The photo above was taken last summer in Surrey B.C., Canada, during my best timed run of the 2008 JCNA Slalom season. It turns out I came in 5th place in my class with a best run of 46.339. I’m in Class “SPL” now (so you’ll have to scroll waaaayy down,) whereas I used to be in Class “D”… I don’t know why really as I don’t pay a lot of attention to the rules, but at the moment it doesn’t matter because that time would have landed me in 5th place in either class… go figure.
The photo was taken by somebody I met online by the name of Nimal Jayaratna. Truly one of those “small world” situations. I was sitting at work one day when my phone rings and it is a gentleman who says to me “you don’t know me but…” and starts telling me how he found me online as we share a common passion, and that he is in Seattle on business. He wanted to know if there was anything Jaguar-related going on locally. I said sure, but it depends upon how you define “local” 😉 I gave him directions to my house and he drove up there at the crack of dawn, and together we drove the 65E up to the Vancouver area. Crossing the border was interesting as Nimal is from Sri Lanka, normally lives in Australia, is working in the UK, was traveling to the USA on business, and here he was with me crossing the border into Canada to attend a Jaguar club event! The Canadians, who normally just wave me through after asking about guns, detained us at the border for about 30 minutes while they shuffled paperwork. We arrived at the Slalom and I ran my timed runs alone in the car. Each one was better than the previous. I expected this. I always take the first one slow, to get the feel of the course again. Without Nicholas to navigate for me (“Hourglass! Figure-eight! Oval!”) I had to both drive AND think… tougher than it sounds, trust me! Every time I slalom I get just a little better, but honestly I don’t do it enough to really get GOOD. I have a blast though and that is the important part. The key to good performance it seems is being relaxed and smooth, and with enough practice I think I could be very smooth and very relaxed. I proved that after the Official timed runs were done and I took Nimal out for a ride around the course during the “fun runs” and managed a 46.035. That would not have changed my JCNA standings, but it does prove that I have plenty of room for, and am capable of, improvement! I think the car is capable of around 42. The driver aint there yet though!
After our fun with the Canadians I was fully expecting the fine fellows at the US Border to subject us to all sorts of … um… special attention… but we managed to go through just fine. Go figure.
Nick & I traditionally stop in Bellingham at an old-style car-hop drive-in burger joint when we return from Vancouver, and as old habits die hard I brought Nimal there too. In hindsight I probably should have brought him somewhere nicer where we could have gotten out of the car, sat and talked. Oh well, my bad. Next time Nimal, I promise!
We returned home via SR11, aka “Chuckanut Drive“… one of the nicest roads in the world. Nimal sent me all of his photos from the day and last I heard was planning on writing about his adventure weekend with the crazy American in Canada for the Jaguar Club of Western Australia, serving as the special correspondent from the UK. Got that?
It is a small world after all.
Heh…you may actually be THE 5th fastest in the Western Hemisphere, in a Jag, on a JCNA-spec course!
That’s a great pic of you on the course! Also, your usual fun and entertaining article…hope you compile all your stories in a book, someday. I’ll buy a copy, sight unseen!
Zen, Chuck…it’s all about Zen. When you’re autocrossing, just think *slower.* If you do, I *promise* you, you WILL go faster. Don’t TRY to go fast. Go SMOOTH…and slow. Fast follows.
Really!
😉
I forgot: Zen is *THE* reason you went faster in the ‘fun’ runs than in the ‘real’ timed runs: You were having ‘fun,’ and NOT trying to go fast…I did that nearly all the time, when I autocrossed!
Which just proves that *I* never became Zen master-ful at autocrossing….
🙁
“I had to both drive AND think”. Perhaps this is telling but when I first read this I thought you wrote “I had to both drive and DRINK”. OK, I probably need help. Great result though. I’m always turn out to be crap at these slalom things even though I think the car can’t possible be driven faster. Probably because I’m not smooth enough (although I always thought my handbrake turns were pretty nifty). Oh, and a man of your position and deportment can’t say “my bad”.