4th annual Carpet Classic draws more than 100 RC racers
IMPERIAL — Radio-control racing enthusiasts from a range of locales in Southern California and the Desert Southwest did their best on Saturday and Sunday to set the carpet-covered track at Ricochet R/C Raceway ablaze during the 4th annual Pro-Line Carpet Classic.
More than 100 competitors turned up from homes as far away as Las Vegas and Phoenix to test their radio-controlled trucks and buggies at speeds in the neighborhood of 35 miles per hour on a track that is gaining a reputation as being one of the region’s finest.
Ricochet R/C Raceway owner Joel Gonzalez said it is the biggest carpeted indoor track in Southern California.
Certainly, Jayson Soyko, a competitor from Scottsdale, Ariz., was impressed. “I’ve had nothing but a blast here,” he said. “I don’t want to leave.”
Soyko first got involved with RC racing as a kid in the early 1990s before his interests turned to other high-adrenaline pursuits such as midget cars and mixed martial arts. He said a thyroid cancer scare thwarted his opportunity to make it to the ranks of a UFC fighter, but he still craved excitement, which brought him back to his boyhood hobby.
While the term “hobby” is correct, it’s also a bit misleading. There are frequently sponsored RC racers at these bigger events, and things can get a bit testy at times down at the track, Gonzalez said.
And there’s some expense
involved. An RC car on the low end costs about $500 to $600. On high end, they’re closer to $1,500.
It was Gonzalez’s friend Danny Tomboc, a teacher at Brawley Union High School, who first introduced him to RC racing a couple of years ago, and it didn’t take him long to get hooked.
“The next thing I know, I own a hobby shop,” said Gonzalez, who also owns Desert RV Service in Brawley.
As for Tomboc, who had three cars entered in this weekend’s event, RC racing is “good competitive fun.”
Tomboc is in charge of BUHS’ Renaissance Program, an alternative education program for atrisk students. About once a month he brings a group of about 15 to 20 students to Ricochet to run RC cars. He said there are a lot of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education lessons that can be gained from the cars.
“It’s all there,” he said. “It’s all in the cars.”
This weekend’s Carpet Classic consisted of nine competition categories, divided by model type and operator experience. Less experienced racers participated in “sportsman” class events, while the top racers squared off in “expert” class events. There was also a kids division, consisting of eight participants.
A series of 45 preliminary races were run Saturday, with an additional 24 “main event” races following on Sunday.
The top prize for the winners in the expert and sportsman categories was a custom trophy designed by three event sponsors: RFM.Fab, of Holtville; Desert RV, and Mad Graphix, of Imperial.
The only money prize, $120, was awarded in the kids division, which Gonzalez said was done to encourage more kids to take up the hobby.
Ricochet R/C Racing holds regular races every Wednesday night from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Cost is $20 for the entire session, and rentals are available for those who don’t own their own RC vehicle.