Last season, the tracks up in the Toronto area pretty well had 19T Touring, Mod Touring, and 19T 1/12 scale.. stock was apparently too slow for most to be interested.. Unfortunately, this is when I started racing R/C, last Christmas.. so imagine me plunking in 19T Quad mag on a used TB-02 with old rubber tires (didn't know about traction compound at the time either
), and just guess how far I got on my first practice lap before getting my shock chopped in half by a 1/12.. heh.. it was kinda frustrating on a learning level when everyone had been racing for years and there's no benchmark to set yourself against...
My saviour was the TCS when it started up in late Spring. Black-Can Tub GT2 class with 2400 batteries.. something I handle and learn at the same time, and I know the batts and motor were what everyone else was using, so I was able to talk to others more about setup and technique rather than just equipment. It was the same for the Mini class too with silver cans, and it's a blast. I met up with people who were indeed novices like me in many ways, and while a good number were experienced racers, I didn't feel as intimidated, and I was able to keep up with some practice under my belt. My broken parts have reduced significantly, letting me purchase and play with upgrades and improvements rather than have to go out and buy replacement uprights or diff cups. One of our local fast guys also unloaded his "Used" 2-run tires for ultra-cheap, which helped tons, especially when it came to Tamiya tires. Someone like me doesn't need new rubber each race...
I've learned quite a bit over the past season of 7 or 8 TCS races, and am eager to continue learning. Had there just been the 19T club races and nothing else (there were the occasional race, like Magma, but nothing frequent enough), my lack of interest and confidence would have led me to quit. You don't learn how to drive with a Ferrari, as they say.. there has to be some learning curve before jumping in the deep end. Otherwise, as people change jobs, have families, move, or just have less and less time to race, there won't be anyone to fill their ranks, and this is where the downfall of R/C happens. There will always be an elite group of racers who have their fun at 19T or Mod and would rather watch paint dry than watch a stock race, but we all had to start somewhere. Thankfully, the racers up here are incredibly helpful and willing to answer 20,000 questions, and that's encouraged me quite a bit, but it only goes so far until you get your car on the track and race or practice.
Now, we only have track facility left (TORC decided not to renew its lease for the building, and now have opened their own hobby shop), but it has introduced Tub chassis silver can racing for ages 16 and under, which I think is great.. sure, it may cater to the Tamiya cars a little more than others, but they're cheap, and it's a great way to learn, as well as leaving them an option to run TCS races. They still have 19T Foam classes for club racing, but now that I have a season under my belt, some day I just may step up and give it a try as my skills improve.. at least I'll be better prepared with some better batteries and motors, now that I understand them. The blue 2400 packs just aren't practical in any other races.
I'll definitely be ready for the next TCS series, and am ready to push myself to the next level, with some friendly help, of course....
Just my experience as a 'newb' driver now looking forward to the next race coming up... spec racing does have its benefits to start off with, but once the training wheels come off, you can then start looking at better equipment for the future with a better understanding of what you need to get faster, not just what everyone else has...