Tips for Improving Your Comp Results

While judging at the last NBRCC Comp (March, 2010) I was paying close attention to each driver and their rig as they headed through my course. It was awesome to see so many drivers who have made improvements over the season, both in driving technique and rig set-up. But, there were also a few drivers who seem stuck in a rut, unable to improve and repeating the same mistakes ....

Well, that made me think about writing an article on a few tips for Comp crawling. I hope this helps some of the newer drivers and some who might be a little stuck ...

Tips for Improving Your Comp Results:

1) Reverses. Make them count! There's no penalty for the distance you reverse, so be sure to use all the real-estate you need. DO NOT back up 4 inches and attack the obstacle again. Use some ground and make sure you're lined up just the way you need to be.

Also, I've seen too many drivers take reverses too lightly. If you're in it to win it, then every penalty point counts! Especially these days, where the top guys are cleaning courses with a perfect scores! Try to plan ahead and do not force a bad line. Bail out early if need be, dig around in a big circle and line up better the 2nd time. But, do not take the reverse penalties lightly, they add up too fast!

2) At the comp, spend time watching other drivers, the lines they choose, and the way their rigs perform. Each course has an intended flow by the course designer. But, these days, many drivers are thinking outside the box, out foxing the designers by finding alternate routes. Pay attention!

3) Concentrate on finishing courses. The old race saying "To finish first, first you must finish" also holds true in rock crawling. If you're still learning how to comp crawl, you #1 goal should be finishing all the courses. Do not be so worried about your points, although points are always something to keep in mind, just work on completing all 3 courses.

4) Know what your rig will do and what it won't. With practice time (see #5 & #6), you should have a good grasp on what your rig does on the rocks. You should know that obstacles your rig handles without drama and what obstacles it struggles on. With this knowledge, you will have a better understanding of how to attack the course, where on the course you need to think about bailing, taking a gate, etc ... Do not flog your rig over an obstacle that you should have known ahead of time that it will not do.

5) Practice, practice, practice. They say "practice makes perfect", and crawling is no exception. But, it's how you practice that's important for comp crawling. Bring some gate markers and build two or more courses. Bring a stop watch and, if possible, a friend to keep score. Setup the courses and make them tough. Do not just set the markers around lines you know you can do. Challenge yourself.

Once the courses are set up, take your time to walk the first one. Plan your lines through the whole course. Imagine where you will turn, dig, how and where you will place the tires on the rocks. Once you have a good game plan, hit the course with your rig and try to make it through the whole course just like you would in a comp. Make every penalty count, do not take them lightly.

When you're finished. Think about the run and then go back and retry the obstacles that gave you troubles. Try some different lines, or different techniques, but only hit them a few times each. Then move on and repeat all the above for course #2.

When course #2 is all done (and course #3 if you set-up that many) throw in a fresh battery and hit all the courses back to back just like it was comp time. You should see a quicker time, lower score, and more confidence through the courses this time. After that, you're done!

6) Tune that rig. Same idea as driving practice, but this time you're out there to test and tune the rig. Bring along tools, a notepad and pen, towel (for a work mat) tires, etc ... Set up a few gate markers around some challenging (be doable) obstacles. Include a climb, a descent, side hill, holes, etc .. Run them a few times with your current set up and make a note of how the rig handled and any special driving that was needed.

Make one change at a time and repeat driving the obstacles and noting how the rig felt and what you needed to do as a driver. By changing only one thing at a time, it's easy to go back to where you started and you know exactly what each change accomplished.

Well then, there you have it. A few quick tips on how to improve at your next comp. If you have any questions or feedback, please shoot me an e-mail: [email protected]