I love it when a can of worms is opened...
I've run many clubs over my 30+ years of racing RC cars. This is an issue that every club up and down the country will have experienced at some point, it comes with the territory. Having said all that, my personal thoughts, and they are my thoughts, not club rules I must add are:
- Racing is meant to be fun for all
- If 2 or more drivers are on the same lap and fighting for position then NO ONE gives way - you ALL compete fairly
- If you are following behind a car (both on same lap) and heading into a corner, YOU MUST expect the driver in front to close off any gap on the racing line - therefore the chasing car has to go the long way round - remember that if there is no space - 2 cars into 1 never works!
- Be patient, hounding a car can cause the other driver into an error that then gives you that opportunity to pass - I personally prefer to chase than be chased as the pressure of having someone chasing puts pressure on me
- If you tap another driver that causes them to spin, you should STOP and wait for them to pass you before you proceed - remember, if you had not tapped them in the first place, your race would not have been impacted
- If you know you are about to be lapped, just call "inside" on the rostrum so the driver of the car about to lap you hears you and then you take a wider line into the corner without slowing down and they can then nip through
- If you are the driver doing the lapping, do it clean, smooth and be prepared for the unexpected and remember that if you are racing on a track where there are tight corners and wider ones, hold back and wait for the wider corner to make the move when you both have more space
- Remember this is a hobby that we all do for fun - there is no financial gain if you win so it's not the end of the world if you lose. I used to love being beaten by Jonathan when we raced TCs together - sounds strange but the challenge for me was to improve my racing lines so as not to drop many laps behind him in a heat or final, getting within 1 lap of him after 5 minutes was more enjoyable than winning a final when he was not there - it's all about personal goals and targets
- Revenge is not something that belongs at club level, or any level of racing for that matter, so if you do get knocked off, don't do the same back to them as it achieves nothing but agro on and off track (Mr Hamilton knows about that!)
- For Touring Cars: If you crash on your own, and the car can't be driven forward then wait for a marshal to put you back on - revving the motor
does no one any favours and just annoys the marshals who SHOULD leave the car alone until the wheels stop spinning
- For Mardave Cars: As you can reverse, please look before doing so to check it's safe to reverse and try your level best to reverse when there is a gap (I got it all wrong tonight and reversed out into the path of Graham, have been ill all day but that's no excuse really - I apologised to him and he was fine with it - just one of those things )
- Lead by example and watch how others race. Maz tonight showed how in the TC heat how to do it - sitting behind close, putting pressure on the cars ahead and when the gap was there, he had the pass done, quick and smooth. It's a joy to watch him race his car - kind of like when Jonathan used to race with us.
- All clubs try their best to ensure drivers of equal ability race against each other, but at times you might find yourself racing with drivers of lower or higher ability than yourself - so make allowances for that.
- Try also to become more aware of the drivers in your heat and where they are in relation to you in the race. It's not too difficult to do with practice
At the end of the day we all have our off days, and as most would agree it's all meant to be for fun - yes we can all have those moments when in the heat of battle the red mist comes down - but as soon as the race is over we should all remember why we do this at club level.
If you are really into this hobby in a big way and want to step up a level, then as members of the BRCA you can enter regional events and national ones, but be warned, at BRCA santioned events the rules are more strict
and you might just come back and realise why club racing is so much fun
To summarise, always remember the P's
- Be POLITE to other drivers on track
- Be PATIENT when following other cars on track
- and finally... PRACTICE