Drill Station 2 : Variable Slalom

Walkthrough

This slalom has no pointer cones, so you may travel on either side of the slalom cones, as long as you alternate sides. Also, there are no pointer cones on the two turn-around gates, so you may turn around in a clockwise or counter-clockwise fashion. The line on the diagram is the one I found to be the fastest. The reasoning is that you want to be exiting the slalom on the way to the exit gate in the direction shown on the diagram - if you were to travel on the other sides of the cones, you'd end having to turn right around cone 1 to get to the exit, which would be slow. Thus by re-entering the slalom from the left (driver's perspective) between cones 7 and 8, you both satisfy the slalom requirements and get an optimal exit path toward the exit gate. The rest of the path decisions follow from here: to enter the 8-7 path from the left, you should go clockwise around the turnaround gates (9a-b and 10a-b) and that dictates your starting slalom path and the initial slalom entry on the right of cone 1. Whew! :-) All that, and you haven't even stepped on the accelerator yet.
Also note that this is an increasing-distance slalom on the first pass, and a decreasing-distance slalom on the return path. Thus you'll be increasing your speed as you travese the slalom the first time and decreasing your speed on the return trip. This is important, especially on the return trip, because any speed/position errors are magnified in a decreasing-distance slalom. If you don't pay attention, you'll end up doing some cone-farming or you'll spin. The latter is the course of action preferred by the spectators :-)
To start, you want to accelerate toward you entry point in the slalom, which you earlier determined to be to the right of cone 1.
Depending on your car's acceleration capabilities, you may still be accelerating at cone 1, or you may have to slow down a bit.
Enter into the slalom at cone 1 and adjust your speed so that you can make the right-hand turn around cone 2.
As you pass cones 2 through 6, you'll be doing pretty much the same thing as in the constant slalom, except you'll be able to accelerate slightly as you go on.
As you round cone 7, you can start accelerating as you unwind the steering wheel. Take a course that allows you to set up for the right turn around cone 9b. Pretend cone 9a isn't even there. If available traction under acceleration allows, you may want to try swinging a little wide (left) as you head or 9b so as to apex that turn later, which should be faster.
As you approach cone 9b, you'll want to slow down to a speed where you can stay on the arc that will allow you to turn around.
Once you get the nose pointed toward cone 10a, accelerate toward cone 10a. Pretend cone 10b doesn't even exist... but don't hit it :-)
Do whatever braking is necessary to turn in at cone 10a and continue around the cone. As you round the cone, begin to accelerate as traction allow. Note that you're on better pavement with more traction, so you should be able to carry more speed here.
Accelerate toward the area between cones 7 and 8. Plan how you're going to turn in at cone 7 to re-enter the slalom.
Enter the slalom at a speed you can carry around cone 7.
As you traverse the slalom, be aware that the cones are getting slightly closer together and you'll need to subtly decrease speed as you go. Try to be smooth with the throttle - it's not an on/off switch :-)
As you round cone 2, get the car pointed toward the exit gate and accelerate toward the exit gate. Note that you may take a path much closer to cone 1 than if you were continuing in the slalom.
Stay on the throttle a little as you cross the exit gate to ensure that the rear end doesn't step out on you.

Video and Pictures

s2.gif (19KB)
Drill Station Map (details)

ErikSlalom2-InCar.jpg (18KB)
ErikSlalom2-InCar.mpg (16.8MB)

Erik running the slalom with Alfred riding shotgun - in-car footage. This was one of my good runs before I handed the camera to James for some external filming.

BrianDriftismo.jpg (22KB)
BrianDriftismo.mpg (23.0MB)

Brian doing a little cone-farming and then "forgetting" about the rest of the slalom and getting in on a little gran-driftismo action. Kids, don't try this at home. Oh, and Brian's got mud spots on his headliner from this one :-)

ErikSlalom2.jpg (27KB)
ErikSlalom2.mpg (24.0MB)

My last run of the day, ending on a good note. I almost overcooked cone 6 on the way out, but I caught it in time and corrected it. I was really happy with this run.

ErikSlalom2Cone.jpg (25KB)
ErikSlalom2Cone.mpg (6.7MB)

That left a mark... and no love from the videographer :-)

ErikSlalom2Cones.jpg (24KB)
ErikSlalom2Cones.mpg (23.7MB)

After 5 great runs in a row, I took the camera out of the car and handed it to James to get some external footage. This was the result. And that's Bob who's betting on me :-) Apparently, this is where Brian lost his title...

MikeSlalom2.jpg (25KB)
MikeSlalom2.mpg (18.1MB)

Mike getting a little more aggressive with the car and going much faster through the slalom. He almost overcooks cone 8 on the way out, but does a nice job of saving it. Then on the re-entry into the slalom (7-8) on the way back, he overcooks it and corrects the oversteer once, but loses the tail as it comes back the other way.

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Last Modified Fri May 23 2003 19:46:42 PDT

s2.gif (19KB) Drill Station Map (details)	ErikSlalom2-InCar.jpg (18KB) ErikSlalom2-InCar.mpg (16.8MB) Erik running the slalom with Alfred riding shotgun - in-car footage. This was one of my good runs before I handed the camera to James for some external filming.	BrianDriftismo.jpg (22KB) BrianDriftismo.mpg (23.0MB) Brian doing a little cone-farming and then "forgetting" about the rest of the slalom and getting in on a little gran-driftismo action. Kids, don't try this at home. Oh, and Brian's got mud spots on his headliner from this one :-)
ErikSlalom2.jpg (27KB) ErikSlalom2.mpg (24.0MB) My last run of the day, ending on a good note. I almost overcooked cone 6 on the way out, but I caught it in time and corrected it. I was really happy with this run.	ErikSlalom2Cone.jpg (25KB) ErikSlalom2Cone.mpg (6.7MB) That left a mark... and no love from the videographer :-)	ErikSlalom2Cones.jpg (24KB) ErikSlalom2Cones.mpg (23.7MB) After 5 great runs in a row, I took the camera out of the car and handed it to James to get some external footage. This was the result. And that's Bob who's betting on me :-) Apparently, this is where Brian lost his title...
MikeSlalom2.jpg (25KB) MikeSlalom2.mpg (18.1MB) Mike getting a little more aggressive with the car and going much faster through the slalom. He almost overcooks cone 8 on the way out, but does a nice job of saving it. Then on the re-entry into the slalom (7-8) on the way back, he overcooks it and corrects the oversteer once, but loses the tail as it comes back the other way.