Short Course: The Missed Opportunity

Short Course: The Missed Opportunity

Most people in the RC industry or those  involved in hobby for a significant amount of time recognize that the short course segment is the best thing to happen to the hobby in a long time. It has renewed the interest of veteran enthusiasts and has drawn in newcomers. In some respects, short course has all but taken over the hobby. In many respects, short course seems perfect and it is certainly a positive for the hobby. At the very least, it’s the current buzz. What’s not to like? As far as racing goes (that small but extremely important part of the hobby), short course has been nothing more than a missed opportunity. RC racing, from the weekend club level to the nationals, needs to change. Short course should have been the perfect opportunity to turn our back on a failed system and shift our focus to a new format based on average Joe. In its current form, racing is not inviting to newcomers and caters only to the more elite, serious and dedicated racers—the diehards. This includes everything from the vehicles to the track designs to the format of the races. If short course continues on its path of being the new popular racing class, it will just become part of the failed system. Short course needs to be used as the impetus for real change—change that is long overdue. The vehicles should be scale in looks and performance. The tracks should be easy to drive. “Technical” should be the new dirty word when used to describe track designs. Lastly, the race days need to provide more racing. Three rounds of qualifying at a weekend club race is beyond comprehension. Nothing is on the line, so why the need to spend the vast majority of the day on ensuring the perfect sorting of talent? How about a single two minute qualifier and two 12 minute mains? The race day would be significantly shorter and each racer would do far more actual racing. Do this on a wider, easy-to-drive track and you’ll a lot more participants having fun. Short course gives us the perfect reason to change. They bring a different driver to the track and they work best on a different type of track. If short course used to change the way we race, it is just another class and nothing more than a missed opportunity.

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Updated: July 20, 2015 — 3:40 PM
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