The day was Sat Nov-15-2014, I first started racing at the club level about 4 years prior and had established myself as a relatively consistent driver, certainly not the best driver in my area, but I would usually find myself somewhere in the top 1/4 of drivers for any given class. I was just trying a
new body on my
Tekno SCT410; here is some video from the first qualifier in the day, you can see that I was learning a new track layout (for me) and also learning the limitations of the new body with really high wind gusts in the 20-30mph range:
I really wish I had someone video the main, but the best I can do is offer the following story of my experience, at least this is how I remember it:
I had qualified second for the main, and just that alone was a big accomplishment for me because there were some really good racers present and I was chasing the TQ all day long. At the start of the main I was taken out in the first turn by the #3 car, then one by one, each successive car would hit me, it was like my car was a freaking pinata out there. So I decided to jump the track lane divider and was going to wait for the lead car to come back around in the middle track section to regain my #2 position, but instead a turn marshal decided to pull my car (after I already waited) when the lead came up to me and then the marshal placed my car back into the first turn... at this point I was already 1/3 a lap down from the field so I walked off the driver stand in frustration with an exclamation of "What's the point" (pretty sure there was an F-bomb in that exclamation too). By the time I got down to the bottom of the stand I had calmed down and decided that I would just have fun and not focus on winning, but just see how many cars I could regain position in a field of 12 cars total. By the time I walked back up, the lead car was about to lap me so I gunned the throttle and was just a few feet in front of the #1 car as I finally started my race. The RD was calling everything out so it was very clear to everyone what had happened to me so extra attention was being placed on my car for the spectators. I slowly pulled away from the #1 car and then within the first lap I had already passed the #11 car, then by the 5th lap I passed #10 and #9 cars... things were progressing very smoothly for me as I was gaining on each car after car with the RD calling out the shots, he was even cheering me on. For the 6th and 7th laps I shot past the #8, #7 and #6 cars, I was on a mission at this point and my only goal was to pass the next car in front of me with extreme prejudice. I finally caught up with the lead pack by the 9th lap and was in the 4th position with just over 2 minutes left in the 8 minute race... winning still wasn't a consideration at this point, I was simply happy enough to have caught up, but I was still determined to pass the #3 car, which I did in the 10th lap... then the following lap, the top 2 cars got tangled up and I found myself in the lead for the 11th lap and over a minute of racing to go. My adrenaline was pegged, hands trembling and tunnel vision setting in. I was doing my best to use my peripheral vision to see it was now a close race with the top 4 cars all within a second from each other on the track. The final 2 laps where the longest time I've ever spent in my life... it was like time had stood still yet the race continued. As luck will have it, I barely made it under the loop just when time ran out so I was able to squeak an extra "victory lap" around the track as everyone else's race was over... people were cheering and everyone congratulated me as I walked off the stand and thanked me for giving the best "come back performance" they've seen in a long time:
Although there is no glory in R/C Racing, the euphoric feeling I got from this experience was very rewarding and something that just can’t be explained, you just have to experience it to know what I’m talking about. It was well worth the 1 hour drive (each direction) to race at this club!
It's moments like this that feed my addiction to R/C
