Bendigo On Road Radio Control Car Club
powered by TidyHQRacing Etiquette and Safety
Racing Etiquette and Safety
Just some very friendly words of advice for experienced and non experienced racers alike..
In order to run a successful race day we need to ensure we follow a couple basic rules..
Safety First!
While you are racing please do not ever use reverse.. please find the option to disable it and have braking only. The reason being, if you reverse due to crashing, you can reverse across the track directly into oncoming traffic and damage your car and potentially someone else’s too. So please no reverse. Please wait for your car to be marshalled!
If you do happen to crash and you are marshalled and good to go again, please do not do so unless safe. This means you do not pull out directly into oncoming traffic. We all know the excitement of the race is great, just please be careful and mindful of your fellow racer.. part of race craft is also courtesy.
On the topic of marsalling, please all racers remember someone is picking your car up from you crashing. Don’t be in such a hurry to take off again before your car is back on the ground and the Marshall is out of harms way. We have children helping with this task and we do not want anyone getting hurt. Do not pull the trigger until the Marshall is out of harms way. Marshals should never attempt to pick up a car where the driver still has an active throttle with spinning wheels. So if you have flipped your car, please ensure you remove your finger from the trigger as a marshal, in the interests of their own safety, should not attempt to correct your car until the wheels are no longer in motion.
Gridding Up
To keep the day going smoothly, we ask people to follow direction from race control throughout the day on gridding up. There will not always be time for warm up laps and with the amount of people now on track it’s possible someone could be hurt during race intervals if some people are recovering their cars, so please follow race direction when asked to grid up.
Testing your car on the track from ground level is also frowned up, particularly if you are standing on the track! This is unsafe and unfair for all, so please place your car in the pitting area and head to the stand before doing any testing / preparation.
Racing
Please listen to Race Control carefully and follow instructions as directed. Race Control will indicate when race leaders are approaching you and it is your obligation to give way to anyone coming up to lap you. Having an awareness of the other cars on the track and where you sit within the field, is an important skill to learn irrespective of whether there is a Race Controller there to remind you or not.
It’s not always easy (especially for newcomers) to learn how to get out of the way of race leaders and to choose the right time and place to move aside and let them past. Provided you make a genuine effort to do so, your attitude will be acknowledged and appreciated irrespective of the outcome! The more experience you get, the better your abilities to do this seamlessly without impacting your own race. Eventually, you’ll be the one racers are making way for and you’ll appreciate the skill even more!
At completion of a race, be sure to continue all the way around the track and do not cut back in through the infield to get back to the pits. There may still be racers who have not yet finished and cutting through the infield can cause accidents and impact those still yet to cross the line. Additionally, don’t slow down and stop after the finish line for the same reasons. Continue around the back straight and ensure you are out of the way of any vehicles so you cannot inadvertently impact their race.
On the Drivers Stand
If you suffer a mechanical issue mid race and your car is out of action, you need to stay on the stand until the race completes. It is unfair on others still racing to have distractions whilst you attempt to shuffle past them in the middle of a race. Your car can wait. It’s not going to get any worse over the remainder of the race!
And finally, please ensure you stand back on the drivers stand and do not lean on or over the railing during a race. It makes it hard on other racers to see past you; especially kids! Please stand upright and ensure everyone has a full field of vision across the track.