Track Focus – Steel City RC Speedway
Track Name – Steel City RC Speedway
Owners – Phil & Kyle Goodwine
Country – USA
Location – Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California
Direction – Clockwise
Surface – Asphalt
Steel City RC Speedway plays host to the 22nd running of the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship and the track has immediately made an impression on the drivers with reigning World Champion Dario Balestri going as far as describing it as ‘maybe one of the most beautiful’ he has driven on. Its high grip levels however are set to be the greatest challenge to drivers over the coming week. Only opened last year, the track is located at the full size Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and it has quickly established itself as one of America most high profile outdoor tracks. Earlier this year it hosted the famed Reedy Race of Champions for electric touring cars after it lost its home following the closure of the Tamiya Raceway and now it has gathered together the best nitro drivers in the World to decide who is the No.1 come Saturday.
The story behind the track name and how it came into existence is an interesting one. Originally the land the track sits on was part of the Kaiser Steel factory, the 2nd largest steel producer in the world during World War 2. The company however went bankrupt and was bought by Penske, one of US Motorsport’s most successful teams, who built the full size motor speedway. Running an electric touring car race in one of the parking lots during the Indycar weekend at the track, that was the start of the relationship between the real track and the Goodwines. Father and son team Phil & Kyle Goodwine would negotiate a lease to build the impressive looking track that is now Steel City RC Speedway and their choice of red colour for the infield have made it one of the most distinctive and easily identifiable tracks out there.
Giving his reaction to the track, Balestri said, ‘it is super beautiful. The layout is great and the surface is like a billiard table. It is an absolutely great layout for 1:8’. Asked about the high traction levels, the track being sprayed for traction, he replied, ‘the grip is amazing so even if you find a good balance you still need to manage your driving not to flip. You are always on the limit’.
Former World Champion Simon Kurzbuch said, ‘the layout is really good. It has a bit of everything, a fast chicane, a nice left section, it is really nice’. While a fan of the layout, the Swiss driver added, ‘the grip is on a level that is not drivable yet, for me anyway so I am going to have to adapt my driving. I have never experienced such high grip before. In the morning and in the evening almost everyone flipped’.
‘It’s nice. The layout is challenging and fast but the grip conditions make it very special, was Dominic Greiner’s thoughts on the track. The former 1:10 World Champion continued, ‘we tested here before but now things are very different with way more traction so we can’t use any of the set-up from testing. We need try to make it that the car doesn’t flip’. The German added, ‘the surface is super flat, no bumps, and there is going to be less tyre wear with the high traction but with big tyres for quali it is going to be super hard to find a set-up’.
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