Thoughts From a RACER - Have Fun Like a Novice

        

    Two weeks ago, my son Harlan entered his first BMX race, riding in the "balance bike" class. It's a legitimate debate as to who was more nervous, him, or his dear old dad. Rarely does a kid know at 4 years old what he wants to do, recreation-speaking. Parents often force.....I mean push their children into various activities to teach self-esteem, teamwork, etc.. Harlan wanted to ride bikes. He was hell-bent on racing, and I was more than happy to oblige.

     On race day, we got the kiddo signed up, and he asked to walk up to the top of the track and watch gate practice. I'd never seen him so focused in my life. He was taking it all in, watching each rider, and studying the track. We'd ridden there a bunch of times together, but this was the first time I could recall him having a race-face and a serious attitude. As a father, I always told myself that whatever my children were going to do sports-wise, would be up to them. I was going to have no influence on what they did. As unbiased as I tried to be, I couldn't help but be stoked that Harlan made the choice to race. Racing, in general, is a team sport, but it's also very individualistic in its nature. The rider controls the outcome in the end. For this reason I was excited for him to have that experience, but was apprehensive at the same time, hoping his bubble wouldn't be burst so early on by a bad result. Anyone that knows my son, knows that he's an extremely competitive and strong-minded kid. 

    As the national anthem sounded, I was shaking with excitement and anxiety. Harlan on the other hand, was ready to get this show on the road. Little man was up first in moto 1. He picked a spot on the start hill that he liked, waited for the flag to drop, and promptly grabbed the holeshot. There was a small rider on a pedal bike racing with them, so through the first rhythm section, Harlan was passed for first, as his balance bike just couldn't quite keep up. That didn't  keep him from trying, as he nearly caught the pedal bike by the finish line, grabbing second in his very first race. I was tearing up and acting like a complete squid as a I ran over to him at the finish. When I reached him, I expected  to see the disappointment of 2nd on his face. Instead, a smile was bursting through his helmet. He was on cloud nine, stoked that "he was so fast" and how he "got the holeshot".... He didn't give a shit about 2nd. He was just happy to be there, doing what he loved most in this world.

    He went on to finish 2nd in the Main, and received his first trophy for his efforts. I'd never seen him so proud in my life. What he had done meant everything to him, and he hadn't won a single race that day. He didn't care that he had went down in the second moto, and had to get up and finish last, he didn't care that he got beat by a pedal bike in the main, and he didn't care that he went winless. None of that mattered, because he was so stoked on just doing it. Just being there with family, racing, and earning that trophy was what mattered to him. It was my proudest moment as a father, so far.

    

                      

                          The race face. 

    Watching his reaction to the thrill of his first time racing, got me thinking about my own RC racing career. I can still remember winning my first heat race, and just the overwhelming sense of excitement and joy that followed. It was that fun feeling that encapsulated most of my early years racing with friends at our local club. As times changed and I got older, exuberance was replaced by personal expectations, and slowly but surely, the fun was drained from the hobby. Somewhere along the line, I forgot why I even raced and competed in the first place. I forgot that this was just a hobby, and that it wasn't my life. I suppose this happens to everyone at some point or another. The money and time spent, start to outweigh the amount of fun being had. It's a sobering reality of competition, but a reality nonetheless. 

Off Road provided a fun, new way to get back into the hobby I loved.

    As I decided to enter the hobby again this year, I made it my mission to have fun. Competition was the name of the game, but I was going to get back to basics, and have a kick ass time in the process. Off Road racing was a new challenge that honestly ignited that fire more than anything in recent memory. Doing something completely out of my comfort zone proved to be just the ticket for me, With racing again, came the urge however to return to my roots and give On Road racing a try once again, albeit in a more relaxed and enjoyable way. Everything I do and everything I race now is purely in the name of fun. From the classes, to the way I race, to the time spent wrenching on these things, having fun is the ultimate goal. Now, I get it, not EVERYTHING in rc racing is fun. Getting hacked in a race is definitely not fun, neither is breaking a part, or even making the "B" or "C" Main. Sometimes, shit just doesn't pan out on race day. It happens....

    So, in light of these minor "bummers" within the hobby, I've come up with a phrase to help keep things in perspective when times get inevitably testy:

"Act like a Pro, Race like an Amateur, Have fun like a Novice"

Let's explore......

    What does it mean to "act like a pro"? My idea of a pro, is someone who is a stand-up person. Someone who lends a part, or knowledge to fellow racers. A pro to me, is someone who doesn't put other racers down, who encourages good attitudes on the track and in the pits. I understand that some actual "pro" rc racers aren't like this, and that many get wrapped up in their job or title, and forget about the 90% of us that keep this hobby alive. There are many, though that fight the good fight on a frequent basis. It's those non-flashy good deeds that don't make it on LiveRC like those that throw radios and use cars as weapons. Just as we are expected to act at our real jobs, it's on us to act and represent ourselves in a professional manner. I'm certainly not the fastest racer around (quite the opposite), but I'm always more than happy to help where I can to those in need. Many racers did it for me when I first started out, so it's important to me to repay that to the next wave of racers. Be a good guy (or gal). Who knows, maybe you'll inspire the next world champ.

    Why "race like and amateur"? Why not race like a pro? That's easy, I'm not really a pro. I'm a privateer sportsman that club-races and rarely attends big events. I'm a realist, I know my skill level, and I'm ok with that. I'm always looking to improve, but I'm ok with my standing in the hierarchy of racing skill. I have fun, and that's what matters most to me. I race hard but I now stay humble. I don't let losses affect me in the way that I used to in my younger years. Most of that comes from maturity, but a smidgen of that comes from the reality that I'm not getting paid to race my toy cars. No way?! I thought this was life or death along! 

                     

                         Having fun like the old days. Turning practice laps with pops.

    The third and final piece of the puzzle is to me, the most important: "Have fun like a Novice". Remember that first race? Remember how amazing it was to win for the first time? Remember how cool it was to compete against others? When we each first started this hobby, it was the simple pleasures that made it so awesome. The first build, the first race, the first win.... The list went on and on for me. It wasn't about lap times and rules interpretation. It wasn't about setup issues and results. It was pure nerdy bad ass fun. Hanging with friends, wrenching on cars, and racing. It was all bitchin'. 

    All too often, this hobby gets muddled up with bad attitudes and keyboard arguments to the point where we easily forget why we started racing in the first place. Rules piss people off, racing programs piss people off, pros racing sportsman classes piss people off, hell even people piss people off. So how do we wade past the bullshit? Act like a novice. Novice racers don't care about these things, because they simply don't know any better. All they know is this hobby is new, exciting, and fun as hell. 

    So let's take a page out of the novice racer's play book. Put a grin on your face and enjoy that race car for what it is: A bitchin' machine designed to provide joy and enable adults to dodge responsibility. Let's have fun again with our toy cars. Let's rock that "B" and "C" Main and not give a shit what the inter web says. Let's laugh our ass off when we blow a corner and fly off the track in grand fashion. Let's congratulate others for a great race, and let's help others that had a bad one. Let's hoot and holler at our friends on the drivers stand. Let's promote the sport with great attitudes and great racing. Let's leave the track with a smile, just happy to be able to do what we love one more time.

 Sometimes, you see something happen that's so ridiculous, you just have to smile...

Of all the pleasures that RC racing brings, there's nothing quite like a dialed race car.

    So let's act like a 4 year old racing his first race. Let's act like a 4 year old grabbing the holeshot in his first race. Let's act like a 4 year old receiving a trophy after his first race. I put it to all of you: Lets all act like novices every now and again, be responsibility-dodging adults and have fun!

Peace and fast laps. 

-JRoy386

 

Thoughts from a RACER - The "Sponsored" Privateer.

    I was racking my brain trying to come up with a race report from last week, but everything I wrote down didn't really do my thoughts justice. Like most of us, I do a lot of racing on the forums and Facebook. Topics and opinions get thrown around like a game of "keep away" at times, and while I generally don't put too much stock in what's said on the interweb, a couple topics seemingly encapsulated my race day and week leading up to and after it. So I thought I'd spend the next couple posts addressing my thoughts on a couple of hot topics in the RC world.




Let's start with a seemingly sore subject to many.....

"Sponsors" and "Support"

    The argument about sponsorships within the RC industry is an endless one, to put it softly. The debate ranges from whether or not someone is "deserving" of a sponsor, to the true meaning of the word itself. It's no secret that sponsorships have changed a lot in the past few years, and not just in the RC world. Support is more accessible than ever in nearly every form of competition. Blame it on social media, or blame it on the current economic climate, but advertising is changing. Companies have more avenues in which to reach the masses than ever, many of which are much less expensive and I'd venture to guess, much more effective than the advertising techniques of old. 

 
    To better grasp the current trend of "sponsorships" within RC, I believe we need to better use the term "sponsor". Let's not beat around the bush, a company's main objective is to produce sales. Sales come from advertising, and what better way to advertise, than utilizing a "soldier on the ground" approach? Physical exposure at the races through driver "sponsorship" has been the classic form of product placement for years, and is the standard avenue for any form of support by a company.


   
    More recently, direct-to-consumer sales have become popular, and while I'm not huge on these types of practices for retail sales, I understand the idea behind them. I'm a brick 'n mortar guy. I love going to the hobby shop, and try to support these places as much as possible. A common thought is the most current crop of "sponsored drivers" are just contracted direct-consumers. This, for the most part, is true. These deals all but ensure that said-driver is going to purchase said-product only from them, based on the discount given. In return, said-company is assured a certain amount of "free advertising" from said-driver in the form of sticker placement on cars, social media posts, etc. It's a pretty simple system that many people seem to have an issue with. I understand a percentage of hobby shop sales are lost with these deals, but how much really? What's the harm in a "privateer" receiving a discount for being a loyal customer, or a good racer, or a positive influence?


 
     "Privateer".... an interesting term that is seldom used in RC, but has a very basic yet relevant meaning. Motocross is the first sport to come to mind, when I think of the proper meaning of privateer. See if you can spot the similarities to our humble hobby......

 
    In motocross, there are two tiers of support: "Factory" riders, and "Privateers". That's it. Pretty cut & dry if you ask me. On one side, you have the Ken Roczens and Eli Tomacs of the world. These are the few elite riders who are paid a salary to ride, have multiple bikes for practice and racing, which are paid for by the factory or team they ride for. They use prototype parts, and have a heavy influence on what technology makes its way to the production models that their race bikes are based on.

   
    On the other side, you have the Adam Enticknap's and Nick Schmidt's, and well.... Pretty much the rest of us. These are privateers of motocross. The backbone, the weekend warriors, these are the heroes we root for, the underdogs that have basic "support" from various small sponsors, and take on the Goliaths of the sport week in and week out. Everyone loves the underdog, and we certainly love our privateers. These are the representatives of the common racer. These riders pay their way to the races, pay for most of their equipment, albeit at a discounted price from various companies that support their cause. 

See any parallels to the RC industry yet?

   
    How many RC racers in the world are "Factory Sponsored" drivers? How many racers influence the design of a car? How many are included in an advertising campaign of a given company? A very small percentage. There's only so many Ryan Cavalieri's and Jered Tebo's to go around. The rest of us are just some sort of privateer at the end of the day. Privateers have an inherent ability to scratch and claw for success. We are scrappy and resourceful. We aren't paid to race. We still buy from the hobby shops, we still pay for parts, we still pay entry fees, and some of us hustle for, and recieve "support" when possible.




Seeing those parallels now?

   
    Back in 2012, I was offered a support deal with Schumacher Racing at the recommendation of a friend. It was a great opportunity for me as a racer, because not only was I able to represent a brand on the side of my car, but I was able to purchase cars and parts at a discounted price, that normally would've been out of reach for my wallet at full retail. At the time, I was on a tight budget (Still am) and this "sponsorship" allowed me access to different classes that I just didn't have the money for before. The concept is simple: I buy parts and cars from a company at a discounted price, and in return, their company shows up on my car bodies and pit area. It was a badass "privateer support" program. Sponsorship, I believe was and is the wrong term for these deals. I got nothing for free. I still paid for my equipment, I was just now able to afford what I couldn't before. I was still a privateer, but I had access to better equipment to progress my tuning and racing abilities. Pretty cool stuff for a "Budget Champion".

 
     Fast forward to this year, and I raced my brand new Schumacher Mi6 Evo for the first time last week. I'm back racing Schumacher cars, and enjoying the support I get from the team as I once had. I also get support from Sticky Kicks RC, which I use for traction compounds and cleaners. These "sponsors" allow me to race at a higher level as a privateer than before. Nothing is free unless you're Rick Howart or Ronald Volker, and I'm no Howart or Volker. I'm a privateer, and I love the support I receive from these two awesome companies. They make racing better, more fun and more affordable for me, so on behalf of my wife, thanks guys. ;)

   
    So why do racers rag on other racers for receiving a "deal"? Why the animosity toward receiving a discount for parts, tires, etc.? This is the part that's always confused me. It's a privateer's job to hustle. It's in our blood as weekend warriors to make this hobby more affordable and more competitive for ourselves, so why not allow those that receive support, to do their thing? Not all of us have six-figure jobs, or dispensable hobby funds. Many of us beg and plead with spouses/girlfriends to spend time and money on this sport. Many of us are just stoked to hang with old friends from time to time, while many of us are trying to make up those few seconds without shelling out countless greenbacks.

   
    I will say this: I believe that a lot of what goes into receiving support is the attitude of the racer on and off the track. If you represent the hobby and yourself in a positive way, and help others and promote, I guarantee that will get noticed faster than a grouch that wins every heat. Race wins and results matter to me, but I'd rather spend my time helping others go faster and "enjoy" my hobby, than worry about tenths of a second - every second of the day. There's those that do both, and their names are Tebo, Evans, Reinard, etc. 

   
    So before you slam the current crop of "sponsored" drivers, just remember... we're all just privateers. We're all just looking for an easier way to keep up with the (lap) times. We're all just looking for some "support".


Peace and fast laps.


-JRoy386