The first time I did a slalom course, (which is what they called it before "autocross"), was back in 1978 driving my 69 Datsun 1600 Roadster.
When I first arrived at the track, an experienced buddy racing there in his Lotus Elite, told me that my tires were way to under-inflated, and they might peel off the rims. So off I went to find a gas station, to add some psi. 55 psi is what he recommended. Being out in the country at an abandoned airport, it took a while to find a gas station, so I arrived back late, and did not have a chance to walk the course.
My first run was an absolute joke. I had no idea how the course was laid out. I kept trying to find the point cone to stay on course, but I'm sure I must have missed several, that or went around them on the wrong side....At one point I did a complete 360* spin, from going way to fast and not being used to the hard tires.
The odd thing was, nobody said a word. I was handed my time slip, which didn't show any penalty's for missing cones, and I was actually about middle of the pack, time wise. My buddy never laughed at my spin, nor did anyone say a word about it, or my driving around aimlessly out on the course.
It was almost like I was supposed to do that..lol
To this day I don't know if somehow by total fluke, I nailed the course, or if everyone else there was as confused as I was. I suspect the latter..
