Chesapeake Region PCA - Intro to Autocross

Are you a new Porsche or sports car owner and want to understand what your new car is capable of doing? Have you owned your Porsche or sports car for a while and wondered what this thing called “Autocross” might be? Do you want to become a better driver by understanding how to control your vehicle when near its limits? Are you already an experienced autocrosser, but want to improve your skills? The Chesapeake PCA Introduction to Autocross is the event for you!  

The day will start on-site at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, MD with driver check-in and tech inspection to make sure your car is ready to autocross. A one-hour Autocross Chalk Talk (classroom session) will be held outdoors at the autocross venue during which our Chief Autocross Instructor will cover many of the finer aspects of autocrossing: general car control, weight transfer, oversteer/understeer corrections, precision braking, and a host of other techniques.

Once complete, students will drive in skills exercises where they will be able to apply what they have learned and receive additional "live-fire" mentoring with a dedicated instructor as they practice slalom technique, car control on a skid pad, and driving the racing line on a mini-course. Lunch and drinks will be provided during a break after the morning skills exercises, after which the students will have a chance to put it all together and compete on a full autocross course.

Note that you don’t have to own a Porsche or be a PCA member to participate in the Autocross School. Everyone is welcome! This event is open to owners of all makes and models.

Entry Details:

• Entry fee of $120 for the entire day, including lunch
• All car makes and models are welcome
• Registration is capped at 24 attendees
• There are no walk-ups available for this event

Schedule: Here is the tentative schedule of the day's events:

0730 - 0830  Check-in and tech inspection
0830 - 0930  Class/Chalk Talk

0930 - 1000  Prep for Driving Sessions
1000 - 1100  Driving Session #1
1100 - 1200  Driving Session #2
1200 - 1300  Driving Session #3
1300 - 1345  Lunch / Driver's Meeting
1345 - 1410  Course walkthrough
1410 - 1420  Group #1 drivers to their cars, Group #2 to their work stations
1420 - 1600  Autocross Heat 1 (Group #1)
1600 - 1615  Transition Group #2 drivers to their cars, Group #1 to their work stations
1615 - 1800  Autocross Heat 2 (Group #2)

Class Structure:

For the timed Autocross in the afternoon, it is helpful to assign the appropriate class to your car. Use these guides for choosing the class into which your car will be placed:

• SCCA classes for non-Porsches: Rules and classes can be found here:
  • Via link to the rule book at the SCCA website: 2025 SCCA SOLO Rules (Jan Edition). (Car classes begin on p. 184 ff of the Jan edition.)
    • During registration, you will first select "Non-Porsche (using SCCA classing)" as your Class before selecting your specific 2025 SCCA class in the "Modifier" field.
  • Rules for CHS PCA AX events can be found here: Chesapeake PCA Autocross Rules
• Porsche classes:
  • There are four categories - Showroom stock (S), Production (P), Improved (I), and Modified (M)
  • Classing information for Porsches is contained in the CHS PCA AX rules found on the Club website: Chesapeake PCA Autocross Rules.

Noise Restrictions:

Due to the proximity of condos to the racing area, the Chesapeake PCA will monitor and deal with the noise level of cars in accordance with the SCCA sound measurement procedure found in the 2025 SCCA SOLO Rules (Jan Edition) on p. 325 ff. In a nutshell, car noise will be measured and required to be below 108 dBc per the measurement protocol.

Upon completion of the Autocross School, all Students will receive a discount code for use on MotorsportReg.com for free registration at one 2024 Chesapeake Region Autocross Event.