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Slotcar Legends July round, Al's Paceway

Local racing fixtures and results
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wixwacing
Marshal!!!
Posts: 1871
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:22 am

Slotcar Legends July round, Al's Paceway

Post by wixwacing »

Slotcar Legends racing met at Alan and Jacqui’s for their July round of pure slotcar enjoyment. Classes were chosen some weeks before and with three races spreading over thirty heats there was plenty of opportunity for every one to leave their mark on at least one event, and sure enough, most people availed themselves of the opportunity and whether it was a race win or just a spectacular event, we all had our moments. The day started with racers gathering about 2.00 pm, exchanging the local gossip and revealing their latest acquisitions, scratchbuilds or paint jobs. I am so please that a healthy number of the group are now venturing into the custom/scratchbuild side of the hobby. There is so much enjoyment to be gained from this aspect on its own.

Group member Terry brought along a meticulously built Slot.it White Audi kitted out in the ‘Infineon’ livery. Terry had also spent some time getting the model balanced and on the track it looked rock steady. Well done Terry. Jordan is a Porscheophile so needless to say he had made a start on relivery of a Proslot GT2 body. Patto must be doing good trade at the moment! I took my Merc 154 for a spin with modified suspension and it seems to have paid off. The silicone sealer carefully applied between the leaf spring and the chassis damps it just enough to allow it to drive smoothly.

So on to the racing. There was plenty of activity on the track leading up to the first event but everyone seemed to be playing their cards close to their chest. No major give aways and comp models being held back for the race. Was this a good idea?? Shouldn’t we be making sure that every thing was going to be ok for the event? Apparently not!

First event was track owners choice. Alan had picked NC1/NC8 touring cars. This included models that had NC1/8’s retro fitted. There were plenty of DTM’s on the track and Jordan’s Scaley Vectra with a patched up light looked threatening but was it going to be good enough? There was a good display of Audi A4’s. Nearly all in the ORIX livery! A couple of Alfa 155’s and a whole bucket full of CLK’s!! I have to admit to being in that group but in fairness, I had trouble getting my model’s new Ninco tyres to hook up so I also raced and old Brockie Volvo 850 with an SCX RX41 in place! Not the quickest but it did work hard.



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In the early heats racing was very messy with some people forgetting their road manners but it all settled down a bit later in the heats with some people learning that it’s no use trying to drive through people and staying out of trouble was the best policy. Front runners were the usual faces with Paul, Justin, Kev and Jordan making all the headway. I lost the plot completely and finished in with the group B drivers but that’s how it goes. I loaned my Volvo to Bill for his first heat but he declined the offer subsequently, for which I was quite hurt!

Eventually it was all over and ten heats later saw the truth laid bare for all to see, and it went something like this!!!

NC1/8 Touring Cars


Overal		Group B		
Position	        Position		Driver

1.					Paul
2.		1			Jordan
3.					Justin
4.					Kev
5.		2			Peter
6.		3			Ken
7.		4			Alan
8.					Phil
9.		5			Bob
10.		6			Bill
Next class was the set class, this was to be Premier Sedans. A mixture of Aussie V8’s, Nascars and Modern Trans Am. Again, on a track which is heavily reliant on driver ability, it was to be a pretty evenly matched race. Justin, Paul and Jordan were racing V8’s and a number of the rest of us raced Nascars with a select few making up the field in Jags and a Ford FR500C! Plenty of argie bargie in this event to and Justin and Paul’s V8’s proved to be very quick with the fastest lap indicator (a file of Murray Walker going ‘Wooow”) sounding regularly through the early stages. Some quick laps too for these large models and heats being won and lost in the hands of the marshalls, another lesson there boys! The final heat gave up to the results and I think they were pretty indicative of people’s efforts.


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Premier Sedans

1.					Justin
2.					Phil
3.					Paul
4.		1			Jordan
5.					Kev
6.		2			Ken
7.		3			Alan
8.		4			Bob
9.		5			Peter
10.		6			Bill.

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Last heat was the much awaited first round of the Subaru Challenge. This is an event which replaces the Porsche cup from last season. With some loose nit rules it is important to retain a bit of stiffness so the maniacs do not loose the plot. Guidelines are

1.         Must be a Subaru!!
2.         Must be a plastic IM body
3.         Must be a plastic IM chassis
4.         Must be plastic IM wheels
5.         Must be a plastic IM drivers tray
6.         Must have a plastic IM driver and navigator
7.         Must have clear windows.

(IM = Injection Moulded)

The motor, gears, axles and guide are left to the driver, not forgetting it is a non magnet class on wood AND plastic!
The first heat was called and it left no doubt as to exactly what the pace was going to be in this event. Paul’s Ninco Suby with an NC6 (Mangler? or whatever!?) was decidedly quick but was proving to be a bit of a handful!! Justin left a scorched trail around the circuit in his Ninco Subaru. And left the pace at sub eleven seconds, thanks Justin. The B’ drivers too had their own little battle raging with a fair cross section of models. My heart went out to group newcomer Bill who had been battling troublesome models for the afternoon. His Scaley Suby, which died on him before the day started, was also a handful. But he did eventually get it to drive respectably. Not the first model of choice for a board track but a valiant effort all the same. I suspect Jordan too was expecting far better things from his well prepared model but I’m sure he knows which way the compass is pointing now!


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The heats panned out and it became a three way fight between Paul, Justin and myself. My Suby was a plain Ninco from eight years or so back. An NC2 and reduced to two wheel drive, solely because it always throws the drive bands off! Paul and I were drawn together in a couple of heats and we traded fastest laps with Murray ‘Wowing repeatedly’. Our last heat saw him very quick behind me so rather than do all the running i let him pass and left him to do the pace making, he eventually deslotted at about two thirds distance and a good two or three seconds marshalling left me to romp off into an almost comfortable lead but Paul is hard to shake and by the last lap he was only a bend or so behind me. I made a mistake and after reslotting had him on my back, but as fate decreed, I didn’t realise it was the last lap and I passed the line a car’s length in front!!

Justin’s times in his heats were good also but probably the lack of any head to head competition caused him to relax a bit. The end results were as follows.

Subaru Challenge – Round 1

1.					Paul		best lap	10.632
2.                                      Phil				10.653
3.					Justin				10.914
4.		1			Jordan
5.		2			Alan
6.					Kev
7.		3			Ken
8.		4			Peter
9.		5			Bill
10.		6			Bob


Yet another great round of racing and some good performances from all the field. It is looking pretty obvious who might be taking a trip out of group ‘B’ next season! And an unfortunate Kev who usually does a lot better will no doubt regroup for the next round of Q32!



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It must also be appreciated that Alan’s wife Jacqui laid on a sumptuous spread for the guys for which we are most grateful. Nibblies followed by munchies and to top it all, a choice of Meringue and Apple pie and ice cream. Alan too rustled up a first class barbecue and by the end of the evening we had raced AND eaten well!!

Next round will be a Q32 event which Glen will no doubt announce soon
I look forward to meeting you all once again.
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When I'm not racing slotcars,
I'm out in the back yard, burning food!!

When I win, it's because of my talent, not my car or my controller!
paulthetexan
Team Strategist
Posts: 101
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:08 am

Post by paulthetexan »

Howdy Folks

Boy , what a night !

It was worth the price of admission just to sample Al's sprint cars. What a GAS !!!!

It was funny how the evening progressed , as phil mentioned , everyone was happy to casually test a few models , I'M JUST GOING TO HAVE SOME FUN AND RUN A FEW MODELS MAAAANNNN ! yeah sure .

Well , as soon as the racing started it was obvious that the casual run was out the window and the compitition had started. The pace was fast and the pressure was on. Buy the third race , Subaru Cup , the Buzzard was giving heat by heat commentary and people were checking fastest and average lap speed to try and monitor progress. WOW what a blast !!! We're talking average lap speeds that were 0.02 sec. apart after 17 laps and finishing a car length apart. You just couldn't help giggle to yourself as you looked on.

Imagine my suprise when I discovered a couple of days later that I've inadvertantly breached the rules of Subaru Cup. I have assumed that all Suby's where eligable whereas my daughters Tuning car doesn't have a navigator. BOY , after all the heated competition only to realize I was cheating. Well , a guys got to do what a guys got a do when it comes to beating the wix, as apposed to beating your wick , which somtimes happens.

Anyway , back to drawing board so to speak. Now I'll have to develop another Suby , but its funny how the second one just never seems to go as well as the first. We'll see what happens.

And buy the way , when's Jordan moving up to Group A

Thanks again Al , See you all soon

Paul
Go hard or Go home
wixwacing
Marshal!!!
Posts: 1871
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:22 am

Post by wixwacing »

<br><br> Actually guys, my mistake!! I'm getting my classes jumbled!
<center>
This isn't particularly a rally class so you can drop the navigator!!!!
Image

When I'm not racing slotcars,
I'm out in the back yard, burning food!!

When I win, it's because of my talent, not my car or my controller!
User avatar
TheOtherBill
Spectator
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:44 pm
Location: Bracken Ridge

Post by TheOtherBill »

I wish I had of known that, Im sure the navigator was the ONLY thing holding me back in those Subaru races!
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