Late 2006 - My brother decides that after a decade since his last proper RC car, that he's getting back into the hobby. This came as great news to me, probably not so great news for my sister-in-law! However this time he had his eye on something a little smaller then a 1/10th off-road....

Great news, I already had an M18 so we were both set for some fun local indoor winter racing. Not long had passed before news of the next UK Micro Challenge came about. The UKMC is an established event that allows micro (1:18th and 1:16th scale) enthusiasts to race their micros seriously.

The entry soon opened and I was somewhat disappointed to find no on-road class. However the race is satisfying demand, which unfortunately appears to be low for on-road racers. I decided I would buy a cheap second hand XRay M18T and enter the race, despite never having raced a micro, or electric, seriously before. We both got in and were surprised at the popularity (70+ racers!). I also learnt I can't do anything cheap, a brand new Tekin Brushless and box of spares and replacements meant my second hand car cost a small fortune!

Bill Pier had done a fantastic CGI video and produced stills of the proposed track just before the event. I had certainly never experienced anything like that before and it gave all a good idea of what to expect. As can be seen below, the track was built to plan!

Organisation for this event was nothing short of outstanding. Receiving details of the full itinerary, rules, crystals and heat listings through the post well in advance made sure everyone knew what was happening. Arriving trackside an envelope was issued further confirming driver details and in which there was the required car number and a raffle ticket!

Practice and driving briefing over the day got underway following very close to the schedule. The track was brilliant, a mixture of carpet and the hall floor meant tyre choice was critical. The straights allowed the faster cars to gain speed which could easily be lost if a mistake was made through the sandy infield or over the jumps! This is only a brief report so I’ll leave it here, and just have to say it was the most fun I have had racing in a long time. Enjoy the photos below.

A quick note. This is a micro report written mainly for my personal interest as a log of my racing history. Radio Race Car International (RRCi) support this event in force, and their reports are always amazing! Consequently I would strongly advise you to buy RRCi and see what the best RC magazine has to say about this event! RRCi