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Fundamentals

How RC racing works, and whose rules apply.

These pages explain the sport and the rules around it: what RC racing is, how each body defines its classes, how a race meeting runs, who the governing bodies are, and what radio regulators publish in each country. Every rule is given with the body and edition it comes from. The pages describe the rules; they do not teach anyone to drive or build a car.

Race within the rules

This page explains what governing bodies, regulators, standards bodies and researchers publish. It is not a substitute for your class's rule book, a track's safety rules, the race director or the makers' instructions.

Whose rules?

RC car racing has no single rule book. IFMAR, the world body, writes a separate World Championship rule book for each class. Its four continental blocs (EFRA in Europe, ROAR in the United States and Canada, FEMCA in Asia and Australasia, and FAMAR) run their own championships under their own rules, and national bodies such as the BRCA in the UK write the rules for national racing. A rule from one body does not apply at another body's events, so these pages keep each body's rules apart and name the document and edition for every one.

Radio law is a separate matter again. Transmitters fall under each country's radio regulator, such as the FCC in the United States (47 CFR Part 95) and Ofcom in the UK (SI 2021/493), and a racing rule is never a substitute for the law.

What was and was not read

The pages rest on the rule books that could be read in October 2026: IFMAR's World Championship rules for 1/8 IC off-road (2024), 1/8 IC track (2023), 1/10 IC track (2024), 1/8 GT and GTE (2025) and electric off-road (2019), and its electric batteries and motors rules (March 2023); EFRA's Handbook 2026 Appendices 3 (electric cars), 4 (batteries and motors) and 8 (mufflers) and its 2024 General Rules; and ROAR's National Guidelines (revised 13 October 2026). ROAR's current rule book and the BRCA's 2026 section rules were not read, and the pages say so wherever those rules would matter. No FEMCA or AARCMCC rule book was found.

The pages in this section

What RC racing is
Power source, surface and scale; tracks and the driver's rostrum; who writes the rules.
The classes
IFMAR, EFRA, ROAR and BRCA classes, each with its own limits.
Electric and nitro
Battery, motor, engine, fuel and noise limits, per body.
On-road and off-road
Tracks, tyres, sizes and weather rules on each surface.
How a race meeting works
Practice, qualifying points and finals under each body's format.
Timing and transponders
Automatic lap counting, two timing systems and personal transponders.
Marshalling and officials
Why drivers marshal, and the race director, referees and juries.
IFMAR and the blocs
The world body, its four blocs and how drivers reach a World Championship.
EFRA
The European federation, its disputed founding date and its annual Handbook.
ROAR
The North American body, its regions, membership and Nationals.
The BRCA and national bodies
The UK's BRCA, and the national bodies of Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
Radio rules by country
FCC, Ofcom, CEPT, ISED and ACMA, each kept to its own country.
How people learn
Clubs, the BRCA Academy, beginner classes and junior racing.
How many people race
Each body's own dated figures, never added together.

Sources

  1. IFMAR 1/8th I.C. Off-Road Racing and Technical Rules, World Championship 2024 (amended March 2024)
  2. IFMAR Electric Off Road Racing and Technical Rules, version 13 November 2019
  3. EFRA, Members Handbook page
  4. EFRA Handbook 2026, Appendix 3 (electric cars), v4 (June 2026)
  5. EFRA Handbook 2024, General Rules
  6. ROAR, About page (2026)
  7. ROAR, Appendix C: National Guidelines for National Race Management Team Events (revised 13 October 2026)
  8. BRCA, Become a member (2026)
  9. Wikipedia, International Federation of Model Auto Racing (secondary)
  10. Cornell LII, 47 CFR Part 95 Subpart C (Radio Control Radio Service), table of contents
  11. legislation.gov.uk, The Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/493)
  12. IFMAR 1/8th I.C. Track Racing and Technical Rules, World Championship 2023 (amended March 2023)
  13. IFMAR 1/10th I.C. Track Racing and Technical Rules, World Championship 2024
  14. IFMAR 1/8th GT and GTE Track Racing Technical and Race Rules 2025 (amended 30 April 2025)
  15. IFMAR Electric Racing Batteries and Motors, version March 2023
  16. EFRA Handbook 2026, Appendix 4 (lithium batteries and brushless motors)
  17. EFRA Handbook 2026, Appendix 8 (mufflers)
01

What RC racing is

Model cars driven by radio on purpose-built tracks, split by power source, surface and scale, with each governing body writing its own rules.

02

The classes

IFMAR's World Championship classes with their rule-book limits, EFRA's 2026 electric classes, ROAR's skill ladder at its Nationals and the BRCA's sections, each kept separate.

03

Electric and nitro

How IFMAR and EFRA divide electric and internal-combustion racing, the battery, motor, engine, fuel and noise limits each body sets, and where petrol large-scale racing fits.

04

On-road and off-road

Carpet and asphalt circuits against rough off-road tracks, with each body's track, tyre, size and rain rules kept apart.

05

How a race meeting works

Registration and inspection, timed heats, qualifying points, ladder finals and three-leg A-mains, as IFMAR, EFRA, ROAR and the BRCA each set them out.

06

Timing and transponders

Automatic lap counting by transponder, the two independent systems IFMAR and EFRA require, personal transponder rules and what happens when a transponder fails.

07

Marshalling and officials

Why drivers marshal the next heat, what the rules ask of marshals, and the race director, referees, juries and inspectors who run a meeting under each body.

08

IFMAR and the blocs

The world body's sections, legal form and presidents, the four continental blocs that make it up, how drivers reach a World Championship, and where the sources disagree.

09

EFRA

EFRA's founding (1973 or 1976, by its own pages), national-federation membership and voting, the annual Handbook and its appendices, European Championships and driver registration.

10

ROAR

Remotely Operated Auto Racers: organised 1967, 12 US regions plus Canada, its membership and sanctioning, the Nationals guidelines and its dated rule announcements.

11

BRCA and national bodies

The BRCA's 2026 memberships, sections and disputed junior age line, plus Australia's AARCMCC, Japan's JMRCA and New Zealand's NZRCA, with what was not read.

12

Radio rules by country

The FCC's Radio Control Radio Service and 2.4 GHz rule, the UK exemption regulations and IR 2030, CEPT's model-control bands, ISED and ACMA, each kept to its own country.

13

How people learn

The BRCA's route through affiliated clubs and its Academy, beginner and skill-ladder classes at EFRA and ROAR, junior finals and titles by body, and licences as a first step.

14

How many people race

ROAR's 4,500 members and 200 clubs, the disputed counts of nations behind IFMAR and FEMCA, field-size caps set by rule, and reported entries at 2026 championships.

Keep reading

What RC racing is

Model cars driven by radio on purpose-built tracks, split by power source, surface and scale, with each governing body writing its own rules.

The classes

IFMAR's World Championship classes with their rule-book limits, EFRA's 2026 electric classes, ROAR's skill ladder at its Nationals and the BRCA's sections, each kept separate.

IFMAR and the blocs

The world body's sections, legal form and presidents, the four continental blocs that make it up, how drivers reach a World Championship, and where the sources disagree.

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