Practice is the magic word. I am driving for 20 years by now and I am still improving. The last 4 years I am a testdriver and at the same time sponsered and on a yearly base I drive 3 to 4 times more than I did before and since then I must say the improvement goes faster although I am 40 years old....

Yea its all about time and patience..
I have been racing-Track I mean for just over a year, but always played with Rc's Heli's planes ect..

Before I did my 1st race.. I was on my Gap year and spent a good 4-5 hrs down the track for a good 6 weeks or so.. Granted not all actual running.. and before even plopped my car down on the track-I watched a UK Pro going round the track. Watching and listening to his throttle movement's brake ect.. and that was worth about 10 tanks of fuel just watching..
1st race I won the C final by 3 laps-With 2 flameouts-St*pid Go Tech:sweat:
And so on.. I have been progressing at a fairly fast rate.. and now.. average.. Mid-Top B final.. and Sometimes Low A's.. more recently.. mainly local track. My 1 flaw-Is only racing at 3 tracks.. which doesn't help you improve as much.. but hope to do more this season.

My Key points are:

1.Practice-As much as possible-with mates preferably faster drivers and get more used to the racing side by side aspect.

2. Proper Maintenance..

3.Spend £$ on Tyres, and good selection, I see far to many people.. spending £$ on the latest.. towel or gadget.. and then have no money left for tyres. So they don't race.. to there full potential.

4.Slow is faster, Tighter the lines the faster you will be-Still trying to drum that into my head. Monday was 4th in the A final.. winning for first 6 laps-With a good straights lead.. but started to choke ended up 5th.
Small things like that you learn from.
Q1-My average lap was 1 sec slower than my fastest.. and TQ'ed the round and 8 lapper.

5.Enjoy it! and spend you hard earned £$ on more vital things.. and spend less on less essential stuff!

6.Try racing as many tracks as you possibly can-Variety helps alot!

7.Watch the fast guys go round, before even going out... work out the best lines braking points ect.. and what tyres ect..

8.Walk the track! You will be amazed of the things you cant see from the rostrum!

My new- Thing is to spend more £ on tyres than new bits and bobs..
And to be more consistent.. as I can be very fast but Im not the best at consistency.. but last meet.. I was the TQ 2 out of 4 rounds.. and was very happy even though I screwed up in the end.. but I improved as a driver and found a nice consistent setup too for my local track.

Im sure im repeating what people have said so I will now stop hope this helps... But, yea there is not set amount that you will start to really progress time...will tell

i started winning as soon as i got 16mm shocks, it was like my 7th race but i came from motocross so that helped a ton!! i already new how to control my buggy in the air, i think thats the ticket is to know how to control your buggy/truggy in the air knowing how to land smoothly. also dive your own race dont worry about anyone but yourself. the biggest thing is try not racing the other person down the straight ignore them and just pressure them into a mistake and if someone comes up behind you fast let them pass and copy them as much as you can for as long as you can.

about 3 years but I've still got a long way to go...however I am learning more and more every outing.

the downside is that I need a job so I have to put rc on the back burner even more than I've already been forced 2(no job,no money,no play) lol.

but practice,good mechanics,a good attitude towards other racers are all part of becoming better.

I started off a very hard headed guy not doing things that faster people were telling me and I paid for it I think I broke every outing when i first started in nitro RC. Now I listen and things have gone full 360..

1) practice

2) tires

3) working understanding of how your cars suspension works and how to tune it.

I got a lot faster than I had been when one day, one of the local fast guys told me to drive the track with a max of 50% throttle. Even in the straights. His point was that you have to learn how to drive the car slowly to get fast. I drove like that for a few practices and then slowly started adding in power where I felt like I could control it.

Didn't take long before I realized. You barely need any throttle in the corners. Just enough to wheel the car through. Tight lines are faster than pulling a dukes of hazzard in the corners.

Minimize wheel spin, maximize time spent with all 4 wheels on the ground, without spinning them at all. You will maximize tread life and fuel economy in the process.

Keep the car in the racing line!

you can never master it, learn something new everyday just like golf :>

Practice and becoming consistent are the tops. Speed comes with time behind the wheel.

Tires and suspension setup are second. I set my car up one way and one way only. Works for me. other drivers will have multiple setups. I run two different types of tires that cover the bulk of track surfaces.

Stay relaxed when racing and race as many different tracks as possible.

When a pro is on the track practicing study thier style closely as it will give you good direction.

This one belongs at the top really, HAVE FUN!:nod:

I am at the end of my first season in fifteen years. I have not placed below the B main and have a few A mains in the bag. Highest placement was 8th in the A 3 weeks ago. I am thrilled everytime I make a main regardless of where I end up at the end of the day, especially if I did not crash more than 3 times.:D

Quoting Adam Drake, never take advice from a slow guy!!!!:D:D:lol:

Well said mate.

Not sure but i will let you know as soon as i get BETTER.:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

getting better over time???? i don't know what you guys are talking about, i was fast the first time i set my car down on the track....:D

I think Jimmy hit the nail on the head, but missed 1 thing. Prep.

You have to make sure you car is ready to go. It needs to be clean every time you hit the track. not to look good, but because you took the time to make sure everything is operating as you expect it to. I don't know how many times i have been racing, and watching the guy next to me complain because his car isn't working right only to find a bent or broken part.

Plus, how many times have you seen a guy with a car that is all nasty and dirty win a race? I will say hardly ever.

practice, car setup, lots of car testing and drink plenty of coors light

I do agree with what most of you guys have said, but......

I think you are forgeting one of the biggest things. It truely helped me take my driving up a level.

Consistantcy !!!!

If you have to drive a bit slower to keep it rubber side down, then do so. Sure some people are much faster, for a lap or two, but over the course of the race the person with the best average lap time wins.

Work on consistancy and avoiding those laps that are 10-20 above your average.

Speed only comes from experience ! Practice, practice, practice.... oh ya, and race when ever you can !!!!!!