Hi Rich,
good responses from the guys above
both are very friendly and offer excellent advice when it comes to car setup, advice etc....
I have personally been back racing for a number of years now at Glos and I have raced in every class available. So thats touring cars, buggies, F1 and mini/mardaves (12th scale). I think the only type not tried is 12th pan cars. I am unable to attend other rc events due to family commitments so my main rc fix comes from the indoor Glos track at Innsworth.
I started on TC and got very disillussioned with the cost of repair as things inadevrtently break. Especially during the learning years. I then purchased a 4wd buggy, I tried the most local off road track at Ledbury, but again breakages became costly.
I then bought a second hand Mardave V12 and put some of my old electrics into this lighter and smaller car. After spending many many weeks pestering the more knowledgable guys at Glos, (Dave B and Gordon) for setup advice I finally had a car that handled well. For me, the closeness and fun of this racing class brought a smile to my face week in week out. The cost of repair is also ridiculously cheap. You could almost buy a new V12 for the cost of a pair of driveshafts for a TC! So for me the advice to a beginner is this, buy a mardave V12. You will learn how to setup a car (basics at least), you will learn to drive an RC car, you will learn the etiquette of racing and the cost on the wallet for all this will be minimal. Once you have mastered the V12 class, then you can naturally move into the more technical classes, TC, F1 Buggies etc...
I look forward to seeing you at Glos some time soon, ask for Si if you fancy having a dabble on the sticks
Si