Stratford High School students place second in Stockcar RC Championships

The Stratford Stormers placed second at the 2022 Mainland RC New Zealand Superstock Teams Championships. Photo/ Supplied

Two Stratford High School students raced their radio-controlled stockcar to the chequered flag and came away with a top-three finish.

In June, Mathew Wilson and Cameron Hiestand, both 16, placed second with team members Paul Walker and David Ford at the 2022 Mainland RC New Zealand Superstock Teams Championships in Christchurch.

Their team, the Stratford Stormers, came second out of 16 teams.

For the event, the teams competed to get the most points in the qualifying rounds to make it through to the finals.

The cars used are a small-scale version of stockcars. Radio-controlled stockcars allow full-contact, with teams encouraged to use race tactics to block other competitors.

The stockcars are made with a one-tenth scale car, with the running gear mounted to a custom-made alloy base plate and full metal frame.

This allows the cars to give and take the bashing without too much damage to the running gear.

Cameron says to get to the final round, the team had to qualify over a 15-lap race.

"The championships ran over two days, and on the first day, it was qualifying rounds. To qualify, we had to get enough points to make it through to the next stage."

For the finals, the format was a top-eight knockout over 20 laps. There was also a second-tier competition for those who finished outside the top eight.

Mathew says he is pleased with their result.

"It's pretty cool to have placed second in the championships. I was introduced to the sport by my brother, and I've been competing for six years."

Cameron was also introduced to the sport by their family.

"My grandad was involved with RC and built a car for my brother and me."

Cameron and Mathew are both members of Taranaki RC Speedway, with Mathew saying it's a great sport to be involved in.

"You have a lot of fun and meet some pretty cool people."