Deja Vu

iTrader: (11)

SCT racing sounds pretty brutal out there

We must be lucky around here, both 2WD and 4WD SCT classes are run clean, fast and close. Yeah, there's always the bump here and there, but when it happens, driver's are usually courteous and wait. Our Spec class is made up of newer drivers, so there's a lot more bumping going on, but even they are trying hard to drive clean. And, some of those trucks are buggies and Stadium Trucks. We have our crashes, but marshals quickly get them going and messy starts are re-started.

It's not the class or the chassis, its the drivers in that class and the track's Race Director that control the situation. If your local track is running a demo derby race, I don't see how the class or the chassis is at fault.

Refuse to marshal a race? That would cost you a lap around here.

cmross13

iTrader: (17)

the more i'm reading this thread the happier i am that where i'm at, i must be pretty lucky too lol. sounds like there's a bunch of a***oles allowing the beginners to race with the "local elite", which just doesn't work, any class, anywhere. that's on the race director, not the new or seasoned drivers. also, where i am at, we have IFMAR starts in the qualifiers to avoid pile-ups in the first corner. also up to the race director.

off topic, but refusing to marshal a race because its "busy" is rude and/or lazy. you race your race, you marshal the next one, that's just how it works. marshaling is a courtesy and IMHO, a responsibility. now if you had a major crash and/or need to do some serious work to get running for the next heat, that's probably excusable provided there's someone to fill in for you. otherwise only older people and handicapped people need not marshal. im not trying to blow my own horn here, but i often go to the track just to spectate and will usually find myself volunteering to marshal the busier races. this hobby IS largely based around people helping other people.

/rant part deux

jray152

iTrader: (3)

i play a lot of racing games online and its a lot like SC racing. the reason why people smash into each other in SC is because the big body protects the truck. if you clip doors before a jump in an sc truck you get a scratch on your brand new body. if you clip wheels befor a jump with ANY open wheel class someone is poppping a ball cup, breaking a shock tower, or bending a hinge pin. SC is JUST a fun class to race. if you want to race to be VERY competitive then dont race SC. race buggy or truck. RC racing is meant to be fun. thats all it is. if your getting upset at a TOY CAR RACE then you need a life check. i can see why people get upset, "i just spent all this money on these parts because some one wrecked me at a race that costs 50$ a class". yes, if it was cheaper MOST people wouldnt be as upset with wrecking.

HOW EVER - it is up to the race director and track owner to monitor the race AND the racers to make sure some 12 yr old kid who throws a fit every qualifier doesnt bump up from novice to SC open in 2 weeks.

try em all. then you will have general respect for that class and how it is raced.

RC has come a long way. lets not make it the next FMX or MMA where all the people in the sport get a bad rep because theres more and more people coming in and acting like jackasses.

big_ads

iTrader: (88)

I can see both sides of it. Up here we have some very clean short course racing but that probably has something to do with the fact that 90% of the SC guys race 12th scale in the winter time as well.

It is very difficult for track owner's, and race directors to monitor every single thing that happens on the track. And if it is a club track, chances are the race director is doing that job out of love for the hobby and thats it. This means they are also trying to race and have fun as well since they are not seeing a dime for their efforts (speaking from experience). The "veteran racers" or "elite drivers" as they have been referred to need to take a little responsibility with helping the "noobs" get up to speed.

The last point I'd like to make is that getting people to transition away from shortcourse falls on the other racers somewhat. At our track it seems like 9 out of 10 new SC drivers get an 1/8th Electric buggy (our most popular class) and run 2 classes. All it takes is somebody saying "hey you wanna take my buggy for a couple laps?" Before you know it, double entry fees and double the track time sees a huge rate of improvement in driving skills.

badaml

iTrader: (132)

The track I go to is a private track at a resort, lucky me
When I first started going, there were only a few guys going, and all were racing short course. I asked about bringing my only rc at the time, and was told sure, bring it on out. The track is setup for short course truck, but all are welcome.

So I show up, and drop my 1/8 e buggy on the track lol. A very short while later, most of us are running 1/8 ebuggy.

So a few other guys show up with revos, summits, rustlers, etc.. I enjoy practicing with different rc's on the track, it helps me setup my passes, and makes me laugh (as well as them) when they crash into each other as I go around them cleanly.

Point is, to me and the guys I race with, it doesn't really matter what you run, as long as you are having a good time. Slower or faster, it is fun. Slow 2wd sct is like a moving obstacle course lol. Next time you are practicing at the track and a slash is out there, follow them for a few laps, or stay just a little ahead of them. They will try to stay in front or right behind you, and when they crash, you can go by or wait for them to catch up. They will most of the time attempt to make cleaner laps, and may ask for some advice on getting cleaner laps. Now you have a racer!

Gundevil-81

iTrader: (6)

Couldn't have said it any better than that.

duuuuuuuude

Agreed!


You know what I think is really killing "offroad" racing? Those super smooth clay tracks surfaces.

Wild Cherry

Guess there will always someone who likes racing on a muddy moon scape, carters & all ...

EricW

iTrader: (1)

Anything that gets more people in to the hobby I'm all for. Sure there are hacks in SC but there are also some decent racers who wouldn't have even started if not for SC.

vw addict

iTrader: (38)

I guess carpet "offroad" is killing the hobby too? Seems to be doing well at my track.

duuuuuuuude

But isn't that what offroad racing is about? Racing on uneven, unstable surfaces? So many of these "pro" offroad rc tracks I see anymore look like moistened stucco colored concrete. If you've got a blue groove on your offroad track, you aren't racing offroad. I'm sure its an absolute dream to drive on though.

Carpet I can understand in a way. For your LHS, its much easier, cleaner, and cheaper to maintain than actual dirt.

peter george

iTrader: (377)

+1 SC has put new life into many rc tracks and has brought more people in. Anything wrong with that ?

cmross13

iTrader: (17)

i don't know if clay is killing "off-road", but for me people it IS a happy medium between carpet and moon carters(ha!). i honestly wouldn't race buggy or short course if it was on carpet with wooden jumps(but i would race rally-themed TC's on it, if there was a rule that everyone had to use knobby tires HINT! ). at the same time, i wouldnt race on crater filled dirt path either, unless it was with MTs.

with prepared dirt or clay you get jumps and a rough enough surface to require proper shock tuning, without all the dust, mess, and broken chassis' of a rutted up motocross track

Antmax

Maybe it's because I'm from the UK but I have no interest in trucks whatsoever. I guess the TV show "The Fall Guy" introduced me to pickup trucks and as a kid his truck was unique and cool when trucks didn't really exist where I came from.

30 years later and my first RC was a sand scorcher for nostalgic reasons, wasn't really sure I'd get back into RC and wanted something fun I could put on the shelf and look at and smile a lot once I got bored with driving it.

Now I just bought an Exo tracks are saying they will let me run in a mod class. Secretly I'm hoping the recent price cut which with coupons comes to $170 for the kit will make the Exo popular enough to have a class of it's own. Often you only need 5 vehicles in a category to be accepted.

I really like more scale looking vehicles and hope that the Exo and Apache despite all their faults attract a bunch of people to more cool scale looking vehicles that still perform well

vw addict

iTrader: (38)

I race every week and have a BLAST!!! Same with the other racers, or they wouldn't come back week after week right? No cleaning, no maintenance(well maybe a little) Just fun fun fun. Don't see whats so wrong with that. There are still jumps, and a good setup rules. I really don't have the time to tear down and clean two cars every week.......