Juanchoyo

Hi guys, well I may get a good parking lot space and Im planning to make a track right there, mainly for Minis (27T) and maybe electric TC w/ 10.5... Actually we're 5 drivers who would start the thing. Im kinda leader in there so I need to know about your experiences in creating a track, Im thinking of getting it painted to be a permament track, what else no I need???

And after that I must know how to organize a race, its not so hard but any comments are aprecciated, also what Lap Counting System should I get, good but cheap, and how much would it cost?

Thanks a lot guys, any help is highly aprecciated

tallyrc

iTrader: (12)

baby steps at first. get a solid commitment from the folks that control the parkinglot so you can stay and run races for a long, regular period of time. if your forced to move 2 months into racing as new places are hard to come by, your hosed.. pick a day and time to race, AND STICK TO IT... do you have a budget for track materials? 2" PVC is pricey stuff, but there are alternatives that work well enough.. personally i'd get together and fun run a few times before i dumped a ton into a lap timing system, not to mention i think MRT may be developing a lower cost alternative to AMB but not sure...

Juanchoyo

Yeah, thanks and what would be the cheapest alternative to PVC??

tallyrc

iTrader: (12)

i've raced around everything from garden hoses and 1" PVC to 4" thinwall sewer pipe cut in half (forms a nice little half-round dome divider..) we started one club running around orange cones we got from wally world and corrugated black drainage pipe..

cyrrus

iTrader: (5)

a good alternative to pvc piping is go to your local fire hall. they useally have old hoses that are no longer any good. grab them and fill them with sand. makes great track bearier and easy on the cars.

I know Ko propo has a decent price lap counting system. Also register your club as non profit. then Ko propo might sponsor you guy's this has happened to a club down east that race 18th scale indoors.

another thing is find a location that has good public view. this will help recrute new members.

tc3team

Get an easier rather than too technical track layout put out to start with, tapping a board and breaking first meeting out won't feel too good.... Make trake markers as soft/freindly as possible (as said hoses are good, unless you go over them!)

Once you've settled down get the track a little more challenging

Dan the Man

iTrader: (41)

If you need basic lap counting, without electronic timing, grab some coloured tape, a board, a stopwatch, and nail 10 of these http://www.tallycounterstore.com/han...counter_1.html to the board. Assign each clicker a colour.

Give each car a coloured tape flag on the antenna tube. Everytime it crosses the line give the corresponding clicker one click.

Maybe a bit ghetto for some, but it works... as long as you remember to click

Juanchoyo

Thanks guys for your help. Now i sent an email to the parking owners but they want to give 'em a call.... Now how can I convince them to lend me the site for free??? I know they can its like a huge ... huge... huge sports and recreatve center property of an entity .... How do you ask for those permissions???

timmay70

iTrader: (5)

For a bunch of friends getting together to race, I'd just tell them that you and friends are looking for a safe place to race cars, and decided to get landowner's permission instead of just trespassing and getting kicked out or getting the land owner mad. Best thing to do is to invite the owner to see what you have in mind if/when you get to meet up (bring the cars to show/demo). Perhaps you will have your first 'outside' club member join.

Ensure that you plan to have a strict carry in, carry out policy regarding trash and other debris. And to further sell the plan, tell him that you will be sweeping that part of the parking lot before each use, and score a gas yardblower from someone. Always be super courteous and keep foul language in check, you're trying to sell an idea. If they require insurance, get everyone to become ROAR members, and have someone register the club ($35) with ROAR. Now you and your club has insurance. I'd do that ahead of time and use it as a selling point.

chicagokenji

We started our track in a parking lot, last year, with about 8-10 guys showing up and used swimmie noodles and just 3/4 inch PVC:

http://pages.ripco.net/~kenji/strict...hotos/may2007/

You could also just use dollar store dinner plates turned upside down. Paint them safety orange and use silicone sealant on the rim of them and let it dry overnight. this keeps the plates from skidding when tapped.

A year before the above photos above I got a 65 dollar used laptop from Craigslist and installed LapsFree on it to count laps by hand. It worked great. You can also just put hash marks on a piece of paper. Of course this means one person has to be seated and not race......

An inexpensive lap counting hardware:

http://www.rclapcounter.com

Use it with Alycat software (http://www.alycat.com) and even the race director can race without having to man a computer because there is voice synthesis calling the races.

Do what ever you need to just race and keep everyone coming every week. Once you have a regular event planned get the word out to any and all hobbyshops to let them know you are holding a regular event. Find a forum here that's in your region and get the word out there too.

Feel free to email me if you need any firsthand advice. I started exactly where you are at a few years ago and our program has now grown to about 25 guys regularly showing up every Sunday, and that's just electric only racing. We can't run nitro because our outdoor track is in a residential area.

The Bear

iTrader: (13)

GREAT start and +1.

also, if you can bring people to a business,,,, it doesn't usually hurt. A sports and rec. business could benefit from Dads working out while the kids race..... just a thought

weekend camper

iTrader: (1)

Cyrrus already mentioned the firehose barrier, works great and allows you to change track layout at will. Most guys would rather move 4 25' lengths than one 100' length ...


The other tip is to avoid splitting the drivers up into many classes, have one or two (your 1/18th and TC for example) classes and maybe one "experiment" class but no more ...

Juanchoyo

Wow thanks for the advise guys, later Im gonna call 'em to talk about it and depending on what they say get my buddies at the track to some exhibitions lol
Thanks...

tc3team

A few track layouts, should you need any inspiration.....

http://www.tamiya.com/japan/rc/circuit/sketch_ikeda.gif

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...ldbigtrack.jpg

http://www.waigohobby.com/race/2005r...race_track.gif

All the best!