I guess there are two different groups here.
First group is the newbies
This group will benefit from an introduction event commonly called "drivers ed". I'm sure there are several seasoned autoxers on board who can provide a brief "classroom session", then ride with a student to give out pointers. The goal is to familiarize the student with procedures (work-run), safety items (red-green flags, situation awareness), and driving tips (when/where to accel/decel, how to take an apex, how to approach a series of corners). The first event of the season can be dedicated to this.
If there are more newbies joining mid season, another impromptu class can be formed. I have been an instructor before but nowadays all I can teach is what not to do.
The second group is those who seek to form some kind of sanctioning/hosting body
An autox event is a complex organization. From what I have seen, in order to run one seamlessly, sense of duty is of the utmost importance. There are so many aspects requiring a bare minimum of 20-person crew. Some people can do double duties but the duties will have to be separated timewise.
If I can give a rough idea how a typical local autox season is run in the following. The details in each aspect can get overwhelming for one person to handle.
Several months to one year ahead before a season starts
- Secure location
- Secure insurance
- Secure personnel (who is the big chief, who takes care of timing/scoring, tech inspection, registration, and a slew of other tasks); these chiefs need to come up with procedures
- Secure equipment (cones, timers, recording equipment, truckload of miscellaneous)
The week before an event
- Come up with a course design
- If registration done online, task assignment can be readily dolled out; otherwise it will be a very busy morning
- Decide whether course should be done the night before (security, weather, personnel availability are some of the deciding factors); at some events, tech inspection can even be done the night before
The big day
- Course designers and equipment must arrive very early in the morning to do set up; some I have seen were on-site since 5 in the morning.
- Registration personnel are next; they also carry a task of keeping track of the fees, recording driver-car information, and make sure waivers are signed. Task assignment can be implemented here too with a task keeper standing by.
- Timing and scoring personnel set up timers and check their operation. Stationary supply can be distributed at this point.
- Tech inspectors are next. As drivers start to arrive, these need to be ready.
After a driver meeting and workers are in place, first run can commence. There will be little fires here and there needing attention and the pace will be determined as the day progresses.
At the end of the day, the biggest thing is clean up. Timing and Scoring personnel will determine the winners and probably announce things for the next event.
For those who still want to run one, I'd suggest joining a hosting club and get a feel for it for a season. Autox management is a thankless, payless job and you will have to deal with difficult people from time to time.
All those said, how many would step up to the plate ? Let's see a show of hands
