Originally Posted by YoungChazz
IFMAR is the usual result of political correctness -- their "principles" get in the way of common sense and we get S.A. twice in a decade. And Finland next? I assume all 46 R/C enthusiasts will put on the race, so none will be left to enter.
I'm not knocking Finland -- Please, Family members there, we love you! -- it's simply a fact. In terms of population, S.A. and Finland are small places so there can't possibly be large numbers of R/C enthusiasts.
You don't want to know how much of the price of an X - 6 Squared goes to support the Boyz. So, why does any manufacturer pay big money to support and maintain a race team? Because what wins on Sunday sells on Monday. (That's a NASCAR adage.) It's advertising.
If it is all about advertising, a manufacturer must examine the budget -- if I spend X amount on this advertisement, what else is there I can't spend that money on and how many additional cars will I sell?
X Factory did not participate in the '07 worlds in Japan, and sales went up substantially in the ensuing 12 months. Clearly the 10,000 + Sterling we saved was a good thing. This year we will save even more, and in both cases the Family will not be required to spend that money -- we would have to raise prices to cover the costs.
IFMAR, if it is to be a relevant body, needs to recognize that it's only mission is to promote the sport of R/C racing. Making rules and putting on events is a minor part of that. NASCAR recognized reality from the beginning, and now they have 10s of thousands of participants (There are local races every weekend all over the U.S.), tens of millions of fans, and tens of zillions of dollars. It's all about promotion. Rules and schedules, which are the only things IFMAR cares about, are almost not on NASCAR"s agenda -- that's the part that's easiest to accomplish.
What goes on at NASCAR's office? The vast bulk of it is about promotion, working with the midia, and handling the money. In a back office somewhere are a few guys who tweak the rules. The teams & drivers often disagree, but they are all getting rich because of NASCAR so they accept what comes out. The fans often don't understand the rules and the various changes, but they don't care either because they are having too much fun.
IFMAR needs to recognize that half of all R/C is sold in the U.S. and another quarter is in Japan. U.K. and Germany combine for a bit over 15%, and the last 10% is the rest of the world. If that's the case, and if we want to promote the sport of R/C, 5 of every 10 WCs should be in the U.S., 2 or 3 in Japan, one each in U.K. and Germany, and every now and then one someplace else, probably Australia.
How can they possibly put two WCs in S.A. in eight years? Two in Finland in 14 years? But just one in the U.S., one in Japan, and none in U.K. or Germany? South Africa and Finland indeed.
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