Radio controlled cars to battle it out at national championships

ABOUT 50 radio controlled cars will take the starting line at the Geelong Motor Sports Complex next week for the 2024 RCRA Large Scale Off Road National Titles.

Hosted by Geelong RC Offroaders, the competition will take place across four days from October 31 until November 3.

Competitors will race 1/5 scale radio controlled cars, powered by two-stroke petrol engines.

Geelong RC Offroaders committee member Michael Drummond said the competition was broken up into four classes of racing, with each class having its own set of guidelines.

“Some people will be entering more than once so it’s estimated about 40 drivers will be coming, predominantly from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, with a couple from Western Australia coming over to visit,” he said.

Each classification is broken down into qualifying heats, with five qualifying heats, generally running for about 10 minutes.

The finals, to be held on November 3, run for 30 minutes with the competitor who completes the most laps of the course in that time crowned the winner.

Mr Drummond said the 4WD EFRA race was one of the highlights of the event.

“All the races and the cars are very competitive, but that would be the marquee event,” he said.

The nationals are offered to different states each year and are usually run in Queensland, New South Wales or Victoria.

Mr Drummond said a lot of work had been put in at the complex in the leadup to the event.

“Some die-hard people have put a lot of effort into the track to get it up to scratch with maintenance and a lot of track refurbishment to prepare it for the event,” he said.

Spectators are welcome to attend the event, which normally attracts between 50 and 100 visitors on finals day.

For more information, head to rcra.org.au.