How much practice?

[jsw123]

As a newbie, albeit I did race a Tamiya Boomerang a few times 25 odd years ago, how many times should I try and practice at my local track?

I was blown away with the speed of my 22 and found racing pace almost impossible to maintain. Apparently Eden Park is quite a technical track but I pretty much had to 'coast' to get round without wiping out.

I'd love to know how people got to the standard they're at and what sort of goals I should be setting for myself?

[djmcnz]

How quickly do you learn?

The only real answer is that you need to practice until you either become competitive in your chosen class or until you realise that you can't dedicate enough time to become competitive in your chosen class... and you'll only know this from your own personal rate of progress.

In my estimation, running a few packs a week will not be enough. You need regular and "recent" practice to learn. This is to say that every practice session should be close enough to the last that you can actually remember the last - what you experienced, the mistakes you made and more importantly the "feel" you had.

"Feel" is that intangible thing that connects you, through your radio, to your car. The ability to predict what the vehicle is going to do next and react (appropriately) to the prediction rather than the event... when you're doing that you know you've practised enough.

It depends on what you want to achieve. I would think ~40 hours of practice would allow a competent learner to be competitive in club racing (although this doesn't mean A-Main victories!). Open classes are a different matter - if somebody knows how to whip a 6.5 around a track quickly then no amount of practice will beat them if you have a 17 installed.

Mini class is a great class to learn really good RC driving in.

Edit: Tip - don't learn the track, learn the car. If you think you're learning more about the track than the car then take it to a parking lot and switch it up some.

[jsw123]

Originally Posted by djmcnz

I would think ~40 hours of practice would allow a competent learner to be competitive in club racing.

Edit: Tip - don't learn the track, learn the car. If you think you're learning more about the track than the car then take it to a parking lot and switch it up some.

40 hours in total or per week?!

Interesting tip with regards to learning the car not the track, hadn't thought of that.

[ianjoyner]

Originally Posted by jsw123

I pretty much had to 'coast' to get round without wiping out.

That is a great start choosing to coast rather than crashing. Go as quick as you're comfortable with, don't try too hard to be fast, get into a flow and it will become easier, you will become quicker without realising it.

Hard to say how much practice, most I've ever done is 2 club nights a week. I'm sure more would be good.

[Danny Harrison]

I got reasonably competitive (I'd say more middle of road) at my local clubs after about 3 months going once to twice a week.

Recently Ive been using a simulator to get track time and now I'm pushing hard with the faster lads as a result.

The more time you can practice with your tx in hand the better

[jsw123]

Originally Posted by Danny Harrison

I got reasonably competitive (I'd say more middle of road) at my local clubs after about 3 months going once to twice a week.

Recently Ive been using a simulator to get track time and now I'm pushing hard with the faster lads as a result.

The more time you can practice with your tx in hand the better

A simulator eh? Very interesting, how did you come across that?

[jsw123]

Originally Posted by ianjoyner

That is a great start choosing to coast rather than crashing. Go as quick as you're comfortable with, don't try too hard to be fast, get into a flow and it will become easier, you will become quicker without realising it.

Hard to say how much practice, most I've ever done is 2 club nights a week. I'm sure more would be good.

Yeah, two sessions per week would be about my limit. I'm guessing if I don't practice for a couple of weeks it would be like starting from scratch? Kind of?

[ianjoyner]

Originally Posted by jsw123

Yeah, two sessions per week would be about my limit. I'm guessing if I don't practice for a couple of weeks it would be like starting from scratch? Kind of?

Not for me, although I did first learn fairly young. Sometimes takes a while getting used to an unfamiliar track, but that's the same with or without a break.

[jsw123]

Originally Posted by ianjoyner

Not for me, although I did first learn fairly young. Sometimes takes a while getting used to an unfamiliar track, but that's the same with or without a break.

OK, that's good to know. Lets hope it's dry tomorrow!

[Andrew Twigger]

40 hours per week is ridiculous. That's a full time job's worth of hours. If you were looking to become a professional then maybe. For mere mortals with limited time and funds twice a week is ample and should see quick improvement.

Also sounds like your car is too quick for you at the moment. I would look into either a slower motor or turning down the settings if your speedo will allow. The key for me is not going too fast too soon. Learn to drive around without crashing first and foremost. The tight lines and corner speed will all come together with practice.