After buying a secondhand TC5 chassis for VTA racing, I had a leftover HPI RS4. Rather than letting it collect dust, I asked Jules if he’d like to invite his cousin Reese to go racing with us, of course the answer was yes. We had an extra unpainted Mini Cooper body and I was able to load up the unused chassis with super-cheap electronics like a silver-can motor for $4 and brushed ESC for $10.
Crawl, Walk, Run
This is a rule we use in life. You have to learn to crawl (or scoot), then walk, then run. I’ve treated my (re)entry into R/C racing the same way.
Alternate Crawl – Tamiya Mini
There is an alternative way to enter on-road R/C racing than Vintage Trans-Am (which I’ll talk about below) which is slower, but still a ton of fun. It is the Tamiya Mini class.
Mega Mini
My son Jules has really taken to R/C driving – and crashing. My formerly pristine Subaru WRX body has officially been put through the ringer:
So I asked Jules what sort of body he would like – hoping that I could save the Subie body from further destruction. But he has a hard time getting past the fact that lexan bodies are clear and can be painted in any color scheme, so he’s often influenced by the presentation color rather than the shape. Unable to get him to commit to something, I made an educated guess.
Mighty Mini
When we race at the Twin City On-Road Club in Cottage Grove during the winter, he usually winds up running in the Tamiya Mini B-main if there’s not enough people for a novice class. We even discussed getting him a Tamiya Mini at one point.
My First 1st
When it comes to racing, I figured my story arc would go something like this:
- Start a race
- Finish a race
- Don’t be last
- Podium
- Win
I’ve managed 1 & 2 so far, but yesterday I got a taste of victory, while skipping steps 3 & 4.
