1st gear (3906) is a joke - all it does is wheelie. Its been months since I had mine in 1st - just not needed. BTW - it doesn't shift automatically, there's a shift switch on the TQ radio - its shifted by a servo, not some kind of centrifugal mechanism like with a Tmaxx. Thats what the 3rd channel is for.

That may be part of being brushless ready - my G2R and FLM Emaxx are both single speeds (GM conversion).