Your First Trip to the Track

Headed to the track for the first time?

    So you’re planning your first trip to an RC drift track. It can be a bit intimidating going from practicing drifting in your house or in your garage to an actual RC drift track but learning at your local track around other well-seasoned drivers is arguably the best and fastest way to become a better driver yourself. Before heading out, I’ll explain a few things to know for your first trip to your local track.

Track Rules and Spec Tires

    Each track will usually have a set of rules. This is to protect the track and all drivers using it. Some of these rules are universal among any track but check your local track’s rules for any specifics. These rules most likely include:

• Must be RWD Only. Most serious RC drift tracks these days only allow rear wheel drive cars. Make sure you have a rear wheel drive chassis before you head out to your local track.

• Call Outs: “Call out ‘Sweeper’, ‘Hairpin’, ‘Straight’ depending what part of the track you spin/crash at. You may also have to call out ‘Man on Track’ if you need to step on the track to retrieve your car or ‘Lipo’ if your battery dies in front of other drivers.” It is important that you call these out loud enough for other drivers to hear as there may be loud RC cars/music going on and other drivers behind you will need to hear callouts before they reach you to avoid crashing. Drivers are typically focused on their cars only and cannot look ahead to see if you are stopped on the track ahead of them.

• Charging in a Lipo-safe bag. This is important for the safety of the building, the other drivers and their equipment. Lipo fires are rare but they can happen so charging in a Lipo-safe bag can help to contain a fire long enough to reach a proper fire extinguisher in the event of a battery fire. 

• “Follow the flow of traffic and being mindful of other driver’s lines of sight.” Not driving backwards on an active track may be a no brainer but I have seen plenty of people drive backwards on the track to try to pull their car off without paying attention to the flow of the rest of the cars driving, only to crash head on with someone driving the right way.

• “Be mindful of other cars that are actively driving the track and their drivers. If necessary, walk behind other drivers instead of in front of them” If you have to walk in front of someone driving, try to walk fast or duck under their line of sight while walking past. The little time that you walk in front of someone while they're driving could cause them to crash their car and possibly other drivers in the process. 

• Use the track spec tire

Spec Tires

    Each track usually has a spec tire depending on their surface that you must use to drive on their track. This is to ensure an even grip level among all drivers and to protect the condition of the track surface. Even two tracks with the same surface may have different spec tires so check with your local track to find out their spec tire beforehand and please respect their spec tire choice. Spec tires for each track can typically be purchased at the track if you do not already have complying tires. 

Arriving at the Track

    Once you’re finally ready to hit the track, check in at the front. Pretty much all tracks will have a fee that you must pay before getting on the track where they will also make sure your car is on their spec tire and abiding by any other chassis-specific rules. After that, you can set your stuff up at a pit space.

Pit Space

    Each track will have some allotted pit space for you to set up your belongings. It is respectful to not spread your stuff out beyond an area that you really need. Three people should be more than able to fit on our 8 foot tables. Pack what you need and try not to bring every single RC part you own. You more than likely will not need all of it if you’re out for a single day at the track. If you do have a big bag with all your stuff, keeping what you need out and the rest packed away under the table can help keep your pit space neat and to a minimum.

    There may be a dedicated charging station at your track where you can set your battery charger up at or there may be outlets by the individual pit spaces that you can use. Remember to use those Lipo-safe charging bags.

Getting on the Track

    You’re finally ready to take your car and start driving on the track. Before you set your car down on the track, watch for other cars driving by first. I have seen people set their cars down right in front of a line of people driving before. Some tracks will have a safe area somewhere near where the drivers stand to put your car down and drive into the flow of traffic. That would be the best place to put your car down but if not, just watch for any drivers coming towards you before you set your car down on the track. 

Judging Your Own Skill Level

    Some new drivers are anxious to start driving with other drivers way beyond their skill level right away. Driving with people whose driving level is higher than yours on their own home track is a great way to level your own driving up by being able to follow someone driving the proper line of the track and being able to judge their car's speed against yours but be careful not to interrupt their line. Most beginners have not yet learned the handling characteristics of their car yet and I have seen many beginners try to chase better drivers and lunge straight into them trying to straighten out to keep up. Jumping behind a better driver isn't all bad. Just try to keep your distance a bit until you're comfortable with how your car will drive. Don't worry about proximity too much and respect their driving and their line. You're just starting out so don't worry about keeping up with the top drivers right out of the gate.

    One thing that can be frowned upon though is a slower car hopping in front of other people drifting. Beginner drivers should try to recognize their skill level and car speed before driving with others of a higher skill level and jumping in front of a train of cars when you know you can't keep up with the pack can cause everyone behind you to have to slow down or crash because of it. If you are a beginner and find yourself at the front of the train and aren't comfortable with it, just keep driving until you get to a safe place to pull off the track and pull off. Most veteran drivers are used to driving with and around beginners if they have to but one thing you should avoid doing is stopping right in the middle of the track to let people pass you. I have seen people guilty of this a few times before and it can cause crashes too. It's best to just keep driving until there's a safe place to pull off even if you're slower than everyone else.

Calling Out Those Crashes

    Don't forget those call-outs too! This is probably the most important thing to try to pick up as soon as you can as a beginner. After you start driving for a while you'll probably gain the skill of being able to see crashes or people stopped ahead of you in your periphery as you're driving but many people get laser focused on their car when they drive so it's hard for them to see cars stopped in front of them. The previously mentioned call-outs are very important to inform drivers behind you that you are stopped on track so they don't plow into you at full speed. It's also important to make these call-outs loud enough so that everyone can hear you and to keep making those call-outs until either you are clear from the track or all incoming cars are past you.

Final Words

    With all that said, don't be afraid to take your RC drifting from inside your house or your shop to out to a real track near you. Your local track is filled with people that can offer you great insight on how you can better your own driving as well as car and electronics setup advice. Most “pro” drivers don’t mind driving with beginners on track as long as everyone’s following the rules. Everyone wants to drive with good drivers. It makes the hobby more enjoyable for everyone and everyone's driving starts somewhere so don't be afraid to start at your local track surrounded by other people who know what they're doing and don't be afraid to ask for help. The more we keep you beginners in the dark, the harder it is for us to drive around you so we'll help you to drive with us instead of against us. Hope to see you on the track soon! 

- Mitch