WHERE'S WALDO: Three things for which I'm thankful this Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, a predominantly North American holiday held annually to celebrate the blessing of the harvest and preceding year of life, exists in few other parts of the world for various reasons (and mostly due to American influence). Recounting for what one is thankful is a common pastime during the meal and accompanying celebrations, and as an avid RC fanatic there’s a lot to be thankful for this year.

 

Here are my top three:

 

There’s more to showing off RC to the masses than securing airtime for professional racing events - after all, the bulk of this industry relies on the most grassy of roots. From Traxxas, Team Associated, and Losi venturing into full-size and mainstream motorsports, which included a segment on Fox Sports earlier this year with Rockstar KTM rider Jason Anderson hitting up the local RC track, to a viral McDonalds video in which European Champion Lee Martin jumped a 1/8-Scale Truck over two semi-tractor trailers, hobby-grade RC cars have had more chance to enter the public realm than ever before.

 

The 2014 season was a great one to watch on LiveRC. Of course, watching the exciting on-track action from the comfort of your home (or office - don’t worry, we won’t tell your boss) is always great, but the ROAR National and IFMAR World Championship races we covered this year were incredible. From the ROAR Fuel Off-Road Truck and Buggy Nationals, both of which came down to the final lap, to the story lines that unfolded at the ROAR Electric Off-Road Nationals where Dakotah Phend and Ty Tessmann defended their respective 2WD and 4WD titles, this year’s U.S. championships couldn’t have been more exciting. And on the world stage, Ty Tessmann kicked off the IFMAR World Championship scene with an incredible week-long display that culminated in the 1/8-Scale Buggy Worlds win in Messina, Italy. At the Electric On-Road Worlds in Florida, two friendly international rivals split the titles when Marc Rheinard upset three-time defending 1/12-scale champion Naoto Matsukura, only for the Japanese star to answer right back with a resounding victory in touring car. The season was capped off by first-time winner Alexander Hagberg cashing in on a near-perfect 60 minutes to secure the 200mm IC World Championship in Bangkok. You couldn’t ask for a better finish to the world’s biggest races than what we got to watch in 2014.

 

On a personal level, it's been refreshing to have a voice and to bring to light what is often swept under the rug in this industry. Since joining the LiveRC team halfway through 2014, I’ve had the chance to travel across the country and around the world to cover RC’s biggest races, and spent hours pounding on my poor laptop though we were having a harsh disagreement. I’ve even been able to photograph and drive two highly anticipated cars before anyone else. My favorite part of the experience, however, has been the overwhelming response from everyone enjoying the show from their computers, tablets, and smartphones. Whether it has been praising the quality of the broadcast, sharing our content across social media, or strongly opposing my opinions on the racing world (my personal favorite), these last five months have been a wild ride - and not just because of the air travel miles.

 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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