The major difference between Auto crossing and Gymkhana is that in a Gymkhana event traction loss is highly recommended. Instead of trying to navigate the course without losing traction to get the best lap time a Gymkhana participant will navigate it while losing as much traction as possible! Drifting the turns is an integrated part of the event but it's still a race to log the fastest lap time. To be successful at a Gymkhana event you have to be able to integrate accurate and controlled drifting into a fundamentally sound driving technique.

What makes a good course is one that equals the playing field for all cars. Equal amount of tight technical turns as there are quick straights. A good course layout may favor a certain car, but skill has a way of overcoming the favoritism.

Keep the courses in 1st and 2nd gear only. Only quick 2nd gear sections if any. Avoid accidents by having turns located with exits away from objects, add in "slow down" turns, just to keep speed down and the brain working. Not too many turns as to confuse everyone running it. Start with less turns in a course and work up to alot. (we run sometimes around 35+ turns in a small parking lot)
Make sure EVERYONE walks the course multiple times to memorize it before racing it. You should be able to know every single turn with your eyes closed before you go out there. After your done racing, you will remember the course layout months or years later. I actually remember alot of courses from even 3yrs ago.
Gymkhana is technical, not a display of speed and power. Of course, speed is important, it's all about the time, but the faster you go, the more mistakes you will make and the less safe it will be.
For RHD cars, have more right hand turns for safety. It's also more natural to turn that direction when sitting on that side of the car.

A good gymkhana course is not only the layout, but the people running it. They should all be paying attention and know the course by heart themselves. They should RED flag those who miscourse or drive wrecklessly and yellow flag those who hit cones and add 3 seconds to their time. It should be organized by class, either skill level or car class. There should be set times for each class to run. Confidence in the time keepers ability is also important. You don't need to be arguing over time. Stop watches work good on a budget Gymkhana, but when you have a bunch of really good drivers, an actual timing system with timing lights or infrared beams is needed. Every Gymkhana we have, there are about 5 of us that are withing thousands of a second from each others time.

At first glance, a gymkhana looks like an autocross – cones, timing equipment, a pre-defined course, cars and drivers. This is where the similarities end. Gymkhana is more like an automotive obstacle course than an autocross. Where an autocross emphasizes fluid motion and finding the limits of traction without exceeding them to achieve the fastest time around a predefined course (much like a smaller version of a road racing circuit), gymkhana emphasizes course memorization, driving techniques and vehicle momentum. Complex, tight maps constructed in small areas guide drivers through 360s around pointer cones, loop-back slaloms and handbrake turns - the list of obstacles is long and the difficulty high. A winning gymkhana car could be a high powered rear drive car like a 240SX or RX7, but it could just as easily be a small and agile front drive car like a Mini Cooper or Honda Civic. Anything can happen at a gymkhana event, so preparation and a sharp mind are key because sometimes getting the course right is the most difficult part!