LoneStar Rally-X: 2023 Round 2 - Prepped 4

First time racing in the dirt!!! Not only that, but first time pushing an AWD on a track. LoneStar Rally Cross is run by Brianne Corn, a local badass in the Austin/San Marcos area. Her property is out close to Harris Hill and she hosts and smoothly runs a monthly Rally Cross event. It is an awesome environment to learn something new and have a great time trying to chase Bri, the regular Queen of the Hill. I finally made my way out there and met up with Jacob. The event entries range from people "racing what they got" to highly modified contenders in Stock, Prepped, and Modified classes, separated by 2WD and 4WD. This weekend there were about 35 participants across the classes. I don't have a car, so I rented a sweet Subi from Bri and entered into the Prepped 4WD class.

The format was based on accumulation of lap times from ALL sessions: the total time for 10 laps around the dirt. Regardless of the scoring system, I was going to take my time and slowly be more aggressive throughout the sessions. This definitely hurt my overall score, but I am really happy with my progression through the day and, even though there were only 4 cars in my class, I will gladly take home 3rd in class!!! On top of that, Gloria came out for the second half of the day and brought all kinds of food and snacks. This came in clutch! It was about time to start the second half, and I realized that Gloria could ride along! We got her a helmet and she was an awesome passenger. I got my fastest times with her riding along!

From a driving perspective, I definitely learned a ton. For next time, I am going to send the car harder and deeper into the corner and trust that the car will bleed speed from the slip angle on entry. Should I try to start left-foot braking? Most importantly, I think I beat Jacob, because he was all over the cones.