I also had no idea what to expect on my first TT day with COM, and was rather nervous. What if I mess up? What if I'm slow? Will anyone care?Some comments from my point of view. Even though I haven't run many events with COM, I see many members present at track days hosted by lots of the other clubs (BMWCCA, Audi, Trackmasters, PDA, etc):
-The event is what you make of it. Of the various HPDE-like clubs that I run with, COM is one of the fasest bunch of drivers (and Trackmasters) and I was intimidated the first time I drove laps with this club. But my feelings of self-doubt quickly faded away and were replaced with a "yeah, I can really do this" attitude.
-Passes must be earned at COM events, as most drivers won't just pull over and point you by like they're instructed to do by other clubs. This makes you work for passes (as in real racing) and makes them more rewarding in my opinion.
-I've found that lots of COM drivers are content running laps in groups. I have yet to run a COM session in my new (this year) Miata, but am REALLY looking forward to running in close proximity with my Miatae brethren to see where I can gain some speed, and where I'm scrubbing speed. Plus it's just plain FUN to run with similarly matched cars.
-I completely agree with the "what can I do to help" mentality. It's there at most HPDEs, but with such a diverse cross-section of vehicles at COM events, you don't tend to get the snob factor of the more marquee-focused events.
-Personally, I don't really care about the time trial part of Day 2 (gasp
). I don't make any of the away events, so I can't hope to compete for a trophy in my class. Heck, I'm not trophy material even if I did make it to every event. For me, it's all about seat time. The more laps I get, the more comfortable I get in the car. The more comfortable I get, the smoother/faster I get.-Mazdaspeed honors COM time trials for the discount on OEM parts.
-In the end, it's all about having fun among people with a similar car-nut mentality.
