St Ives Radio Control Car Club

21/06/2026

Just a teminder to those that practice at the track. If you open the gates at race control, could you be kind enough to lock them back up again please. If it continues, a keyed padlock will be installed and they'll only be opened on race days. Please respect the facility like it was your own. Thank you 😊

13/06/2026

Well the forecast isn't great for tomorrow with fair to strong chance of some rain in the afternoon. But as these things can go either way at St Ives, we are planning to press ahead with the club day race meeting.
Rego will be from 8.15am. We will want to press on and get started to try to make the most of the day. Track may be damp with overnight dew so you may need some dirt pins for the first race. It will depend. Hopefully we can get some racing in before any serious rain issues. Hope to see you there.

09/06/2026

Well after no club racing at St Ives in May (we did at least get in a 12 hour vintage enduro), we are planning to resume club meets this coming Sunday.
There has already been interest expressed in getting the short course and stadium trucks out for a run.
Not sure if we can get enough Truggies out for the fastest of the truck classes to get a race of their own going (they are too fast to mix in with the short courses so we need at least 5 Truggies to start a race for them).
And I expect a lot of the usual 2wd and 4wd stock buggies to be out in numbers.
Hope to see you all there on Sunday

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21/05/2026

Not long now until the annual St Ives RCCC Vintage Off-Road 12hr. This year it will consist of 3x 4hr races.
Race 1 is for pre-1993 Vintage era cars,
Race 2 is for Classic and Outlaw era cars 1993-2010,
Race 3 is for Outlaw and a new class we run Evo-Modern 4wd buggies from 1999-2016.

Each team has a minimum of 4 drivers (max 6) who change over during pitstops and take turns racing for the 4hr duration of each race. The first race starts reasonably early in the morning with a dewy track, so conditions are generally quite slippery, with teams having to take care to preserve their cars to survive the race, the slower Tamiya Torque Tuned motor should make this a bit easier. Race 2 should see dry and fast track conditions combined with the 21.5 brushless motors it will be a super close and competitive race. Race 3 will see drivers competing not only against each other, but also battling a setting sun and the night air as teams race on into the night as the dew falls. The faster 17.5 brushless motor assigned to the third race will test car setup, team management and driver skill.

All teams must compete in all three races and the team with the least positional points is crowned the 2026 St Ives RCCC 12hr Off- Road champions.

Last year, teams raced the 12hrs over 4 races with a handicap, giving the teams finishing down the order a head-start to get some laps under their belt before the faster teams started, amid this, it wasn't just the drivers but the race time itself racing to beat the weather as a solid storm blew in and flooded the track. Drivers unperturbed by the explosion of rain and wind continued to battle it out and finish the race.

A lot of effort goes into the preparation of drivers cars with matching paint schemes and catchy team names. If you want to check out the fun and action, come to the track at St Ives Showground on the 30th of May.

21/05/2026

Reminder that unfortunately due to a council chemical clean up event taking over the main car park and surrounding space (including most of our pitting area) all of Saturday and Sunday, we wont be racing this weekend (23rd & 24th May). Access for practise may also be limited. I expect (but have no way of confirming) you will need to park on the dirt area just to the left as you enter the showground, and carry everything you need, across to the track. Saturday sounds wet. So may not be great anyway.
Hopefully we have clear skies and full access come June.

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15/05/2026

Reminder that we have a working bee this Sunday the 17th May. Will be starting early and trying to get as much done as possible.

Unfortunately we have been informed we wont be able to race a club day on Sunday the 24th May. The council has a Chemical Clean Up event and will be taking over the central car park. Access to the Showground will be restricted and we can't get access to the usual parking and pit area. This event is on both Saturday and Sunday.

So the next event will be the Vintage 12 Enduro. Sat the 30th May. This event is almost fully booked with 9 teams paid up. We can go to a max of 10 teams but if interested you will need to have your team and buggies in mind and get in touch with Takis ASAP.
Entries will close well before the 30th so all teams and members can be entered in the computer. It's a huge event to prepare for with logistics, lights etc so there is lots of pre race prep.

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09/05/2026

Reminder no racing tomorrow Sunday 10th. Mothers day. But....

Working bee Sunday 17th May. From 7am onwards. We will go well past midday as there is lots to do. A few of us were still there past 4pm last time. So a big window of time to come and help out even if for just an hour or so,
The track is really needing some major attention before we do another club day and then the vintage enduro.
So we are putting the call out for anyone and everyone who uses the track and facility, race days or other days, to come and help replace the major sections of carpet that are now torn and thread bare. Sections are not able to be used next club meet the wear has been so high in spots.
Bring old clothes and probably bring gloves especially if you don't want glue covered hands for a week later. I learn't the hard way last time so will be bringing gloves.
There is also jump sections to be rebuilt if we get enough people. And there are plenty of areas to be cleaned up if you can't cope with being on your hands and knees replacing carpet sections.
No particular skills required. Just a willingness to help keep the SIRCCC facility in top notch condition. The place is getting a lot of use with big attendance numbers on race days but also many people using the facility outside of race days. The club is putting the proceeds of our race days back into the facility but we need volunteers with the main track maintenance.

06/05/2026

Reminder that as it is Mothers Day this Sunday there is no club meeting at SIRCCC. Our next meeting will be Sunday the 24th May.

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02/05/2026

Last weeks racing report (thanks Paul J & AI). No idea how accurate it is. You let me know.The day was a blur of activity with 85 entries. So it makes for good reading for me. Thommo

St Ives RCCC Race Day Report — 26 April 2026
The club welcomed 53 competitors across five classes on a crisp autumn morning that warmed considerably through the afternoon. Morning qualifying heats began at 9:40 am under clear skies and 16.5°C with a brisk 23 km/h wind, while the afternoon finals benefited from milder conditions at 20.5°C and much lighter 6 km/h winds—a significant advantage for car control. The purpose-built carpet track at St Ives Showground delivered tight, competitive racing throughout the day.
2wd Stock
Sean Tilley proved near-impossible to beat, winning all three A-main races with commanding consistency. He claimed TQ honours with a blistering 21.004 second fastest lap in Heat 1, and carried that pace through to the finals where he set fastest laps in all three A-mains (21.307, 21.541, 21.438).
In A1-Main, Tilley led from lap 1 and crossed the line 0.571 seconds clear of Darren Thornton, with Martin Johnson taking third, 2.440 seconds back. Thornton and Johnson battled for second throughout, while fourth-place Allan Wong ran a lonely one-lap deficit.
A2-Main saw Tilley dominate again with a 3.516-second victory. Thornton held second as Rondy Chan and Michael Tay jockeyed for podium position—the gap between third and fourth was just 0.271 seconds before Tay's final-lap move elevated him past Chan into the bronze medal spot.
The third encounter proved closest: Tilley won by just 0.580 seconds from Thornton, with Michael Tay another 8.036 seconds adrift in third. Tanan Bantu and Ricky Spatino dominated the B-mains with contrasting victories. Bantu took B1 with a late-race pass of Spatino on lap 13, winning by 0.925 seconds after trailing through much of the race. Spatino turned the tables in B2, leading wire-to-wire for a clean victory, though Bantu's B3 win showed the pair's tight competitive level—Bantu capitalised on Spatino's lap-12 mistake to claim a thrilling 0.068-second victory.
David Niven swept the C-class, winning all three mains. His first victory came over Takis Pallas by over one lap, while C2 saw him emerge from an intense four-way battle on lap 5 to build a gap. C3 required a late pass: Takis Pallas led from lap 3 until lap 13, when Niven reclaimed the lead with a decisive move to win by 5.472 seconds.
Truggy
David Niven's dominance extended to Truggy, where he claimed all three A-main wins. His A1 victory was characterised by a thrilling lap-9 loss of the lead to Oscar McQueen, who punished a Niven mistake. McQueen held the advantage until lap 13, when Niven capitalised on his own error recovery to retake the lead and cross 0.630 seconds clear.
A2 proved more controlled: Niven led from lap 1 and managed a 0.398-second gap to McQueen at the flag, despite Oscar improving positions 2–4 in the closing stages. A3 saw McQueen lead through lap 10 before Niven's lap-11 tactical move—again capitalising on McQueen's mistake—sealed his third consecutive win.
Vintage
Devon Middleditch and George Wee split the Vintage A-mains in a closely matched contest. Middleditch won A1 by 0.399 seconds over Wee in a race where the lead swapped early but settled by mid-distance. Wee reversed the result in A2, taking the lead from Middleditch on lap 4 and holding through the field to win by 0.365 seconds. Middleditch reasserted control in A3, though not before Wayne O'Young led laps 7–9. Middleditch's lap-11 recovery move (capitalising on O'Young's mistake) proved decisive as he crossed the line with comfortable daylight ahead.
4wd Stock
Sean Tilley earned a second-class title with two A-main victories. His A1 win involved a dramatic swing: Michael Martinez led laps 4–11, then Darren Thornton took over lap 12, but Tilley seized the moment on lap 13 with a 0.594-second margin at the flag. A2 saw him dominate from lap 1, leading every lap and stretching a 13.684-second margin over John Goodwill by race's end.
A3 delivered the day's closest finish: Goodwill and Tilley traded the lead multiple times. Goodwill started strongly but Tilley took over on lap 7. The pendulum swung again on lap 11 when Goodwill capitalised on a Tilley error to reclaim the lead and hold on by just 0.227 seconds—Tilley's first A-main loss of the day.
The B-class delivered compelling racing. Rondy Chan won B1 with a lap-11 pass of early leader Cam Tilley (0.925 seconds), while Cam Tilley took B2 wire-to-wire. B3 saw Cam Tilley and Scott Johnston trade the lead early, with Johnston briefly leading lap 2, before Cam reasserted control from lap 4 onward for his second consecutive B-main victory.
21.5 Vintage
Dean Blaxall controlled A1 and A2, winning both with relative ease—the first over Michael Toms (one lap down) and the second over Bradd Vercoe (one lap down). A3 proved significantly tighter: Bradd Vercoe took the lead from Blaxall on lap 7 and held through lap 13 to win by just 0.187 seconds in a thrilling final round.
Thomas Armstrong won the B1-main with a controlled performance, leading every lap. Wayne O'Young claimed B2 after a back-and-forth battle in the opening stages, settling into first by lap 2 and managing competitors throughout to secure the win.

27/04/2026

Thanks to everyone who came along to SIRCCC yesterday. 85 entries so a lot to get through.
Reminder that the next planned race meet will fall on Mothers Day so with many of the committee unavailable we wont be racing.

Additionally i want to remind people to have shock tower protector and either gaffer tape or a chassis protector stick on sheet on the underside of your buggies and trucks. Both are mainly to protect the tracks racing surface.
After racing finished and while we were packing up someone ran a buggy or truck with a screw hanging down. It doesn't have to be much below the chassis surface to do a lot of damage.
After we had packed up it was noted that there were more than 20 holes torn in the carpet on the racing line and esp. where the suspension compresses and the chassis bottoms out.

This will mean we need a working bee and 1-2 rolls of carpet to bring the track up to spec.
At about $1000 for a 10m x 2.2m roll, track surface repairs are very costly.
But some shock tower protectors (cheap options available on internet) and a roll of tape and frequent checks of your rc vehicles is a simple and cheap and very helpful way everyone can help the c;ib out in maintaining a top quality racing surface