Hub City RC (HCRC) is a new onroad race club in Moncton dedicated to indoor onroad carpet racing. The first race in the new facility, at Moncton Lions Club, 55 Mark Ave, was held August 2nd 2020. The racing is organized by Kevin Leblanc and Steve Frost, who negotiated the safe return of the indoor Ozite carpet and Trackmate timing system from Freedom Hobbies before they closed.
The first night focused on getting the timing and counting system set up and working properly, and then the racers proceeded to run some qualifiers and finals on the track. We grouped the 9 racers who arrived on the first night into 2 heats of 4 and 5 racers of touring cars. The touring cars switched to foam tires and the racers were getting laps under 6 seconds. In the 7 minute final one racer ran 70 laps, which was an incredible feet of driving ability and focus. But, unfortunately the lap counter was set to the fastest lap to determine the winner and not most laps, so it ended up that Gordon Mercer from the Saint John RC club was the nights winner with a 5.4 second lap! (Which was an incredible feat of driving ability and focus). The timing system has since been updated for a more traditional style of the racer with the most laps is the winner for the next race, but it was good fun to discover the setting. Racing was relaxed and low key, which is a great attitude to have in club racing!
The track proved to be a good challenge, but we noted some improvements that will be made, such as re-arranging the layout to have a straight, and to lengthen the track for a longer surface. The Ozite carpet is from the original club, which has held up well over the years. The carpet still provides a medium grip surface and the grip increased the more it was run on.
The racers had a great time at the event, and are looking forward to the next one. The plan is to have a monthly race schedule and as interest grows the races will be scheduled more often. Check the HubCity RC FB group for the events scheduled, or check in at MRCR Events for upcoming events across the Maritimes.
Thanks to the racers for attending to make the event a success, and thanks Kevin and Steve for bringing indoor racing back to Moncton!!!
Event Photos:
