'I just wanna win!': Thrills and spills at indoor RC races

It takes a few hours for members of P.E.I.'s Red Clay Racing Club to tape down carpet and put up the jumps at the Wilmont Community Centre, to prepare for the next day of races.

The club rents the space every two or three weeks in the winter to race radio controlled cars.

In the summer, races move to the club's own outdoor track in Stratford, P.E.I., one of the largest in the Maritimes.

"It's just awesome to watch people race and race, and if you crash, it's kind of funny because sometimes they make funny flips and stuff," said Evan Hume, 12, who has been racing radiocontrolled cars since he was five.

"As I'm driving, I'm thinking about not to crash and for my other opponents to crash so I can pass them," he said. "I just wanna win!"

Up to 60 km/h

The cars fly over the jumps like a swarm of grasshoppers.

Evan's scaled-down model runs on batteries. It's one-tenth the size of a real car.

These cars travel anywhere from 25 to 60 km/h.

The race may only be five minutes long, but drivers never take their eyes off their speed machines.

"It takes a whole lot of concentration but it's a whole lot of fun at the same time," said Evan.

'I don't even like to blink'

His dad, Shawn Hume, also a member of the club has just won another nail-biting race.

"My eyes are very buggy from the last race, I don't even like to blink."

'Alot of fun to work on'

These little race cars provide more than just excitement.

"It's great family fun, I've got my two sons in it," said Shawn Hume.

"They teach you a lot in terms of mechanics and electrical skills," he said. "They're just a lot of fun to work on and a lot of fun to race with."

Repairs can be painful

But with so many crashes, RC racing can be an expensive hobby.

"They do smash, they do break, batteries die, things of that sort and the trip to the hobby store to pick up repair parts can be painful at times," said Shawn.

And then there's the cost of the car itself. Most of them start between $200 and $300.

For Shawn, it's all worth it.

"Every hobby costs money," he said.

"I'm into photography as well and that costs a lot more than this hobby, so you gotta spend money to have some fun and I don't mind doing it."

No minimum skill required

Shawn added that the cars are actually pretty easy to drive.

"A few minutes in the driveway and you'll pretty much get the hang of it," he said.

"No minimum skill required to come out and race so we allow anybody from the very first time up until seasoned racers as well."

The non-profit club doesn't have membership fees, but does sell season passes for the summer. In 2016, the fees for the summer pass were $20 per family.

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