Little cars, big speed

IF you drive along McIvor Road in Strathdale on the first and third Sunday of the month, you’ll likely hear the buzz coming from remote control cars reaching top speeds.

The Bendigo On Road Radio Control Car Club holds regular race days and a club championship on its permanent track, just behind Strathdale Park.

With 70 members and eight classes of cars, the niche hobby club features fun for beginners right through to win-at-all-cost racers.

President Dean Smith said member numbers are strong after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve grown, we’ve probably more than doubled our numbers over the last two years,” he said. “A lot of people are looking for things to do.”

Mr Smith was just like anyone else driving past the track when he noticed the tiny cars zipping around the miniature speedway.

“I drove past one day when they were running, though that looks interesting, so I came down for a look and joined up straight away,” he said.

“We get so many people coming, they’ll pull up and watch. We get that all day, and a lot of people coming up and standing. Kids come in and watch, they love it. It’s quite a good spectator thing.”

Mr Smith said there’s a big focus on newcomers at the club, with junior programs for kids able to race cars straight off the toyshop shelf.

“There’s a real progression path,” he said. “We find people get in with the ready to run classes, they start out with that and then they want to go faster and faster and they go up the classes.

“We’re finding that a lot now, people that started in the beginner classes are now moving up.”

According to Mr Smith, BORRCC is the biggest club in Victoria. It will host its marquee event, the Bendigo Classic, in October.