Originally Posted by Ill Factor
Kevin I think you are giving this industry a little to much credit. I doubt companies dole out millions for drivers. If that were the case why is Paul Wynn working at Shumacher, why does Ralph Burch Work for RCA and so on.
Associated is a pretty well funded company did they lose drivers to XRay because they couldnt afford them or because they have an inferior product.
And if you try to claim you have never bought something based on results or comparison your lying. What batteries do you use, what motor do you run? All these decision are based on results both actuall and perceived. Which is exactly why I stopped running Shumachers.
And I have run several cars in Sedan. Losi, Associated, Shumacher, Tamiya & XRay so I feel I have a pretty good feel for different makes and designs. What about you what is your experience with other manufacturers
Try not to misread or read too much of what I’m trying to say.
The Million dollar part was exaggerated and not meant in the context that each driver makes that much, but if you add up things like yearly budget and driver salaries I would think with some of the teams it might be close to that figure....maybe 500K to 800K a year just for an on road team with 2 or 3 top drivers. If you look at a team the size of X-ray then you are going push that amount even closer to a million for the yearly budget. If you don’t think that there are guys out there that are getting 100K a year salaries just to race then you are not giving the industry enough credit. Yes guys like Ralf Burch, Paul Wynn and Todd Hodge etc....all work for the company that they represent so they do collect a paycheck for that part of it. Plus I know that they also collect bonuses based on performance at races.
I’m not sure why Associated lost drivers I have heard to many reason why some times it money sometimes the car just doesn’t suit the driver, but more times then not it comes down to money. Teams are willing to pay big bucks for top name guys to race their cars and guys that are good enough and can make the results that a rich company seeks will seek them out to get paid.
I never said that I haven’t bought anything based on results. Buying batteries and such is something that everyone who buys them can see which ones are better and it’s cheaper to determine which route you would want to go with that particular item. Like with bodies....yeah the Mazda 6 or the Parma Alfa are the number 1 bodies used most times but does that mean that you are not going to like another one better or with your logic all the other companies out there need not make anything else?
I have raced Schumacher cars from the 99' up to the first Mission, I have raced every Losi car SW up to JRXs, a HPI Pro-4, X-ray FK04, Associated TC3, Tamiya TA02 and TA03....these are just cars that I have owned in the last 10 or so years that I have been racing. In that time I have driven about everything that has been on the market that a buddy or a friend has had. When a new car comes out I take a look it but I don’t go run out and get it just because it won some race last week....I want to see how well it performs in the hands of normal drivers. This is the reason that I have come back to Schumacher this new car is a really good car....I’m not saying that any of the other current cars are not as good. Like the old saying goes dont judge a book by its cover.....well just because there isnt a 500K a year race team behind a car that doesnt mean that the car isnt a very good car.