What I learned from autocrossing. I wasn't as talented as I suspected and am actually a slow learner.
Don't be discouraged when a 1100cc POS goes faster as there is a steep learning curve. Get as many runs as you can, every time you go. After it's done, there is sometimes a chance to keep running. We pay $2 per run after the competition is over. Go straight to end of the line over and over until they tell you it's done.
Seat time is what you want, get as much as you can. Ride with experienced people if you can and watch what they do. I go faster with passengers, so weight isn't everything.
Watch other drivers and the faster cars will not look faster. Smooth is fast. Read about Apex approaches and try to be smooth in every throttle, brake, and steering change. It's fun to tear up and I cheer Vipers who smoke their tires for half the course, but they are not turning in times that are up to their potential. I think some people are there to tear up without getting a ticket, and I applaud them. It's fun to watch.
Shifting costs you one second... one second is a long time. I will sometimes stay in the lower gear rather than shift and let the rev limiter do its thing. When I enter the next corner, I don't have to shift and the motor helps slow me while I am in a good rpm range for coming out of the corner. Some come off the line smoking, I start in 2nd gear without tire spin which actually saves me one second on most courses, Again, one second is a long time.
Have fun and only compete with yourself. You will always be faster than some, slower than others. It does us no good to think of ourselves as better or worse than someone else. Practice makes improvement (no such thing as perfect) get as many runs as you can. After you have 50 runs under your belt, you will understand.
