Autocross Wrap Up 2015 NMS-North

Factory Five Roadster at final event.

The final 2015 autocross event here in this part of Virginia is in the history books, so let's take a look at how we did this year in the FIAT 500 Abarth. Going into the final event with the Tidewater Sports Car Club, I was in 22nd place overall (PAX), and points wise in a pack of 4-5 drivers that meant there was room to move up (or down) after the last event.

Datsun Z car always looks great.

Long story short, I had an average day at the last event, finishing 40th out of 92 drivers, and ended the season in 29th out of 73 drivers! My calculator says that's in the top 39.7%, so let's round that up to say top 40% of all drivers that competed in the minimum number of events.  In my car's GS class I took first place for the day and for the year, although I'll again confess that not many other drivers competed in this class.

One of two Lotus cars at Pungo.

I also drove a few times (three of the eight autocross competitions) with the Old Dominion Region of the SCCA, and while it wasn't enough events to qualify for the year's competition, I still took 31st out of 81 ODR drivers in 2015.

Lotus, MR2, FIAT Abarth on grid.

Now that I've lived here for a year, I think that having two clubs in the area makes the Virginia Beach area a great place!  During the autocross season from March to November, there were at least two events every month, and if I wanted to drive a bit further I could easily find more events in other parts of Virginia or just over the border in North Carolina. Based on results for 2015, I'll be targeting a higher overall finish in both clubs next year. My current plans are to upgrade the autocross tires on the FIAT for 2016, so maybe that will give me a few tenths faster per run compared to my current two year old Dunlops.

Novice Driver's Course Walk before driving.

You can find the TSCC final results by overall and by each class at this link:  TSCC Standings

1st Place in GS for 2015!

Just for fun, here's the TSCC GS class standings, even though I was the only driver with enough events to qualify, first place is still first place!

GS - 'G Street'		Total Points	Points W/Drops	Wins
1	Robert Nixon	789.68	695.25	6

OK, that's enough celebrating!  Now let's start planning and working on the car for 2016!

www.tidewatersportscarclub.com

Nixon Motor Sports has announced a press conference for December 15th, where they are expected to announce drivers and engine suppliers for 2016, so stay tuned! While this might mean that their drivers are negotiating with Indy, NASCAR, and Formula 1 for a full time race seat next year, the word on the street is that NMS will re-sign the same guys as this year.