The tires will squeal and the cones will fall when the Island Rallysport Club hosts a special Auto Slalom event in Parksville on Sunday, June 12.
Organizer Bart Zogelzang said participants will drive their car around a series of cones on a predetermined track laid out by their experts.
“You’ll be competing against yourself as you try to improve your time throughout the day,” he said. “Don’t worry, if you don’t get it right the first time and hit a cone or two, you’ll have at least a couple more runs to make it around without hitting any. At the same time you actually have to stay on course — much more of a challenge than you might think.”
The course is set up at the Lee Mar facility at 1390 Industrial Way in Parksville and has already drawn the attention of slalom fans from as far away as Victoria.
“This is really common in Victoria area,” he said. “They’ve been doing it at Western Speedway and it has been really successful, but they’re getting a little frustrated because the condition of the track is less than ideal. When Lee Mar gave us the opportunity to use their paved lot we jumped at the chance for our club to set up an event in April. We invited the Victoria people and they were thrilled by the quality of the track.”
He stressed that not only is auto slalom a whole lot of fun but it’s a great learning experience, as participants will learn how their car handles, how it corners, and its braking capability.
“You’ll also learn your own driving skills and exactly what you can do and what you have the potential to be able to do,” he added, noting that any drivers who are minors must get a consent form signed and have an adult in the car with them while they compete.
For more information visit www.islandrallysport.com, e-mail to bk-g@shaw.ca or call 250-732-4232.
