Excellent hand-eye coordination will be needed this weekend to take the sharp hairpin turns of track laid out for the Scotty's RC 2019 RCRA Queensland EP On-road State Titles hosted by the Bundaberg and Gin Gin Radio Controlled Car Club.
The RCRA premier event will draw in people from all over Queensland and will see 40 racers take to the track with 80 radio-controlled vehicles in four classes: F1, tourer, trucks and 1/12th pan cars.
Bundaberg and Gin Gin RC Car Club president Paul Crook said it was a privilege to hold the three-day state event in Bundaberg and members had put in the hard work to make sure everything including the track was ready to go.
Club member Lance Eggerling said the club had spent the week preparing its home track at Daph Geddes Park which is the former netball courts in East Bundaberg.
The volunteers scrubbed and washed the track and added a light dusting of sugar to make sure the highly tuned cars kept a firm grip on the surface.
Paul said the track had recently been refurbished with a new outline of paint, and the club thanked the Council for allowing the use of grandstands, which were delivered free of charge by Harry’s Mowers.
Radio controlled racing is serious business
The planning to hold Scotty's RC 2019 RCRA Queensland EP On-road State Titles may have taken months, but the work behind the scenes has not stopped now the cars are on track.
Like any racing event there will be a team of support staff behind the scenes ensure the event goes off without a hitch.
From track marshals, to race stewards keeping an eye on the timing system there will be plenty to keep the volunteers busy.
“The cars are all computer timed and each vehicle runs its own lap time, and each car has its own chip or transponder which is picked up as it passes over the finish line,” Club member Scott Humberstone said.
“The cars will travel upwards of 70km/h and some would be pushing 100km/h!”
As the car cross the line a signal will be sent to a near-by computer, which is monitored by judges during the racing event and would allow individual car’s speed and time to be logged.
The cars weigh on average 1.3kgs and mostly made from scratch, although they can be purchased pre-built.
“For people who have been racing for a while, they know part of the excitement is actually building it,” Paul said.
“Knowing that you’ve done it yourself is a nice feeling.”
Club member Al Geddes said the appearance of the vehicles was just as important when it comes to competition and with the help from his wife Louise, his car was hot to trot!
“My wife paints my shells and she used an airbrush to paint this for these titles,” Al said.
“She cuts out the stencils and uses an airbrush, it helps you see them – when you get old like me it helps to see them on the track when they stand out!”
Radio controlled racing popular
Paul said people from all over the region would come to track at Kendalls Flat to take part in radio-controlled car racing.
“We have people who come in from Gin Gin and so we merged the two clubs a few years ago,” Paul said.
Scott travels from Gladstone to Bundaberg every fortnight to take part in the bi-weekly meetings and said it was a great group to be part of.
“Open practice will be held on Friday and competitors can come down and get use to the track,” Scott said.
“Saturday is qualifying, and Sunday is the finals, which is three runs.”
During each race, eight to 10 cars will take to the track for six to eight minutes to see who will be worthy of the state title.
The Scotty's RC 2019 RCRA Queensland EP Onroad State Titles will run 10am-4pm Friday, and 8am–5pm Saturday and Sunday at Daph Geddes Park .
- Radio Controlled Car Club displays at model Expo
