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March 7, 2012, 3:07 a.m.
3/7/2012
By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com
It was a known fact that the 2013 IFMAR Electric Offroad World Championship was coming to America, the big question was WHERE? Earlier this week after much anticipation, it was officially announced that the AMainHobbies.com Silver Dollar Raceway located in Chico, California would be the host of this prestigious event.
With an estimated 300+ drivers, 30+ countries, and only 1 world championship, this event is guaranteed to draw crowds of race fans from all over just to watch it all go down. We sat down for a few minutes with AMainHobbies.com's Aaron Waldron to chat about the new facility and their thoughts on the event!
LRC: Hi Aaron, thanks for chatting a bit today! AMainHobbies is known worldwide as a giant in the R/C industry as a hobby shop, however, not many realize that the company also owns and operates a world class facility. When was Silver Dollar Raceway opened?
AARON: Silver Dollar R/C Raceway, which is where we will host the IFMAR Worlds, is actually still under construction - we are building a brand new facility at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico that is going to blow everyone away. Our existing indoor track, Outback Raceway, was built in October 2008 as a carpet track; the dirt came a bit later, in July of 2010.
LRC: When initially thought up, was a race such as the World Championships a future goal for the track?
AARON: That was the goal from Day One; after all, our CEO, Kendall Bennett, is quite passionate about RC! Hosting a truly world-class event with tons of exposure is not only a great way for A Main Hobbies to give back to the RC industry, but also to bring the excitement of the IFMAR World Championships to our local area.
LRC: There are numerous world class facilities in the United States that could host the Worlds, what do you think helped to seal the deal for Silver Dollar Raceway?
AARON: I don't think it was a matter of a specific detail or two that led to the race being awarded to Silver Dollar R/C Raceway; there are several reasons why we felt that this would be the ideal place to host an event like this. The Fairgrounds property on which our facility is being constructed is also home to Silver Dollar Speedway, which hosts nationally televised sprint car and late model races, and is adjacent to the nationally-recognized Silver Dollar BMX track. We've already discussed opportunities for cross promotion with these venues that could lead to record attendance, and untold exposure, for the IFMAR Worlds and the RC industry in general. We've even begun lining up local and regional media coverage. We have the resources and personnel to make this the best World Championships in RC history.
LRC: What sort of changes, improvements, and plans does AMainHobbies have for the facility to host the event?
AARON: Silver Dollar R/C Raceway is being built from the ground-up with races just like this in mind; because we started from scratch we can make the pit area, drivers' stand, scoring tower, tech inspection booth, and everything exactly the way we want. The track will be lit with a professionally designed and built stadium-style lighting system with bleacher seating for thousands of spectators. There will be plenty of RV spots with full hook-ups, permanent bathroom facilities, free wireless Internet, and more.
LRC: How far from the AMainHobbies headquarters is the track?
AARON: Our warehouse and business offices are less than two miles away; we will have the A Main Hobbies shop truck making regular parts deliveries from the warehouse to the track throughout the event. Our retail store is about three miles away as well.
LRC: At this point we have almost a year until the actual event, but when does preparation actually get started for an event of this level?
AARON: We started planning and preparing for this nearly a year ago by creating the original plans for the facility and preparing our bid to send to ROAR. Since we received the news this past weekend that Silver Dollar R/C Raceway was selected to host the race, marketing and planning the event has been one of our highest priorities.
LRC: Who will be building the track, and should we expect a more "American style" or "Euro style" or a combination for the layout?
AARON: We haven't yet nailed down what the layout will be, but racers should expect a good mix of both. There are several experienced track builders that work here, and I'm excited for the world to see what we come up with.
LRC: World Championships not only draw major numbers of racers, but spectators as well. The forums are already going crazy of amateur racers planning to be in attendance just to watch the world's best. Does Silver Dollar Raceway have plans to accomodate large numbers of spectators?
AARON: Spectator accessibility was a paramount concern while designing the facility, and we want this race to share this event with as many people as possible. Not only will there be bleacher seating for thousands with an uninterrupted view of the entire racing surface, but we have every intention of filling those seats.
LRC: Cavalieri dominated in 2011, who is your personal pick for the 2013 World Championships in both classes?
AARON: I don't even know where to start! Ruling Cavalieri out of any race is just silly, and he'll obviously enter the race as one of the favorites. I'm excited to see what today's current crop of cars will look like after another year of R&D, and I think that will play a very large role in the final results. Jorn Neumann's win at this year's Reedy Race was very impressive and I'm sure he'll be a factor, as will the usual suspects: Maifield, Truhe, Tebo, etc. as well as both Hayato Matsuzaka and Naoto Matsukura. Obviously, I will be hoping for great results from our A Main Hobbies and ProTek R/C team drivers, as both Tyler Vik and Curtis Door have been practicing quite a bit of electric off-road over the last year or so, and Marty Korn and Chad Bradley both have a lot of experience at that level of racing. My sleeper pick: Ty Tessman. He has plenty of time to prepare for the race, and he has shown that he can handle the pressure of winning big events under tremendous pressure.
LRC: Last but not least. Driver's will be coming from all around the world to this event. There has to be one thing they can remember the race by even if they don't win...so the question is, how HOT will the trophy girls be?
AARON: Everyone who watches the race, either in person or over the Internet, is going to remember this one! But we do have Chico State University from which to scout some local talent… :)
LRC: Thank you so much for taking time today Aaron, is there anything you would like to add?
AARON: I'd really like to thank ROAR for believing in the project and choosing Silver Dollar R/C Raceway as the host for the Worlds before its completion; I can't imagine how tough that decision was. I hope that the RC world is as excited for this race as much as everyone here at A Main Hobbies is, and I'm looking forward to having everyone up here to Chico. This race is going to be big!
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