In celebration of the Long Beach Grand Prix, an RC car racing tournament named the Mini Grand Prix was held in the A-Quad of the LBCC Liberal Arts Campus where participants of the event could race RC cars while enjoying free food and music.
The tournament started off with students being allowed to drive RC cars around the track to practice the first races with two racers doing three laps around the tracks, winners of the races were awarded prizes such as medals and bottles of cider for their efforts, the first racer to come in after two rounds would move on to the next qualifying match.
Competition winners, David Romero, left, and Gaston Ramirez, right, being given their prizes after the race. The racers were awarded with medals and bottles of cider. (Aj Cryer)
The event brought many different individuals, some newcomers as well as returning racers who had participated in the Mini Grand Prix last year, regardless of where they come from, all participants seemed to share the same enjoyment of the sport.
“So basically last year I participated and got second place. If it’s like this, like RC cars, it would be great to have more people come around and support,” stated returning racer Ilham Fauzee.
Racers Joseph Bryson, left, and Ilham Fauzee, Right, playing rock paper scissors to decide which lanes their RC cars will be in at the start of the race. Fauzee is a returning competitor in the Mini Grand Prix as he won second place last year. (Aj Cryer)
Participants of the event were able to enjoy good food such as pepperoni and cheese pizza, as well as various sandwiches.
Students were able to receive free food as long they provided their student ID numbers.
As the Mini Grand Prix continued, more racers rose the ranks as they tried to reach the finals.
All racers showed true determination, but in the end only few could make it to the final qualifier.
Even with those that didn’t make it to the final stages of the competition everyone still shared the same excitement of the event.
“What made me want to come out is, I like playing with RC toys and I wanted to see if I could win. I feel good. I hope they can add more events like this to entertain people like this,” said racer David Romero.
As the racers made it to the final stages of the tournament, tension started to rise as the last few competitors got to the final race.
The last qualifier consisted of players having to race ten laps.
The remaining two racers were Gaston Ramirez and David Romero, both racers truly did their best but of course, only one was able to come up on top.
“So I was walking around campus today as per usual and I see this thing about a Mini Grand Prix. I was going mainly for the video game tournament. Literally this morning I was checking my phone and saw my class got canceled. They’re really good for the atmosphere of the campus and building camaraderie. The kinetic energy of it all really brings life to campus,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez and Romero raced against each other for ten laps as the audience cheered for them, both racers very dedicated to winning.
As the race came to a close it wasn’t clear who would come out as the winner until Ramirez eventually passed the finish line winning first place and Romero coming in at a close second.
In the end, both racers were awarded for their efforts with medals and bottles of cider.
“Well, I wanted to have fun and participate in a school event and get to know some people. I think school events are really important for the campus. Events like this help you connect to students. I was hoping to win but didn’t get my expectations too high. I like the efficiency of racing. It’s a game of doing the right thing and being optimal,” said racer Joseph Bryson.
All participants showed amazing sportsmanship and congratulated the winners with great character and the two finalists embraced each other with respect as they showed off their winnings.