds of down time between
runs, which was just enough time to
process the feedback you received
and focus on how you were going to
apply it. Then you were off again.
There was so much driving
you didn't have time to check your
watch even if you wanted to. After a
few hours, we took a lunch break.
Lunch was provided, and this
allowed for some time to interact
with classmates. During this time
the instructors had taken all the
individual focuses from the morning
and tied them together into a full
autocross course. We performed a
full-course walk with the instructors,
to apply what we learned about
planning our approach to the
course. The instructors gave rides
in their vehicles as a way to see the
course at speed. Afterwards, we
regrouped at the timing tent for the
drivers brief and the organizers
derBayerische
derBayerische July /August 2022

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