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July 11, 2012, 9:45 a.m.
7/11/2012
By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com
Last night I was sitting on the couch watching some TV and flipping through the channels. First I watched some motocross, then NASCAR, then Formula 1, and finally some off-road truck racing. After watching all of these I began thinking about R/C racing, and how unique it really is.
In motocross you have to have the physical ability to withstand the motos and ride the bike, and the window of making a career is relatively small considering most professional riders are 17-27 years old.
In NASCAR it requires a LOT of money, a LOT of sponsors, and a finely tuned machine in order to become a professional and make a career. In my opinion, NASCAR racing is 30% driver and 70% machine. If the best driver in the world is given a poorly setup car he has virtually no chance of winning.
In Formula 1 you are racing nearly $1 Million machines, and therefore it's not like you can go out and buy one to try out. It requires you to "know the right people" and most often come from a racing background.
In off-road truck racing usually requires a long background in racing as most drivers are veteran racers of some sort. Once in awhile you see a driver emerge out of the blue, but most often they are existing professional racers with a racing backround and lots of experience such as Jeremy McGrath (motocross), Brian Deegan (freestyle), Carl Renezeder (grew up racing).
This brings me to R/C car racing. R/C is a sport (yes I said sport, because the word "hobby" makes me think of crafts and basket weaving), that a racer of nearly any age, any physical condition, no matter your racing background or experience, no matter who you know, and with a little bit of money can get involved in and potentially take it to a professional level and make it a career. In my opinion ANYONE can become a pro R/C driver if you want to work hard enough and build on your driving ability. It's not like other forms of motorsports that require top athletic ability, perfectly tuned machines, friends in the industry, and a big wallet to make it happen. Instead it is all up to the driver and his personal ability.
Don't get me wrong, R/C can also be expensive, but not compared to other forms of professional racing. Don't get me wrong setups are important, but if you give Lee Martin (newly crowned EUROS Champ) a RTR 2wd he can still go fast. Overall R/C is a very unique sport that if someone has the determination and will power to work hard, and $500-600 to get started, ANYONE has the potential to make a career as a professional driver.
You may not have the physical ability to be a pro motocrosser, the money, sponsors, industry friends, and racing background to become a professional at NASCAR, Formula 1, or off-road trucks, BUT you DO have an R/C car so get to work because R/C racing doesn't care about all of that...it's all driver and how hard you want to work at it!
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