What do I need to know? To race at a club meeting, drivers must be a member of the sports governing body the BRCA.
1/10th on and off road car racing is a none contact sport, cars being powered by nicad batteries, cars being either 2 or 4 wheel drive. At SRCC, unless the racing is part of a club competition 2wd & 4wd are run as mixed heats.
The car is controlled by a 2 channel radio control set, operating steering and forward motion via an ESC (Electronic Speed Controller). As a point of interest, the majority of club racers do not have reverse, relying fully on forward motion and helpful marshals. Each car in a race operates on different radio frequency which enables each driver to have full control at all times.
What is a Marshall
As part of the rules of the sport, once you have driven your car in your heat, you must Marshall at the designated post for the drivers in the following heat. Remember when marshalling, these cars can travel in excess of 25mph and weigh over 1.5kg, if they hit you, they hurt. Also it is a requirement that all drivers "TAKE OFF THE POWER" when waiting for a Marshall and so if a car requires marshalling, wait until the wheels stop rotating.
Race meetings are organised into heats dependent upon ability and frequencies only. Each driver in the heats is competing agenst the clock for 5 minutes to achieve his best time over a given course. Starts for the heats are staggered at 1 second intervals so that usually, the driver has a clear track ahead and is not interfered with by other drivers.
The drivers lap times are recorded on a computer programme, each lap being logged as the car passes over a wire loop under the track surface which mark the finish line. The recording of the lap times is automated electronically by a mall "transponder" mounted on the cars's rear wing, this "bug" emits a signal continually which is picked up by the loop under the finish line and accurate race times are then known. Remember, to keep the race meeting running smoothly, make sure you return your transponder to race control immediately after you have completed your race.
After completion of the heats, usually 4, the drivers are seeded into final placing, the fastest 10 in the "A" final, the next 10 in the "B" final and so on. In the finals, all cars start at the same time and race against each other for the full 5 minutes, having been laid out on the track in "Grand Prix" fashion with the faster qualifiers at the front.
Drivers are rated by their ability on a grading scale of F1 (top drivers) to F4 (newcomers) and the computer programme on booking drivers into a meeting sorts the heats on ability so that similar drivers are qualifying together.
The next question is, how do I start and is it expensive? the bestway to find out about the sport is to visit a meeting, any member of the club will willingly give you information on starting racing and what equipment is required. The cheapest way of starting is to purchase second-hand, quite often there are members of this club or others who are buying a "new model of car" and their existing model can be purchased at a reasonable price.
Basic equipment needed is:
Car, Motor, Radio Control transmitter & receiver, ESC - electronic speed controller, Nicad batteries - 3 sets, Nicad battery charger
In addition to the above, there is a need for and understanding Dad, of Mum (to repair & clean the car) and you will have joined a group of people who get great enjoyment out of a participation sport.
By the way, there is no age rule on when you can start, we have drivers as young as 7 and over 50 when they started.
See you at the next meeting!