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Gymkhana is a type of motorsport practiced in the United States, Canada,
the United Kingdom, and South Africa. Similar to autocross, gymkhana
courses are often very complex and memorizing the course is a
significant part of achieving a fast time. The governing body of
Gymkhana in Japan is the Japan Auto Federation, a Japanese division of
the FIA.
Gymkhana events are time and/or speed events in an automobile. These can
feature obstacles such as cones, tires, and barrels. The driver must
maneuver through a predetermined "track" performing many different
driving techniques. What separates gymkhana from traditional autocross
events is that the gymkhana requires drivers to perform reversals, 180
degree spins, 360 degree spins, parking boxes, figure 8s and other
advanced skills. Drifting is also encouraged where helpful or necessary.
Essentially, a gymkhana is any event featuring a starting point, a
finish line and some sort of "obstacle" to get through, around, or by,
all within a time limit.
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The driver's goals is to get through the course as fast as
possible with the least amount of mistakes. Acceleration, braking, drifting &
grip driving are all necessary. Not only do they have to hold control over
his/her own car, but gymkhana requires strong mental concentration and
memorization. |
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Gymkhana courses typically involve only the use of first and second gear, where
autotesting in the UK and Ireland add the use of reverse gear. A gymkhana course
will typically be from 0:45 to 1:30 in length. Like autocross and autotesting,
gymkhana courses are laid out with cones representing "obstacles" to navigate
through. Unlike autocross, which can be considered to be a small version of a
road course, obstacles in gymkhana will often consist of slaloms, 180 degree
turns, 360 degree turns, figure eight turns and some times parking boxes.
Gymkhana requires strong mental concentration and memorization of the track, as
sections of the course frequently must be repeated or navigated backwards and or
differently. The driver will use many techniques to effectively navigate a
course. Handbrake technique, drifting and sliding and left foot braking are all
necessary skills for gymkhana.
Like autocross and autotesting, gymkhanas are primarily held in open paved
fields or parking lots. In Japan, small road courses and karting venues are
sometimes used. Japan also has some facilities dedicated to gymkhana which
resemble large paved parking lots that sometimes have racetrack curbing and
grass/dirt medians and islands.
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