Radio Controlled car racing is on the verge of making a comeback in the Clarence Valley after the Grafton RC Pit club were allocated land at the Mountain View Motorsport Complex to build a track.
A ‘relatively’ cheap way to get into motorsport, Radio Controlled (RC) car racing at the Grafton Pit sees drivers compete on clay or dirt tracks, with jumps, off camber turns and berms, in off-road 1/8 or 1/10 scale vehicles, powered by either nitro fuel or electric lithium-ion batteries.
Competitors have various tuning options on the RC vehicles, from tyre choice to suspension and chassis setup, with a variety of ‘hop up’ parts available for certain brands.
Quality brands of RC vehicles can be purchased from about $500, with some models costing about $1000 for a complete setup.
Grafton RC Pit spokesperson Greg Moss said the club previously had a track on his property at Lawrence for 2.5 years, but due to Covid and unfortunately circumstances forced its closure, but fortunately we have sourced land at the Mountain View Motorsport Complex.
“We had camping and bon fires out at my place when we had the track there and really big events which are still talked about right around Australia amongst RC car enthusiasts,” he said.
“It’s been a struggle, I’ve been trying to find another place for a track and then I spoke with the President and the Vice-President at the Grafton Sporting Car Club, and I asked them if they were willing to help us out.
“They gave us a piece of land to construct a track on and when we get up on our feet we can lease it from the club.
“They’re trying to get a motorsports complex running, which will be a great thing, and it’s a fantastic place for a RC track to be at.”
The club is registered as a not-for-profit incorporated organisation under the name of Clarence Valley Radio Controlled Car Club CVRCC.
Mr Moss, an excavator business owner, said the members of the Grafton RC Pit club are excited about going racing again, once a track is built.
He said the feedback from the previous track at Lawrence was amazing and they aim to build a better track this time.
“There’s facilities there for handicapped, there’s toilets and showers, and we can camp there,” he said.
Mr Moss said local companies have helped the club get to its current stage, and they would welcome any financial contributions.
“Wicks and Parker have helped us tremendously, we had a shipping container at my place, and I got that taken out to Mountain View by Scott’s Towing at Woolgoolga,” he said.
“They helped us take the container out and donated their time which was wonderful.
“Wicks and Parker have given us another container, and we just have to get that from Townsend, out to Mountain View.”
A clay surface is essential for the Grafton RC Pit to construct their track.
“I need to source some clay, the best way I can to start building a track,” Mr Moss said.
“We have spent a couple of days out there with a volunteer, Keith Connor Earthmoving D7 dozer clearing the site out, which was absolutely wonderful and that’s where it’s all began.
“We’re a small group of people who have to start again…we had members from out of town, people from Melbourne, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Taree, Tamworth, Armidale, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, everywhere.
“They said if you build a track we’ll come, and they did.”
Anyone who is interested in helping the club can call Greg Moss on 0428 445 680.
Follow the Grafton Pit RC Track on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/1527899804171513.
This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 20 August 2025.
