What are the most common mistakes you've seen beginners make at a race?

I've noticed that most either gear too high and/or try an go to fast, when really they should just try and make laps.

the biggest mistake I've ever seen by beginners is forgetting to change their receiver batteries and their car would take off !!

having a car that is not worth competing with

THEY FORGOT TO CHARGE A BATTERY OR TIGHTEN THEIR MOTOR

They think that they can just run wide open and win. They don't understand that there is a strategy involved in racing as well as speed.

hitting full throttle and doing a wheelie at the starting point.

Not being organized.

Think they can race like a pro to start with, because they have all the expensive, top spec equipment, get disheartened when they break it and lose, then give up racing.

I've seen beginners try start there new car for break in when the exhaust pressure line is connected to the carb and the fuel line is connected to the pressure line

Some look good in practice but tend to overdrive during the race. Not braking on time and overshooting corners as a result. It can be hard to explain this to a newbie racer but slower can be faster when you are just starting out. The less your car needs to get marshalled the more easily you can make time. Slow down and drive the track instead of racing from corner to corner and flipping over. There is a quote by Brian Kinwald floating around on the Internet message boards and it is so true. "Keep it on all 4 moving forward." That is truly good advice for any new racer.

Forget to put there transponders in before the race. Not knowing the sequence of events at the track.

put in the wrong batteries

too much speed for them to control making them crash every 2 seconds

they go buy a crappy car and try to drive fast and end up destroying their car. Oh for the beginners don't get an rc10 gt unless you know how to rewire receivers and servos

watching other drivers cars and not there own

not enough car preparation...no practice wheel time...fail to charge batteries properly...above all, during a heat, they fail to use track etiquette and stomp over others passing them thinking that raw speed will make the win. quite the opposite is true. I tell this to all beginners yet they still don't get it. some take so many heats to understand this. It causes bad will among other racers and a beginner will lose respect and never quite catch on.

they expect to win the race their first time out, they drive faster than they can handle

Miss their race

trying to go flat out around corners

No organisation, and rushing things. Getting nervous which in turn doesn't help the situation...

short on patience, more motor does NOT mean faster lap times!!

People are not standing (on the drivers stand they are hunched over) and not being alert when they are driving, People rush with their stuff, therefore they are nervous when they race, people yelling at other drivers, little things like that.

too much slip in the clutch, and servos not mounted/aligned correctly

I own a track and it is the veterans that make the mistake and fail to return their transponders. Beginners get this right away. :-)

The biggest mistake I've seen is they don't turn the corners as well.

Most beginners forget to remember to not bring all of their items from the house for racing competitions. I seen new people forget this thing to transmit original signal from their radio. In Japan we have not the people from this hobby and they are forgetful.

Beginners often try driving too fast and end up turning much slower lap times. The best approach to racing is consistent lap times and the main contributor to this is driving smooth and not wrecking. You'll often notice the guys winning races don't look the fastest because they are smooth. Work on driving at a medium pace without wrecking and the speed will come with time.

Probably marshall for a class that they cant do, like the big and fast E-MAXX's at Washtenaw R/C raceway in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and boy, I've done that and you need some experience in that field for the big/fast cars.

Going too fast and driving carelessly.

not bring extra parts known to fail, fail to glue new tires to rims, fail to charge glow starter, forget extra batts for rec and radio......much more ... biggest thing...fail to ask for help, thinking it would be a bother to the person...it never is with me....i enjoy helping new people to the hobby. ron p.

Some racers don't come prepared or make silly mistakes. In the last month alone I have seen people start a race with dead batteries and dump in the first minute, I have seen people lose their batteries in a crash because they were not strapped in. Another common mistake is people forget their transponders and don't get any laps at all. Be on time and organized and winning will follow.

They forget to glue their tires

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