Speed Events in the USA - Can We Learn from Them ?

There have been a few initiatives in the UK to consider organising what is known in the USA as Solo 2 or Autocross. When it was mentioned in Acorn a couple of years ago even the 7Oaks Speed Sec was not enthusiastic. Lack of speed venues, particularly in the South East, may eventually force a re-think?
Solo 1 in the US is the discipline we call hillclimbs and sprints. Solo 2, also called Autocross there (depending on whether the SCCA is the sanctioning body?), is something between a sprint and an autotest with no reversing. The intent is to limit speeds to a maximum of about 70mph and make use of venues not suited to Solo 1. Contrary to popular belief in the UK (and the reason used to claim impracticability of the concept), shopping mall car parks seem rarely used. Sunday shopping in the US outside the “Bible Belt” pre-dates that motorsport-damaging activity in the UK. Factory car parks are a major venue resource.
Clearly to make it viable here, there has to be relaxation of the current full regulations for sprints. If the litigation-prone USA can do that (for example, requiring helmets but not flame resistant overalls in Solo 2), so can the UK. The lead has to come from the MSC. It is clearly pointless for any Club to proceed if the full current requirements of speed event permits are laid upon it….so long as it still has other venues of course…
Perhaps the first step is a name, to avoid confusion with UK Autocross and European Autocross (the latter seeming to have more in common with UK Autograss?). Interestingly US Solo 2 vehicle categories already have a familiar ring. Street Stock, Street Prepared and Prepared seem to parallel our Standard, Modified Roadgoing and Modified Production.
Sad bastards…..sorry, keen surfers of the Internet….will find a seemingly endless supply of  national and regional US web sites on Solo/Autocross. Carry out a search using autocross or solo (although the latter gets confused by single parent etc listings). Examples are: www.autocross.com , www.scca.org , www.solo2.com ,  www.na-motorsports.com , www.ner.org , using various menus and links.

Keith Lay

The Acorn : February Edition