Track Focus – OCRC Raceway

Track Name – OCRC Raceway
Country – USA
Location – Huntington Beach, California
Surface – Dirt
Direction – Clockwise
Previous Reedy Races hosted – 2014

OCRC Raceway plays host to the 21st running of the Reedy Race of Champions, the Huntington Beach located track having become the new home to the famous race event last year.  Opened in 2008 and operated by father & son team of Robert & Nick Black, the facility covers 20,000 square feet.  The home track of current 4WD World Champion Steven Hartson, visitors are first greeted by the hobby shop through the back of which is the entry to permanent pit spacing for 150 drivers with the 135ft long and 60ft wide track located at the back of the building with the drivers standing facing the pit area.

Having stepped up so well to the occasion last year of hosting the Reedy Race, a race steeped in history and which now carries on the legacy of its founder and all round legend of the sport Mike Reedy, the set-up remains largely unchanged with the exception of the track layout.  Having run in an anti-clockwise direction 12-months ago, this year it is a clockwise layout, a direction more regularly used by OCRC.

Once again the track layout was penned by Brent Thielke, who in addition to his role of race team manager at Team Associated is tasked with organising the Reedy Race, the paper layout was then translated into a real track by Nick Black and his crew with the main build having taken place on Monday with a day of packing on Tuesday to give the track its very smooth surface.  Pleased with the results of the build and the early feedback of racers, Black was most pleased with the triple in front of the drivers stand which lands into a bowl.  The biggest visual change in terms of the layout is the main straight which now only runs 3/4th the length of track before turning into a hairpin.  In terms of lap times in 2WD, the handout tyre being JConcepts Dirt webs in Gold compound, a low 22-seconds time is a good pace.  In 4WD, drivers running Pro-Line’s Electron tyre all round in MC compound, fast times are in the region of late 20-seconds.