It theoretically should have been fun, but I spent 4 hours there, and more than 3 of those was waiting in line. There are 3 clinic courses. You can drive 8 laps total on them, but you have to stand in line for 20 minutes or more just to take 1 lap each time, and then go to the end of the line. Then you get 2 timed laps on the "real course", an hour apart. One lap - no practice, each time. The timing system was down several times, so we had to wait in line for about 45 minutes the first time, and over an hour the second time. It would have been more efficient to do it the traditional autocross way - 1 practice, and 2 timed laps. What really pissed me off was that I had to park with all the commoner cars. There should have been a special RX-8 corral.

another picture

MS RX-8

Sorry to hear that Bob. Were there any interesting booths and/or other things to do their besides drive?

Another MS RX-8

They had a kart track (for a fee), a food tent, souvenir tent, and a tent with a MS Miata, a MS RX-8, and a Mazda spec racer. They also had Mazdas that you could test drive, but again, the lines were long, especially for the RX-8 and MS Miata

Sounds like nothing has changed from last year's format except for the substitution of this year's new models.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I got 18.75 MPG driving to and from the Mazda Rev It Up - mostly freeway, 80 MPH. I normally get 12-13 MPG around town.

That is why you go on Sunday.

Nobody told me.

I'm going tomorrow (Sunday) after 1pm. I'll make sure I park next to another RX-8 :)

I have a lunch engagement today but will try to catch the last couple hours with my younger bro..

Originally posted by mazdabob
souvenir tent

What were they selling? MS stuff (e.g.: hats, shirts, etc.)?

Thanks.

Ah, it wasn't that bad!

The lines for the clinics were only ten minutes from 10:00 till 1:00.

The Mazda 3's were fun to drive and were setup very nice.

Renee got TTOD in the car control clinic!

I wish we could have stayed so we could have had the chance to fix the two ducks we killed...

Vince

It was cool. I went to the Alameda one. I parked in between a Blue and Black RX-8. I saw about 6 other RX-8's out there in the parking lot. Anyone here there around 4 - 6pm?

Ok, it wasn't that bad. But I was upset that I had to spend so much time waiting. For the clinics, it would have been more efficient to let people take several laps at a time - get in the car, take a lap, stop, take another lap, etc. The getting out, getting back in line, waiting , getting in the car, adjusting the seat each time was a waste of time. For the timed laps, they could have let us take one lap, stop, and then do the second lap. There was no need to get out, then come back in an hour.

The souvenirs were Rev It Up stuff.

Underneath it all, Rev-It-Up is a marketing exercise. By separating your two runs, they ensure that you spend at least some time waiting around and hopefully taking in some of the displays and demonstrations that are available. They don't want folks to simply turn up, do the chalk talk, run twice, and disappear.

Hey Xyntax, I was there between 12 and 4. My blue rx-8 was parked right at the front to the entrace way VIP stylez =) Anyway, I did notice a red rx8 along with at least 2 other rx-8's at the event. I competed and got a time of 33.7 but unfortunately ran over a cone =/ Did you also compete and how did you do? Maybe I'll see you around downtown san jose around SJSU sometime...

The only problem I had was finding the darn place because it was so far out in the desert =) And the event signs were few and far, and extremely tiny (easily missed) My brother, friends and I had a good time although the lines were long, and it was pretty hot. I test-drived the Mazdaspeed Miata and that is one quick little sucka. The handling was incredible (might be a tiny notch above the rx-8) Off the line, it seemed just as quick as a rx-8. In summary, the car was a blash to drive and worth the hour of wait time...?

I meant a blast to drive...Also, I saw a couple of hot, young hoochie mamas there which were plenty motivation for me. Hey Xyntax, did you see any gurls like what I'm talking about...get any numbers? =) I would have if I wasn't so focused on the competion...haha

If they had this year's course last year, I never would have bothered to sign up. A slalom, a U-turn, and another slalom. That was it. My best guess is they set up the course that way because the Mazda 3 sucks and that was the best way to hide the fact. Weak engine means you brake too hard and it takes forever to get up to speed again.

Wait times for each practice were long and the wait for competition runs even longer. My first run started after the second was scheduled to start.

Karts were another dissapointment. A simple oval and the throttle so heavily governed you just kept your foot pressed in all the time.

Overpriced slow food that also took 30 min in line.

The SCCA autocross held the next day was much more fun.

My timed runs: 29.4 dirty, 29.7 clean.
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Weak engine???

Mazda said that they have 160HP at the wheels!

When will they stop lying...

29.7 clean.. That has to be close to the top right?

Vince

It's close but... [shrug]. I placed 6th on the pro board at the time but I'm sure it will go down after sunday's results are posted.
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Were the cars set up similar to last year?

Meaning... did the practice cars have stock suspension and the competition cars have Eibach springs?

If so, how different did the two feel?

At Chicago last year, I thought the 6s on the practice course felt a fair bit different than the comp cars.

Originally posted by PUR NRG
It's close but... [shrug]. I placed 6th on the pro board at the time but I'm sure it will go down after sunday's results are posted.

Very nice! What is your name and what car do you race normally?

Vince

Originally posted by racerdave
Were the cars set up similar to last year? Meaning... did the practice cars have stock suspension and the competition cars have Eibach springs?
Unfortunately I didn't get enough seat time in the practice cars (or the competition cars for that matter) to notice a difference. But then I'm relatively new to autocross (2 years) and probably couldn't tell you even if I did have more seat time. :)
Originally posted by racerdave
What is your name and what car do you race normally?
Name's Robin Yang and this is what I'm currently autocrossing with my wife:
http://members.roadfly.org/ryang/rx8-auto2.jpg
However when she's away on business I prefer autocrossing my own car, a BMW 540i.
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Originally posted by PUR NRG
...the Mazda 3 sucks and that was the best way to hide the fact. Weak engine means you brake too hard and it takes forever to get up to speed again.

I drove a 3 the other day (while looking for a Miata for the wifey) and was extremely impressed.
Plenty of power for such a cheap, tiny car.
More to the point, it carried its power better than the 6 which has the same motor.
Since the 6 was last years Rev-It-Up car and was properly prepped, I'm expecting the 3 to be similarly satisfying.

It is true that the courses are extremely short, but they weren't designed with the experienced driver in mind.
Also, they didn't want to give you a chance to "settle in".
The averaging that occurs over a longer run or back to back runs will work in your favor and Mazda wouldn't want that.
Add to that the previously mentioned "browsing" factor and I think Mazda did a remarkable job of disguising a marketing event as fun.
You try to find something comparable!

I had more fun at last year's event with the 6 than I had this year with the 3. It may be the newness of last year, but I felt the course was longer and more interesting. I wasn't impressed with the 6's capabilities but felt it was much better than the 3.

Something comparable? I think last year's RevItUp event is emminently comparable and that was much more enjoyable. There were some things they did better this year (8 practice runs of whatever choosing, in-car video of the competition course) but the overall fun factor was seriously down.
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LovelyWendie99 (http://www.lovelywendie99.com/)

Hmm. Sorry to hear that.
Well, hopefully, the DC event won't be a letdown.

Hey rX8rEdLiNe, I didn't get to compete coz I was very late in having an interest to signup. I had so much going on before I finally decided to go do it. I'll try again next year. It looked fun. The Mazda 3 they used were impressive, but I wouldn't know from the inside since I didn't get in to one. I was just there to scope out the place. I really liked the Red MS RX-8 they had over there. Took some pictures, won a Falken cap, and that was pretty much it. Oh yeah, and I definitely know what you're talking about (chicks). And no, I didn't get their numbers. I have a girlfriend and she was with me there :D
I must say, they were fun for the eyes.
I was kinda tired when we got there and I didn't feel like lining up just to test drive a drive that I already drive everyday :)
The Kart racing disappointed me. I thought it was bigger, and had more turns. All they had was a NASCAR type. Always doing left turns.
Anyways, the drive there was the adventure for me. We got lost so bad. And then I noticed that a couple cars were lost too, so we kinda just followed each other. I probably made a lot of illegal u-turns that day than I normally would. RX-8's oversteer really helps with that.

ps. did anyone notice the attention your RX-8 got when you drove around the parking lot?

thanks for the pictures

thats the first red ms 8 i've seen

Very cool Robin! You should race at Atwater with us sometime: http://www.americanauto-x.com/schedule/

We get a large Bay Area crowd and Atwater has one of the nicest large surfaces around.

Hope to see you sometime!

Vince

I think the first REV it UP of the year is always a learning curve. The folks from Mazda noted that the llines were long for the Ride and Drive on the RX 8 and the Mazdaspeed Miata and were talking about getting more cars for future venues. The other thing that happened is that the attendance doubled from last year to this year so I think everyone was a tad surprised.

The enthusiast tent displays owners cars and will allow any clubs to come and display their banners or literature.

I agree that there should be VIP parking for those of us who own a Mazda (RX8 or any other Mazda)...I will pass your suggestion along. Barb