IT BEGAN with four mates racing their cars outside Penrith railway station in 1998; it later became an obsession, as revheads in pursuit of speed and glory poured thousands of dollars into their machines.

The only thing peculiar about Kevin Maton and his remote-controlled cars is their size: one-eighth of the real thing, to be exact.

"It's the cheapest form of racing cars," Mr Maton said. "The type of people who get into this type of thing are car fanatics at heart; they love getting grease on their hands and tinkering with motors. The only thing with this form of racing is that it's just a bit more accessible for those fanatics to get into."

And the fanatics have gotten into it in a big way. On a bitingly cold Tuesday night at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, the headquarters of Penrith District Nitro Racing since it left its humble home at the station, more than 200 people watched and raced their cars.

Steve Valletta, 48, was one of them. Later this year he will drive - or at least control - his car at the Australian Championships in Brisbane.

Mr Valletta's obsession with remote-control cars is not cheap. The price for a model racer starts at about $500. Elite models - which are about one-fifth the size of real cars - go for about $15,000.

Then there are the running repairs. Mr Valletta said he spends between $150 and $200 each week on new parts and patch-ups for his car.

He has to do it, he said, because every racing night that his car is not on the road, he risks losing ground in the 14-week championship at the club.

Mr Valletta has won it a few times the competition is getting tougher, he said.

Membership of the club has burgeoned thanks to an influx of younger drivers - the so-called "PlayStation generation" - who have built up their hand-eye co-ordination through years of playing computer games.

"With the younger guys, I think there's less fear," Mr Valletta said. "With us older guys we tend to drive with caution because we know the results of a bad crash, and how much of an effect it can have [on championship standings].

"But the younger guys drive with more confidence."