trackdesigner71

iTrader: (6)

One thing that could be tried is having a couple loaner cars for new guys to try or run for a raceday. Battery, radio and all. Then pair em up with another racer who can be like a coach/mentor like I said before.

Lil Paul

I think that is a great idea!!! Have a completely open beginner class! Run what you Brung!!! Buggy, TC, Slash, etc. Let new folks feel what its like to race their r/c car. We all know that feeling from when we first started. If you get enough newbies with certain types of vehicles then let them make their own classes. No qualies, have them just run 3-5 short mains, person with best finishes wins. Someone mentioned it earlier, our tracks/races need more foot traffic. Mini-Z is probably the best way to showcase racing in areas that are space prohibitive. Cool thing is, Mini-Z has on-road, off-road, etc. I raced Mini-Z with a bunch of guys who were just bashers, (dont get me wrong, I have a 2 Revo's that I love to just go out and bash in parking lots with) and after a few seasons they decided to give TC and 1/12 racing a chance. This would of never happened without the ease and fun of starting in classes that werent expensive and stressful. This Hobby will only grow with new folks coming in, and thats exaggerated even more for the On-road part of this hobby. Talk to anyone hobby store owner/manager, and they will tell you racers dont bring the money. We go in and buy that one little aluminum part for 85.00, that the shop bought for 80. Its the new folks, bashers coming in buying hop-ups, buying different cars/chassis types to round out their r/c collection, including planes, drones, helis,etc that brings in the money. No offense, the new folks break alot, which means they keep buying parts. The Hobby needs veteran racers to display the levels that can be achieved, and the fun/challenges that can be had, but it very much needs a consistent influx of "new blood" to keep this great sport we love going.

mrreet2001

iTrader: (9)

That might be fine for outdoor, but dirty knobby tires aren't good for race carpet.

Lil Paul

Agreed!!! But you get the concept. Maybe indoor tracks with expensive carpet may have to include some restrictions, but for the most part it would be nice to let newbies run their christmas/birthday gifts on an actual track.

TheOtherBill

This is hard question to answer, because there are so many reasons why it is declining. I have done this RC thing for many years and never seen attendance as low as it is now, where we might have 70+ racers there are now 25 or so if we are lucky. A true beginners class would help they could run any car and any person could drive as long as they are a beginner, I think putting someone in a class with seasoned racers is one of the biggest turnoffs for new people. At the places I run alot of the "fast" guys never talk to any one who isn't also a fast guy to help with setup or just tips on driving. Someone mentioned earlier that the TC cars are hard to setup and then determining what tires to use the questions go on and on, maybe a pan car would be easier for a beginner to run. The three clubs I run with have been around for a long time one of them since the 70s, this Covid thing will either kill them completely or hurt them even more. None of these clubs are racing at this time because of shut downs and restrictions.

trackdesigner71

iTrader: (6)

To add to what I was spitballing earlier, have a few loaner cars (WGT-R, 17.5 12th, etc.) built up and ready to roll for new racers to use and maybe as an incentive, if they win say two or three novice or beginner mains, they can keep the car and move up to the regular class. Keep their mentor and work with them until their mentor feels they are ready to go on their own.

mrreet2001

iTrader: (9)

During our indoor season, we run a novice class. Only requirement is that it's an on-road car. We will have 12th scale, 10th scale pan and TC in it. Kids and adults run it. Once they start running a whole race without hitting anything or start talking about improving race lines, we start suggesting they move to a real class. lol

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

The video I posted. They have an indoor carpet track. 2wheel drive SCT is allowed. I don’t know if they have run the Slash based class indoor as on road. But it’s possible.


It eliminates the having to buy something excuse in some cases. Last race they ran 1 heat with just dad and his 3 kids.

IndyRC_Racer

iTrader: (9)

There are many individual issues that can affect participation in hobbies, such as has been already discussed in this thread. But the main issue will always come down to fun. If people can't have fun with a hobby, they will move on to something else. What did you do to make this hobby fun the last time you were at the track? Take some time to make being at the track more fun for everyone and maybe more people will want to be at the track.

I've posted similar things in the past, but these ideas don't just apply to r/c racing.
- Take some time to socialize with everyone, especially newer people. Make this hobby a social thing where you have friends and not just a competition to be the best.
- Take some time to help people who may be struggling in the hobby, even if it means sacrificing a bit of your own time.
- Take some time and notice any spectators or interested people. Talk to these people, let them touch your hobby stuff, and maybe let them try it out.
- Take some time or offer to help out at the facility. While help may not always be needed, the offer of help is usually appreciated.
- Take some time to realize not everyone participates in the hobby for the same reasons. Don't force your ideas of the hobby onto everyone else. That isn't fun.

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One of the things that I think is underutilized in this hobby is positive social media posts and texts at a local track level. Letting your racing friends know that you are planning on heading to the track tonight can influence people that may be undecided to head to the track too. If your track has social media, similar posts can also have a positive affect in turn-outs. I used this technique to help the VTA turn-outs when the class was starting at my local track years ago. After a few months the class was established and there wasn't a need to continually do this. However it is a great tool to let people know when you are bringing a specific car for a class that may not normally have large turn-outs.

The other thing about using social media is that it can build more of a club feeling rather than just a bunch of people randomly showing up at a racing facility. This can be helpful because this hobby is always changing. Hobby shops come and go, tracks open and close, and people come or go. But if you have a centralized place where people can locally share information, you will be more able to organize racing even if your local facility isn't open.

F1fletch

iTrader: (10)

It would be good if for the sake of this discussion we could briefly explain those classes you mentioned. Here in Ripon Ca we have no pan car classes but understanding and identifying potential candidates for a future class would be very cool.

TheOtherBill

Well said IndyRC, great ideas.

trackdesigner71

iTrader: (6)

Certainly:

Pro10/LMP1: This is the 10th scale pan class everyone who ran RC back in the late 80s and 90s would know and recognize. These were the showcase class...235mm cars, 6 cell saddle pack batteries, mod motors (and later stock)...Nowadays they are 2S and 17.5 plus you have some of the 200mm cars (that you also see in WGT...more on that in a moment) are outfitted with LMP bodies and the two are run together. LMP is Le Mans Prototype. These are bodies similar or at least based on the cars from the old FIA World Sportscar Championship and now the World Endurance Championship.
WGT/WGT-R: This is the class that was originally born out of the 200mm 10th scale pan cars (like the Associated RC10L3T). These cars run GT (Grand Touring) style bodies like the Corvette, Aston Martin etc. The original WGT class was spec foam tires and 13.5 motor but some ended up running it at 17.5. Later it evolved into WGT-R with rubber tires and I believe it was 17.5 spec motor
12th LMP: This is 12th pan car as the historians know it. Has been run for many many years and pretty much kept the same general spec: 4 cell batteries pre-LiPo, evolved to 1S, foam tires, stock (17.5 Brushless now) and modified. Uses Le Mans Prototype bodies just like the Pro10 class
GT12: this is the newest of the pan car classes. same as LMP, only they run their own GT style bodies. Rubber tires have been developed and are still being tested but runs the spec foam tires while those are still developing though I could see the rubber tires becoming the spec as development continues to keep costs down and enhance POE for those looking to enter the onroad segment of the hobby.

Feel free to expound if you see fit

rko

iTrader: (3)

This! No one wants to pay hundreds(perhaps thousands of dollars), read through tons of literature(would have ace the subject in college), spend hours working on the car(when there are other stuffs to do as well), leaving the office with the report not finished(boss and colleagues staring at you) and having an argument with the missus(who/what is more important), only to be lapped 6 times within 5-6minutes!

I was lucky to start with mini-z. There was a local advert campaign and 10-20 newbies joined the club within 2 months, lured by hobby grade performance for less than 200 dollars. The group eventually "graduated" to 10th scale and there were always 5-6 ppl you can play/race with the same skill, budget and experience. Lasted for a better half of a decade before everyone got bored and moved on to other stuffs.

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

For almost 2 years. I only raced MiniZ. My current improvement in 1/10 comes from racing MiniZ.






Middle class is super stock.

BullFrog

iTrader: (4)

There are two versions of GT12. The most universal form is 21.5/spec foam tires /Blinky esc/ any GT body/ any 1/12th chassis. they run something different in AZ The way we run it on the east coast and florida it has brought back the 1/12th class. This class has brought back many of our racers from the past back into racing again.
As for running on carpet with a dirty off road car- not happening down here. We do race off-road and dirt oval at our local track for novice with what ever the bring. Having loaner cars is a great idea tried that before with Legends cars- Easy to fix!