Track Spec's (indoor dirt track, 1/10th-1/16th)

[Karting]

Hey, im sure you get quite alot of these, quite often but im going to ask anyways.

I may be able to get use of a warehouse approx 150sqm in size (family own it but it empty atm).

Im looking at building a indoor dirt track for my 1/16th Off Road buggy's and possibly 1/10th (depending on size needed). My first plan is to build it for use for myself and friends but i could open it up in the distant future, depending on intrest.

(Bit about myself) I work in the building trade, so getting materials and actually building the track wont be a problem and i do have friends who run building merchants so materials can be cheap.

The questions i have are:

What is a good size track for 1/10th-1/16th (width/length) and could i get it in a 150sqm area.
What is the best type of dirt/clay combo to use.
Would there be intrest around the Heathrow area for a indoor track around summer/late summer time?

Once again this is all provisional that i actually get use of the unit.

Thanks :thumbsup:

[JCJC]

I think there would be interest around the Heathrow area, West London, there are indoor tracks & outside not far, Taplow, Farnham, Watford = a good body of racers in the area.

Tony Truman ran PDA in Bicester see: http://www.oople.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=93

or google Proline Dirt Arena to find youtube stuff. I am sure if you pm him (Teddy Truman) he can give you advice, I would be tempted to pm Lee Martin as well, helped set up PDA and dirt practice would appeal to him, he's just up the M4 (both busy this weekend at area 51)

Tyres on 10th would be proline hole shots or something American.
PDA was soil/clay damped down, not dusty and good to race on. DO IT:D

Edit: 'What is a good size track for 1/10th-1/16th (width/length) and could i get it in a 150sqm area' I think that's the question that needs looking at, difficult to visualise, track needs to be over 2meters wide, ideal 3 meters, spots for marshals etc

[Snowey]

That's an excellent idea.I work for a Demolition/Haulage contractor in London so could get hold of some cheap muck/Clay/dirt for you if you want!:thumbsup:

[Karting]

I think there would be interest around the Heathrow area, West London, there are indoor tracks & outside not far, Taplow, Farnham, Watford = a good body of racers in the area.

Tony Truman ran PDA in Bicester see: http://www.oople.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=93

or google Proline Dirt Arena to find youtube stuff. I am sure if you pm him (Teddy Truman) he can give you advice, I would be tempted to pm Lee Martin as well, helped set up PDA and dirt practice would appeal to him, he's just up the M4 (both busy this weekend at area 51)

Tyres on 10th would be proline hole shots or something American.
PDA was soil/clay damped down, not dusty and good to race on. DO IT:D

Edit: 'What is a good size track for 1/10th-1/16th (width/length) and could i get it in a 150sqm area' I think that's the question that needs looking at, difficult to visualise, track needs to be over 2meters wide, ideal 3 meters, spots for marshals etc

Thanks for the reply. Ill have to map it out at home and do a rough sketch. Do you know roughly how long the track has to be and i can start drawigs.

I always get to eager to quickly

[blue_pinky]

1:10th national tracks are about 35m long by 25m wide...as a rough average. Minimum track width is 2.5m I think, although someone maybe able to clarify that.

1:16th national tracks are about 24m x 12m wide but width depends on the space available. Minimum track width is 2m, although wider is better if you can fit it in.

I'm not from that area....but good luck!!! :thumbsup:

[Col]

Minimum 1/10 track width to be BRCA legal is 3m.

Don't forget you need a specific type of clay for a track... It's not cheap!

[Karting]

Minimum 1/10 track width to be BRCA legal is 3m.

Don't forget you need a specific type of clay for a track... It's not cheap!

Thanks guys, like i said orginally this is all going to be made for myself and friends to start with, majorr alterations could come at later dates.

Also thanks for the widths.

What clay is needed? i was tbh thinking of a compacted dirt track, with a dirt/clay mix for jumps and banks

[Col]

I've no idea.
Speak to the guys previously mentioned. As far as I'm aware they are the only people in the country to have done this.

[JCJC]

I am thinking you could 'blue peter' a quick model into a box with some damp soil/clay, give you a idea, bumps/jumps etc. Up the wall 'wall of death' can extend the track and not take up space.

Just knocking it up full size and running with friends is no problem, inviting drivers to a meeting has other considerations, parking and toilets, insurance, planning, and who knows what else.

[Snowey]

I can get hold of the purest of London clay dug from the many ongoing basements digs in central London.This would be the perfect material. I could definitively pull some strings to get it there for next to nothing. As long as there is head room to tip inside the warehouse because tipping outside and moving it in will add cost, the biggest expense then would be the mini diggers and labour needed to deal with it all and the eventual clearance cost when your Family decide they want the space back!

[Col]

This would be the perfect material.

Is this what they use all round the world for clay tracks?

[Karting]

Just knocking it up full size and running with friends is no problem, inviting drivers to a meeting has other considerations, parking and toilets, insurance, planning, and who knows what else.

Parking there is room for around 40 odd cars, toilets and electricity is there.

Insurance is still a grey area, but i believe that BRCA membership covers nearly everything there. So could only use the track with BRCA membership of if they sign a disclaimer

Everything else i will look into when needed

I can get hold of the purest of London clay dug from the many ongoing basements digs in central London.This would be the perfect material. I could definitively pull some strings to get it there for next to nothing. As long as there is head room to tip inside the warehouse because tipping outside and moving it in will add cost, the biggest expense then would be the mini diggers and labour needed to deal with it all and the eventual clearance cost when your Family decide they want the space back

Thanks i will bare you in mind if/when it ever comes together

[Snowey]

Is this what they use all round the world for clay tracks?

They will just use what ever is most commercially viable in their vicinity. There is no 'special RC track' grade.

[JCJC]

Trucks leaving from West London all the time heading for RC tracks in California full of clay hand crafted from under mansions by Polish artisans.

[RCDomination.com]

An indoor dirt track would do well. It seems you have a good location. It's a good idea to think this right through as doing it for your mates is great, but you don't want to put a lot of efffort in and find it's not suitable if you decide to hold bigger meetings. Probably the biggest thing is getting the right dirt. It has to have a good bit of clay in the dirt so it holds together, if it brakes up easily this would not be good. The clay Snowey is offering sounds good to me, if he is a contractor he would know what the clay/dirt is like he is offering you. But as most things, you won't know till you try it!

There are many racers here in the UK including all most all the top guys that would really want a indoor permanent dirt/clay track!!!

Good luck and keep us all in oOple land informed on your progreess!!!

Dc

[Karting]

An indoor dirt track would do well. It seems you have a good location. It's a good idea to think this right through as doing it for your mates is great, but you don't want to put a lot of efffort in and find it's not suitable if you decide to hold bigger meetings. Probably the biggest thing is getting the right dirt. It has to have a good bit of clay in the dirt so it holds together, if it brakes up easily this would not be good. The clay Snowey is offering sounds good to me, if he is a contractor he would know what the clay/dirt is like he is offering you. But as most things, you won't know till you try it!

There are many racers here in the UK including all most all the top guys that would really want a indoor permanent dirt/clay track!!!

Good luck and keep us all in oOple land informed on your progreess!!!

Dc

Thanks.

Well i work outside (im a garden fencer) so i can easily get my hands of small amounts of clay and dirt/topsoil so i can mock some stuff together to try and figure out mixtures. Damping down before races wont be a problem either as i could run a type of sprinkler system just from the indoor hose pipe points. (garden moveable sprinklers which wont soak but should in theory just damp it down.

Im going to speak to my family tonight or tomorrow night and mention the amount of intrest and ill also try and get exact measurements and pictures.

Getting ahead of myself, but if (not saying it will) becomes popular there is also a adjacent unit which is empty with just a stud wall in the way with a further 100sqm of space, so could potentionally (once again if it all works fine have 250sqm space which would be easily be enough)

[PTRU]

PDA was 500sq m
please read your PM
to build Nat type track it will be around 750 sq m

[Jamesk]

Happy to help if some is needed, i like the idea thats being proposed, a pictures of the warehouse so we can guage your concept and are there any shops/facilitys near by too?

jK

[Karting]

PDA was 500sq m
please read your PM
to build Nat type track it will be around 750 sq m

Ive got your pm and will reply to it later when im not on my phone can do some research into some of your advice.

Facilty's wise there is 1xpub 2xtescos 2xgarage 1xfishnchips within walking distance (notice i mentioned the pub first)

[sosidge]

150 sqm is small.

Assuming that is for the whole track area (and not to include pitting), and assuming it is a regular shape of 15x10m, you should be able to get a usable micro track in there, but it would be a very tight 10th track.

It wouldn't be up to BRCA national standard for 1/10th, no way near it. I don't know whether the micro section has track size rules. But there are clubs up and down the country that run on tracks that size week-in-week-out.

2m lanes are OK for 10th off-road, 2.4m is better.

Funnily enough someone sent me this link the other day - http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_8590909_build-indoor-rc-track.html - it is a guide do building an american-style indoor dirt track. Not sure how accurate it is.

PS Although a lot of people get excited about American style tracks, my gut feeling is that most UK racers actually prefer a good old UK-style multi-surface indoor track without all the big-air features (you couldn't have big air in 150sqm anyway). Its what all our cars and tyres and driving styles are suited to. It's probably cheaper to build and easier to remove as well.

[Karting]

150 sqm is small.

Assuming that is for the whole track area (and not to include pitting), and assuming it is a regular shape of 15x10m, you should be able to get a usable micro track in there, but it would be a very tight 10th track.

It wouldn't be up to BRCA national standard for 1/10th, no way near it. I don't know whether the micro section has track size rules. But there are clubs up and down the country that run on tracks that size week-in-week-out.

2m lanes are OK for 10th off-road, 2.4m is better.

Funnily enough someone sent me this link the other day - http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_8590909_build-indoor-rc-track.html - it is a guide do building an american-style indoor dirt track. Not sure how accurate it is.

PS Although a lot of people get excited about American style tracks, my gut feeling is that most UK racers actually prefer a good old UK-style multi-surface indoor track without all the big-air features (you couldn't have big air in 150sqm anyway). Its what all our cars and tyres and driving styles are suited to. It's probably cheaper to build and easier to remove as well.

150sqm is small, i agree but it would be nice to see and have a look, like i said i have no intention of running race nights atm more of a turn up and test/practise for a while. I also didnt plan for the big massive air jumps you see in america more flowing, technical than flat out and big.

Ive just been on the BRCA website and looked at the reg aswell

On the plus side, i have spoken to the family again and they have no problem with me doing this, but i must be aware that if a company wants to come in and rent the unit for business i will lose my place (unless i can nearly match the rent needed, which i understand because it is a business unit)

[Karting]

Hey guys. Ive been down to the unit again tonight and the good new's is that ive been given permission to do the circuit. Free of rent for the first few months whilst i set it up.

Here is some pictures:

The actual unit which im allowed to use. The room on the back right hand side can come down in the future, but not on my inital plan. Once that is down it will release another 35sqm worth of floor space. The vans from inside the unit should hopefully be moved by the weekend which means i can start on it then.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/samdimelow/9d2f2404.jpg

Here is a small section of what will be the pit area in the adjacent unit

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/samdimelow/701f7ffb.jpg

Rough Order of Works:

#1 Sweep and clean unit.
#2 Decide on a track layout.
#3 Start on track boarders (im going for a wooden border all the way around the circuit *6inch high, before dirt with higher parts where the track raises up).
#4 Fill with dirt/clay and start to shape jumps/banks, leave a 3inch boarder around the track as track markings.
#5 Start on pit tables and room.
and then proberly loads more ive not thought of yet.

Ive also started calling in favour's from friends about the materials and i can start to stock pile them soon. (dont worry snowey im still remembering your mention of the dirt/clay)