I think the ESC can make a difference, I found a Tekin RS in blinky had significantly less punch than a cheapy LRP Spin on blinky with the same motor. Most ppl where I race either run the LRP X20 or the Thunder Power, a few of us tried the Schurr Speed and the Trinity D3.5 and they were dogs, bugger all top end and when you geared them up you lost your punch out of the corners.