First time AutoX with the Yaris

[Keith Tinari]

Had a great time except the Announcer humiliated me the entire day.

I ran off course on all my runs except my last run. I was missing a short slalom before a huge turn around. Alot of people missed it. The course was wide and fast. Fastest time of the day was a 45 second and slowest being a 107 second. My best was a 62. I dont think I did all that bad but the announcer just let me have it the whole time. I got classics like these:

#777 09 um... Yaris, Really? okay then.

The Yaris is a car not on my Auto X list, they look like they are walking down the track... waste of time really.

Oh! we have a spin, don't bother flagging he won't be an issue, He wont get there any time soon.

And my personal Fav!

A car that slow should never be off course.

Close Tie: "What an Ugly little car"


Otherwise it was fun driving and I had a good time working in the grid. It wasnt my first AutoX but my first in the yaris. Just unfortunate that the guys were such jerks.

[RHDVIPbB]

haha, sounds like our announcers, but our region is very close and we all joke on each other until the racing starts. Some get picked on depending on comments they make at the monthly meets/dinner. Just let your driving do the talking and it usually shuts them up after you get used to it.

[Keith Tinari]

I was okay with it for the most part, I run with a crew of 450+ EVOs and STi. I hear it quite alot. But he got down right rude. And that was unprofessional.

[YAR1S]

aww that sucks! I watched an autox and the announcer was an ass too.... oh well, just have fun and show them what the yaris is capable of.

[ozmdd]

I know our announcers poke a lot of fun, but its always good-natured, and they're calling a lot of attention to the fact that Yarii are on the rise. Just get some YW stickers and maybe put a few flyers under your wipers while you work!
I even heard one of the STS miata guy's wife tell him she wanted a Yaris after watching mine.
We're a new thing, and Americans suck at dealing with change, but anyone who knows sh** about autoX knows that low-weight and handling beat HP every time. They probably said the same thing about Miata's and CRX's back in the day, but look how that worked-out.

[Yaris-x]

It does sound pretty overboard but usually I am the announcer and do poke fun but it is good natured fun like calling a Subaru SVX a eagle talon to get under his skin but I get it back when I run and when I'm not announcing I hear alot of "that car is not faster than a yaris" when they run slower than me its just fun

[justjesus]

Originally Posted by Keith Tinari

#777 09 um... Yaris, Really? okay then.

Otherwise it was fun driving and I had a good time working in the grid. It wasnt my first AutoX but my first in the yaris. Just unfortunate that the guys were such jerks.

That's just tooooo funny. LMAO at all of those! Me and LTNoogie know the feeling!
We have also gotten, "is that a hybrid?" hehe.

Some day...they won't be laughing.

[Tamago]

i recollect a smart remark being made about my xA as i pulled up to the start gate at an autocross once.. when i tripped the finish lights at the end i heard the announcer say "oh"............."well that car just put two seconds on so-and-so"............

don't let the heckling get to you. your first time autocrossing will always suck (my first time autocrossing back in my corolla days, i was O/C on every single run) but don't get bent out of shape. stick it out!

[Keith Tinari]

I quick vid, Just of the first little bit. I spun too hard off the line that time. I was trying to feel out the tires that run. I'm very happy with how flat it stayed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJe973Mtjww

[Tamago]

Originally Posted by Keith Tinari

I quick vid, Just of the first little bit. I spun too hard off the line that time. I was trying to feel out the tires that run. I'm very happy with how flat it stayed.

www.youtube.com/salloroc20

check the MR2 video. i've autocrossed for years, and that had to have been the worst run i've had in a very long time. we all have our off-days.. just keep going.

[Keith Tinari]

Originally Posted by Tamago

www.youtube.com/salloroc20

check the MR2 video. i've autocrossed for years, and that had to have been the worst run i've had in a very long time. we all have our off-days.. just keep going.

Wow! that course was huge! Did you hit 3rd there? I saw it was a little loose on the end but not that bad!

[kngrsll]

we got the same shit one time... my co driver and i were top 20 pax which was good enough to qualify for the pro class and we were 1 and 2 in the ST class. no one talked shit after that.

its worse at track events! pass a few corvettes on slicks, and you get peoples attention.

[Tamago]

Originally Posted by Keith Tinari

Wow! that course was huge! Did you hit 3rd there? I saw it was a little loose on the end but not that bad!

iirc i stayed in second gear. in the STI though, i was in third most of the time. yaris too IIRC.

that's the short practice course. on "race" day each run is over a mile long. it's an old runway :D

[Loren]

Don't take it personally. Nothing more boring than an announcer who just blandly calls times over the PA. Gotta have a little fun and stir up some shit. Been there, done that.

Your only recourse is to continue autocrossing, get better, and make them eat their words!

A properly setup Yaris in the hands of a good driver can embarrass a lot of people in a lot of supposedly faster cars. Hell, I even beat MYSELF today! I was co-driving with a newb in a Miata. (stock, worn out shocks, no performance alignment, mediocre tires) Took ONE run in my Yaris and beat my runs in the Miata by over a second.

[TheRealEnth]

yeah, just keep showing up to every autox and show them you aren't a scrub ;D

[Tamago]

btw, who was the guy with the silver MR2 in the background of your video, keith?

[mikebdubsuby]

Haha wow they gave you a pretty hard time. I went to an auto x event in Vegas just to watch, I wasn't there for the event, I just noticed it going on and wanted to check it out. I talked to the announcer and the people who ran it for a while and they all seemed pretty cool over there and non judgemental.

[ozmdd]

Originally Posted by Loren

Don't take it personally. Nothing more boring than an announcer who just blandly calls times over the PA. Gotta have a little fun and stir up some shit. Been there, done that.

Your only recourse is to continue autocrossing, get better, and make them eat their words!

A properly setup Yaris in the hands of a good driver can embarrass a lot of people in a lot of supposedly faster cars. Hell, I even beat MYSELF today! I was co-driving with a newb in a Miata. (stock, worn out shocks, no performance alignment, mediocre tires) Took ONE run in my Yaris and beat my runs in the Miata by over a second.

Yup, keep at it and you'll get to beat some folks down the road. Its even mroe fun in a Yaris. I ran faster than several of the S2000's at their club autoX event last week, and someone sent me some postings from their forum about how they might have to commit Harey Cary after losing to a Yaris. One guy was convinced that my car had to be on nitrous or a swapped motor.
Now that's payback.