Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:02 am
No mind at all, I'd like to hear as much input as possible. I won't ever say I have all of the answers.liquorboxracing wrote:If you don't mind, I'd like to toss an idea out here. What if instead of breaking it down in classes such as RC10 Gold Tub, it were broke down by actual date ( Year )of manufacture?
I thought about this a lot, actually. Obviously a Yokomo Dogfighter from 1983 is considerably different from one in 1995 and it isn't fair to have them compete against each other. However, how exactly do you zone out the years without creating too many classes? The problem is, you could have 2wd stock, 2wd mod, 4wd stock and 4wd mod in 4 or 5 different eras. That's already too many classes. In all reality, a gold tub RC10 could span over a decade in its competitive era, and while I have a lot of useless information in my head, but I donno if I could tell you when the JRXPro gave way to the XX or when it replaced the JRX2, exactly. Technology evolves over time, regardless, so breaking the cars down over time periods might be difficult until there is a larger fan base.
I think what you don't want to do is combine 4wd and 2wd of all things, as motors can survive as an "open class" if needed, as well as batteries, as well as chassis designations. Surely, a mid 90s Losi 2wd car will out perform an early 80s Cox Scorpion, but if we break the classes down TOO much, it might remove the laid back, non-competitive concept and imply to racers that the vintage racing is about winning and not getting the older stuff out on the track. I donno, I can see both sides of the discussion, which is why I'm not positive on how the classes should be broken down.
I have been also thinking about a system like SCCA autocrossing that gives you penalty points based on non-vintage items like motors or batteries. The more points, the more penalties. To try to level the playing field, so to speak. This might aid in the advantage that late era cars and batteries might have over early cars on the track.
Concours: YES! Absolutely.
However, as a painter and artist, I have a lot of big problems with Concours competitions. First, unlike a car show, Concours judges generally award points and trophies for fluff, like trailers, lights, moving drivers and engines, which have really nothing to do with R/C race cars or the way they were intended to be used. A car with a polished set of wheels and a window net generally would win over a car with a seriously better paint job. This isn't scale modeling. It's R/C racing, and the cars should be drivable and track-worthy, in my opinion. I've always had a problem with guys driving trailered cars into the Concours area with lights flashing, and then when it came time to put the car on the track, they pulled out different wheels, tires, bodies, wings and everything else.
I also have an issue with judging. It's subjective as anything, and it always insights anger from those who don't win. I've been on both sides of that before, including judging, winning and losing the Concours event, and it really takes the fun out of displaying your hard work.
I think a new idea for the show queens needs to be developed, especially for the vintage stuff. These cars won't be raced, so it's not the issue. We need to develop a better way to generate interest in showing off perfect restorations and not fostering strobe lighting and moving driver figures.
I have too many ideas in my head, I need to start putting them down on paper so I don't forget everything...
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