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Old 01-13-2010, 12:39 PM
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DPowers
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Originally Posted by captain america
I'll tell you a little secret: it's 90% the driver, if not more so. I would hazard a guess that the top 7-8 buggies, when set-up optimally, will all perform so closely on the track to each other as to not really be a factor.

There are a handful of championship-caliber drivers out there, and when they win and win regularly because of their talent, it does draw the kind of attention and bragging rights that sells a lot of product. The downside to this is that these drivers, because they are in high demand, command a high price for their services, and depending on the financial backing that one has, it can literally be a choice between investing in the materials and product, or a top-tier driver (XRAY.) On the other hand, there are companies that don't necessarily invest too much in the quality of the product, preferring to out-source to Asia for cheap, but get a top driver to make their product look good, and rely on the latter's results to generate sales (Losi, Hot Bodies, etc.)

In short, Hara, Drake, Truhe, etc. could be wheeling a Hyper 7 and still win. The big difference for me though, because I don't have any financial backing other than my own wallet, is not necessarily how a car behaves on the circuit, but how long the parts last, how readily available they are, the price of spares, how easy it is to maintain, and how much technical support is available for it.

Therefore, as far as I'm concerned, whether a certain car is better or not than another is based more on how it meets my particular (and realistic) needs, and not dependent on how many times it can be made to win in the hands of an elite driver with unlimited financial backing
Well said.
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