Getting into autocross might seem a bit overwhelming and intimidating if you’ve never done it before. Show up to an event and you’ll see 100’s of drivers in all types of vehicles ranging from bone stock Mazdas to Suburus with massive wings… all with numbers and letters on the doors that don’t make much sense.

However it’s really easy to get started and you don’t need to be afraid of showing up with absolutely 0 experience driving cars quickly. At CCR, we want to do everything we can to help out those new to the sport. Every event has a special program for Novices and it’s not uncommon to see events with 30 or more. It’s a great program open to anyone in their first year of autocross and something all new drivers to the sport should take part in. The highlights are:

• Novice Walks – Before each event our Novice Chiefs will hold several quick sessions with groups of Novices to introduce them to the sport and walk the course. Read more about these below.
• Novice Instruction – Each Novice will get assigned an instructor that will ride along with them during their runs. Our instructors have been racing for years and are top-notch. You’re basically getting free racing school. You can even have your instructor drive your car for one of your runs if you want to see what it’s capable of and see how they drive the course.
• Additional Run – Normally each driver will get 4 runs or laps of the course to bank their best time. Novices will get an additional 5th run and nothing can beat seat time for learning.
• Novice Car Classing – When competing in autocross… you have to figure out what class your car fits into which is pretty easy if it’s totally stock like it was when new… but gets complicated quickly once you start making changes to it. Novices don’t need to worry about that and can just class their cars as Novice.

If you are taking part in Novice… then you only need to mark a number and the letter “N” on your doors. Note that there will be no points or trophies awarded in Novice Class. However drivers who participant in 3 days worth of events in Novice Class or at our Novice School will be eligible to run in Rookie Class which happens during the final 6 events of the season and trophies are awarded there. For more information on trophies check out: Scoring & Trophies

Novice Walks

At every event, the Novice Chief will lead several Novice Walks. These walks are mandatory for all participants during their first 3 events. They begin roughly at 8:00 AM, 8:30 AM & 9:00 AM. Look for a group congregating at the start line and listen for announcements about when they will start.

The Novice Chief will go over how to call cone penalties and DNFs (Did Not Finish – run disqualified). They will then walk the course giving useful insight on how best to drive the various elements.

How To Work Course