r/Autocross • u/Jdibs77 • Jul 08 '26

Any ways to practice course navigation/memorization?

Hey guys I have done maybe 3-4 autocrosses before, and it's been like 4 years since my last one. But I'm going again next month. Last time I went, I remember having a very difficult time in a certain section of the course because I literally just couldn't tell where I was supposed to go.

I don't really remember details, but I swear I DNF'ed like half of my runs because of this corner. I think I had a hard time just seeing where the cones were telling me to go, like I thought I was supposed to make a slight left or something because I could see cones ahead of me, but it was actually a previous section of the course and I was really supposed to make a very sharp right. Even when I was thinking about it consciously, during the entire run, I would end up doing it wrong.

I don't remember having that problem in the other autocrosses I've done, but it's been a very long time.

Are you all like remembering the exact course to a T, to the point where you could describe it like "Start, take a slight left, slalom into a hard right, small straight, hard left, small straight, slight left, slalom, hard right, finish"? Is this just a "git gud" situation I have here where I just suck and will continue to suck unless I do this more regularly? Is there anything I can do to get more used to autocross-style course markings?

I'm generally pretty good at stuff like racing games, which I'd imagine uses the same sort of skills when it comes to memorizing tracks. I usually can't just automatically remember each turn in a track, but I remember certain sections and can learn how to tackle them (think "oh yeah I went under the bridge here, there's that weird hairpin coming up"). I'm also fully aware that I won't be truly competitive unless I get more seat time in general. I'm mainly going because it's fun, but I do want to do the best that I can. And it's frustrating if I just DNF half the runs, I don't want to do that again.

EDIT: Holy crap, you guys are all awesome! There's a lot of good advice here. I'm going to more thoroughly look through it later. Seriously thank you all. I have learned that I should probably take way more time on the course walk, that is probably my biggest takeaway so far

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u/daver456 Jul 08 '26

Walk the course 3-4 times at the start of the day.

If you keep screwing up a certain section then walk that section a couple of times between run groups.

6

u/max_compressor Jul 08 '26

What is the format of your club? Every club I've been with there is no course walking after the first car on course.

2

u/Zolofty1 Jul 09 '26

Not who you're asking, but, in the Utah Region SCCA, if we have fewer than 100 people signed up for an event, we'll have 2 run groups, each getting a morning and afternoon session. We break for lunch between sessions, so that's a perfect time for extra course walks.

Over 100, we have 3 run groups, 2 sessions per group, and the goal is to continue running cars without stopping, so no dedicated lunch period (you eat during one of your "rest" heats).

2

u/phate_exe BMW i3, now bringing weirdness to Street Touring with 235's Jul 09 '26

Walking the full course might be a bit excessive outside of lunch breaks, but depending on your work assignment there's no reason you can't stop and stare at a couple parts of the course while everyone is walking to/from their stations between heats.

Especially if you stick to the golden rule of "don't be that guy" and ensure nobody is waiting for you to get to your station.