This past weekend was the Can-Am RC Challenge which was held at the Seaway Mall just 10min away from Niagara Falls, and I must say this event was trully something special. I lost count as to how many people came up to me and commented that they had no idea people raced these "little cars" and that they found them to be pretty cool! Hobby stores had booths setup and moved a number of cars over the course of the 3 day event. The racing went well for the Tamiya Team as we had a 1,2 finish in the 10.5 rubber class! Martin Crisp took the win, and I finished second.
However as important as the race was for all those who competed, it didn't compare to the hundreds, if not thousands of specators that made their way past the track and stopped by to watch. The race was advirtised throughout the mall in the weeks prior, and also made its way onto a local radio station as well as a local news channel! Every race had people snapping pictures of their favourite cars as they went by, and it was awesome to hear the kids cheering and laughing everytime a car crashed.

Looking back at this event it has really made me notice all that is wrong with R/C racing:


NOBODY CAN SEE IT!!


What good is this hobby of ours if we can't bring more people into it? It would be great to see all big races held in high traffic areas because even if 3 people of lets say 1000 that see, join - thats a big deal! I'm not saying they have to be in a mall but even in the parking lot of a car dealership, off in the parking lot at a 1/1 scale racing event, ANYWHERE that people can walk by, take a look and just know that this type of racing exsists. The bonus of this event since it was held in the mall was that it became a much more family friendly event. I saw a number of wives, children, girlfriends and parents make the trip to watch the race because between races they could shop, walk around, and eat without technically ever leaving the track! It was also a great way to intoduce my girlfriend into the hobby aswell as this was the first race she came to watch! Come'on guys, wouldn't you rather your girlfriend's first impressions of the hobby be in a SHOPPING MALL?!? You're in a win-win situation really!

Next year's event will be bigger and better, and I really hope to see some more Tamiya drivers out!

Steve