Got my first ever two-wheeler today at autocross

Had almost the same thing happen in my old Mazda3 a few seasons back, except mine was on the last right-hand sweeper before the finish and it was the two right wheels lifting. Scared me more than it prolly shold have, because my co-driver yelled something unhelpful over the intercom and I actually lifted mid-corner, which made the landing worse. Car hopped down sideways and I just about put it into the box wall. What fixed it for me was the same thing you found, coming in slower but carrying more speed through the middle. I also dropped a couple psi out of the front tires, down to about 34 cold from my usual 38, and the car rolled onto the outside wheel instead of snapping over. That's on 225 Falkens, so your numbers might differ.

My instructor at the time said something that stuck with me: a two-wheeler looks fast on video but it's almost always time on the table, not time gained. The car can't accelerate while it's busy skipping. When I finally learned to keep it flat and planted through that sweeper I picked up over a second there alone. Glad it stayed rubber side down and drove home fine. Those stock-ish hatches are way more forgiving than they get credit for.

Funny reading this because my car does the exact opposite. I run a heavy old wagon with worn struts and it will never pick up a wheel, it just understeers off and scrubs speed. For years I thought that was the safe way to be, til a buddy lent me his lightly prepped Civic for one event and I discovered what actual corner rotation feels like. Came back to the wagon and realized I'd been driving around a problem instead of fixing it, mostly tire pressure and how early I was turning in.

That said, I did have one two-wheel moment of my own, in the wagon of all things, on a fast offset slalom. Passenger side came off the ground for what felt like ages but was probably half a second. Nothing broke, but when I got home the alignment was out and one corner was sitting noticeably lower. New strut and a fresh alignment later and I was fine, so even a little skip can cost you parts you didn't plan on. Your co-driver's advice matches what mine told me too, slow hands and a calmer entry fix it way faster than just muscling thru on throttle. I'd add that if it keeps happening in the same spot, walk that section on foot between runs. From the ground you can usually see the cone spacing forcing you into a tighter arc than you realized.

Ha, we used to call that the carnival ride back in the day. Back when I ran a rusted out Datsun on 13 inch skinnies it'd do that three-wheel thing every event and we thought it was the height of style. Nobody had data back then, you just had a buddy with a stopwatch and a bruise on your hip from the harness. One thing I'd add, check your shocks while you're at it. Worn ones let the body roll over too far and dump the load all at once just like you described, even at a sane entry speed. My old car got way calmer with a fresh set of dampers and nothing else changed.