How Saint John's remote-control racing enthusiasts put their skills to the test

Remote-control car enthusiasts gathered in a Saint John school gym on Sunday to put their racing skills to the test.

About a dozen racers laid out the track in the Lakewood Heights School gym. Organizer Gregg Lawton said he has been conducting races at the gym since 2010. He is one of the directors at the Saint John R/C Racing Club.

He said the club conducts both indoor and outdoor races, depending on the season. Outdoor races are done on dirt tracks.

"There's different obstacles on the [dirt] track, where this carpet track is just flat," he said.

Lawton began racing in 1989, making him a veteran of the sport.

He also organizes a monthly trophy race outside of the Saint John club, where racers from across the Maritimes compete, he said.

He said the Saint John space offers racers a platform to up-skill to compete at a national level.

"The things that we do help prepare you to race at a very-high level, if you want to."

He said his club lays a different layout each week for racers to practice, race directions are also switched to allow participants adapt to a new racing environment.

"If we go to a new location that's a different layout, we can learn that very quickly."

"That's one of the things that we do to help prepare people to be a travelling racer," he said. 

Lawton welcomed people to get involved with their local racing clubs.

Veteran racer Kyle McKinnon has been a hobbyist for more than 40 years. He said buying a full car collection to race in multiple classes can cost up to $10,000.

One of the basic, entry-level cars racing on Sunday was about $310, while some of the higher end ones cost about $300 to $1,000 just for the bare chassis, said McKinnon.

He said the equipment and modification on the cars keeps getting expensive as people level-up. 

"You could be spending $3,000 to race one class, and some of these guys are racing multiple classes of not affordable cars," he said.

McKinnon has competed in races in Ontario, Quebec, and across the Maritimes. He does it because it is the closest thing to real car racing, he said. 

"If you crash you're not injured," he joked.

He said if someone is mechanically inclined, these small remote-controlled vehicles also require oil changes and tire adjustments.

"There's a lot of guys that have come from those areas, either as mechanics or past drivers, to do this with us."