Welcome to Dunfermline District Radio Car Club
Your first nights racing……..What do I do?
Welcome to radio control car racing
This information sheet is to help the new and not so
new member to understand how the club is run.
Membership of our club costs £20 per year (payable in
November/December annually). This includes membership to the British Radio Car
Association (BRCA), which allows members to take part in organised race meetings, and covers you for 3rd party insurance.
"Insurance - Full third party insurance cover
when using your model car, providing you are acting in a responsible and legal
way, you are covered against a claim for damages which results from the
operation of your model car AT ALL TIMES and IN ALL PLACES."
We hope you will enjoy our sport. The following is a
list of DO's and DON'Ts, which will help you, understand what happens at the
club.
If you don't understand ASK, it doesn’t cost anything.
On arrival at the club:
Well you should be there between
Ready to go? Now book in:
Right away if possible, but no later than
Once you hear the announcement that the heats are up,
check what heat you are in, the number you are, and the crystal you have to
use. This information is shown either at the tuck shop, or on various laptops
around the hall. Get 1 race number from the tuck shop and stick this to your
shell so it can be seen, also fit the transponder (you will need an 8mm hole in
the shell) to your car the race before you are on. Almost there, when your race
is called switch on your transmitter then car. Put your car on the starting
line and stand on the stage. Listen for the start signal, when your car number
is announced……. you're off. GOOD LUCK.
On track:
Eight into one doesn’t go! Even with my brilliant
math’s skills I can understand that one…. You cannot always be in front every
corner every race. A major component of racing that many people seem to have
forgotten, or never known, is race craft. This is the art of racing close to
the car in front, working out a way to cleanly and safely make a passing move.
As you approach a slower car it is good practice to
watch out of the corner of your eye what they are doing, where they run wide,
where they are fast and where slow. If you cannot make a pass without smashing
either or both of your cars off the track then you are not in a position to
pass yet, you must wait and plan another move.
If you are being lapped or are slower than another car
during qualifying you should either blend wide at a corner to allow the faster
car to pass, hold your line and determine which side the faster car is going
and then back off so as not to unnecessarily contest a corner or call to the
other driver where to pass safely. This way the minimum time is lost for both
drivers.
Conversely when lapping you have no right to crash
into the slower car or swear at or verbally attack the other driver in any way
– that is unacceptable.
When the race is over switch off your car then the
transmitter. Return your transponder to the tuck shop and go back to the track
to marshal before the start of the next race. After the race you marshal is
finished, the rest of the night is yours. If you do have to marshal a car, get
to the car as quick as possible, fix the car (do not touch the wheels) and get
back to the side of the track to your marshal point as soon as possible. You
will normally get three heats plus a final.
Off track:
This is just as important as the on track behavior,
maybe even more so. This hobby lends itself to young kids as well as girls and
guys of all ages.
There are lots of kids and parents and spectators
around and therefore people should keep this in mind and act accordingly.
Simple things such as bad language, spitting, throwing rubbish and cigarette
butts on the ground and demeaning or abusing other people are an absolute
no-no.
You would think these concepts were so obvious, but
unfortunately I still occasionally see such examples and it is appalling. I
just wish I was the only one to see them but this isn’t the case
Finals!
After the heats and assuming your car has survived the
night, you can get ready for your last race of the night. Grading you into a
final is done by computer, which selects everyone's best time and places them
in order, with the fastest time (most laps in 5 minutes) at the top of the
list. This list is then split into groups, usually the same number, as there
were heats. When the final list is posted (back of stage), it is up to you to check
what car number and crystal frequency you require (you may have to change) for
your final. Get your new number if required from the tuck shop, as well as your
transponder the race before yours. When your final is called get ready as in the
heats. If you are not ready for the final, the race will
start without you.
On Track
Remember as well that during finals if you are being
lapped you should let the faster car through just like in qualifying.
Remember, when you finish your final, RETURN YOUR
TRANSPONDER, DON'T GO HOME WITH IT.
Racing Over?
Help us clean up and put the track away. Don't just
rush off home. Remember, the quicker it's all away, the quicker everyone gets
home. After the tracks away, everyone that helped gets their deposits returned,
or you can add it to your club fund. Once
you have enough money saved you can then purchase your own personal transponder
(at club discounted prices) for lap counting or anything else the club sells,
including membership.
Finally:
Please keep these things in mind when racing and
remind others that may have forgotten and the hobby and everybody’s race day
will so much more enjoyable for it.
ABOVE ALL, ENJOY YOURSELF, AND WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT
WEEK.