Joshua Hadler wrote:
> It's not that people are afraid of it. I'm willing to bet that even
>the
> asphalt proponents would hate running on sealed asphalt. When Colan said
> that it'd be slick, he's not kidding. And all it would take would be a
> little bit of rain to make it a skating rink. You saw how the rain on
> Tuesday sapped the mood out of the competitors? When you simply can't
> get any power down, it's really not too much fun.
I've run on (freshly) sealed asphalt before, I know how slippery it is.
It wouldn't be my first choice of surfaces by a long shot. (I'd even
rather run on... CONCRETE!) But it is different and challenging. The
course we ran on said freshly sealed asphalt wouldn't have been so bad,
but this site is very small, so you have no option but to have a tight
course. A wide, loose course on slick asphalt would be entertaining.
The rain on Tuesday annoyed most of us who had to run in it mainly
because it was inconsistent. Had it been consistently wet throughout
our runs, most of us would have been happy. (at least in my class) What
REALLY sucked during our heat was that the first run was sorta wet, the
second was drying out, and the last run... the one that counts the most
for us drivers that suck... was totally wet. CSP had it good, started
out wet and dried out with each run.
Not being able to put power down doesn't make it no fun, it makes it
more of a challenge. Is it easier or harder to drive an autocross in
the rain? I rest my case.
> But when you travel 1000+ miles to drive on an ice rink, it kinda
> sucks. Good asphalt, sure. I like it alot. But sealed asphalt? If it
> meant a long road trip, I think I'd pass.
Can't really comment on this one. I don't think I'd drive 1,000 miles
for an autocross. (I don't particularly like driving as little as a
hundred miles, maybe if I were single or had a family that was more into
the sport I would feel differently) If I ever drove that far for
Nationals or similar, it would have to be for more than just the
competition. (which I'm sure is the case for most of the folks who drive
that far and farther)
--
Loren Williams | Homepage - http://home.kscable.com/shad
'94 Saturn SC2 | Wichita Region SCCA - http://www2.southwind.net/~scca
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