Cool – you’ve prepped your cars, you’ve packed all your gear, time to just hit the track and gun it when the light turns green, right? Well, sort of, but there are some nuances to how the day’s event is run and it may be a bit confusing for a newbie. That’s OK though – you’ll find all the details here on what to expect from the time you first get your car ready for the track, to the last run across the finish line.
In this section you’ll find information on everything from getting registered, driver-stand etiquette, how qualifying works and what to expect during the mains – and everything else in between. We’ll also touch on marshalling a bit, but there’s a separate section all on that as well.
Before you can run on in a race – be it a club day or major event, you need to register all the cars you intend on running. To save time and add convenience, this can be done online prior to the event through the Online Entry link on this website. We encourage everyone to utilise this as it makes things run smoother on race day. The sooner we can get everyone registered, the sooner we can get racing. For major events, registrations will actually close prior to the race-day so you’ll have to do those online, in advance.
If you’re unable to register online for club days, though, no worries – you can do that when you get to the track in the morning. Please have this completed by 8:30am on club-days, otherwise we may not be able to fit you in that day. There are no day-of registrations for major events unless arranged with the club prior.
Payments can also be made online, or in person at the track during club-days.
Here’s a summary of what to expect for registration:
Practice on club-days is not a scheduled event, but will usually be available before the Drivers’ Meeting. This is dependent on track conditions, but we make every effort to allow some practice runs before the qualifying starts. Here are some tips to help you out during a practice session (or open-track, it’s not usually announced as a “practice session”).
Like in full-size racing, the Drivers’ Meeting is compulsory for ALL racers. This takes place as soon as registration is completed and we’re ready to start the day. The club President / committee will ask if there are any new racers, outline the race format for the day as well as any other information. If you are a new racer, make sure you are known to the committee and they will assign a buddy for the day.
The first race is usually 5 minutes after the drivers meeting, so make sure your car is prepared to go before the meeting commences.
A heat sheet will be posted before the first qualifying session. This shows the grid listings for qualifying and is printed just before the drivers meeting.
The Heat sheet will show:
While there’s nothing difficult about going up and down the drivers’ stand, there are a few things to keep in mind to make it more enjoyable and fair for everyone up on the stand. This section will discuss the process for entering the stand, etiquette while on the stand, and then exiting the stand.
While we think of driving our cars as “racing”, the “race” format actually is made of two events – Qualfying and Finals. In Qualifying, you race against the clock (there are still other cars on the track) to determine how you place in the Finals. In the Finals, then, is what most would understand to be a “race” – first one to finish the fastest wins. In this section, we’ll break down Qualifying and Finals. First, here are some more general details on the race format that you should understand.
As mentioned earlier, Qualifying is where you race against the clock to determine where you start in the Finals. The better your results here, and the closer to the front you’ll start. You’ll also be on the track with other cars, so you’ll still need to drive with traffic, just like in the finals. The one thing that trips up new racers fairly consistently, is how to start during qualifying. For information on that, and other details, check out the details below.
When most people think of “racing” they think of the heats in the Finals. Heads-up racing, driver against driver, first driver to get the most number of laps in a 5-minute heat wins. There are changes in the grid listings, so it’s important to take note of that, among other things, when it gets to the finals. This is for all the marbles, so here’s some helpful info to make the most of it when it counts.
