SlotCarMAG Issue 13

SlotCarMAG

FOR RACERS, COLLECTORS AND BUILDERS

Murray’s Dream: Is it really 17 years

ISSUE 13 • VOLUME 3 • APRIL 2013

since Ninco produced their first McLaren F1?

Battlefield Europe: In part 2, Brett Jurmann looks at how the Fly and Carrera cars compare

Chase-cars:

Gareth Jones wanted his cars to look realistic... and Chase-Cars was born

Le Mans, Slot.it:

Ric Woods and organiser Gary Skipp discuss the recent 24-hour event

Ferrari 126C2:

Iconic Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari, perfectly recreated

by George Turner

www.slotcarmag.co.uk

SlotCarMAG

FOR RACERS, COLLECTORS AND BUILDERS ISSUE 13 • VOLUME 3 • APRIL 2013

www.slotcarmag.co.uk

In This Issue: 2

Pit Board:

4

Murray’s Dream:

9

Battlefield Europe:

12

Chase-Cars:

17

Dilworth:

18

Ferrari 126C2:

20

Scalextric Classic Rally Cars:

26

Love Is Like Oxigen – Slot.it Digital 24hrs:

Club Focus – Nascot Wood – A British club steeped in history; from the humble beginnings, through the international years at Burnt Oak, to a new location and new start.

The Ninco McLaren F1 – It seems only a few years ago that Ninco produced their first version of the McLaren, with the underpowered NC1 and bodies adorned with stickers.

BMW CSL v Capri RS3100 (Pt2) – Brett Jurmann continues his look at the two combatants and considers ways to match them on the track.

Rock and Roll! – Gareth Jones is a mechanical design engineer who likes his cars to look realistic when they’re racing... ...or chasing.

Hello everyone Welcome to the April 2013 issue of SlotCarMAG, and to mark our second birthday we thought we go for a snazzy new masthead – we trust it meets with your approval. It’s been a busy few months here, with SlotCarMAG again being responsible for the forthcoming UK Slot Car Festival programme (at Gaydon on the 12th May, do come and say hello) as well as the souvenir programme for the Slot.it oXigen Le Mans 24 Hours, held in March. In our usual completely unbiased way, we were delighted when the race was won by Modena Slot Club, with SlotCarMAG contributor and Slot.it main man (though not necessarily in that order!)

Maurizio Ferrari on the driving strength. The achievement was made all the more impressive with their use of a Slot.it Porsche GT1-98 in close-tostandard trim (see photo).

In common with the rest of the slot racing world, we were deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the death in a road accident of Salvatore Noviello, the man behind NSR. Salvatore was an immensely passionate and charismatic individual, one of the hobby’s true characters, and the NSR range has done much to push the boundaries of plastic-chassis racing. His passing is a huge loss to the hobby. Our sincere condolences go to Salvatore’s family and many friends. At the time of writing, we understand that NSR is going to continue, and we would like to convey our thoughts and good wishes to everyone there at what must be a very difficult time.

The SlotCarMAG team.

A Coffee Shop In Denmark – Is our hero having an identity crisis? Is the price of coffee too much for the Englishman abroad? Or is everything lost in translation?

Kit from GTM – A half-hearted, throwaway request from Marc Abbott at a swap meet some years ago has resulted in another great model from George Turner.

by Hub Habets – In recent years, Scalextric has graced the gravel with some super-detailed classic rally cars; Hub Habets felt the need to improve them further.

Slot.it Digital 24 hours – If you weren’t in Henley-in-Arden during the weekend of 23rd-24th March, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about... read on.

SlotCarMAG is an independent magazine for the Slot Car enthusiast. It is produced bi-monthly and available to purchase from either: www.pendleslotracing.co.uk (hard-copy, hi res digital) www.lulu.com/uk (hard-copy, print-to-order hi res digital with laminated cover) www.slotcarmag.co.uk (hi-res pdf download) For further information, please contact the publisher via email. Address opposite.

PUBLISHING / WEB: Wayne Tooke: info@slotcarmag.co.uk EDITORIAL: Ric Woods: ric-woods@slotcarmag.co.uk ART & DESIGN: Marc Abbott: marc-abbott@slotcarmag.co.uk SlotCarMAG is printed digitally by LDP Ltd

ldpltd@btconnect.com

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to accurately compile the information contained herein, SlotCarMAG or any of its contributors or advertisers accepts no liability for any errors and omissions or any inadvertent disclosure of any information not meant for publication. SlotCarMAG neither endorses or accepts responsibility for the reproduction of material supplied that is of sub-standard quality, such as photocopies, laser prints, pre-printed photographs, low resolution digital images etc, and reserve the right to refuse the use of such material, products or services of advertisers in this publication. Opinions expressed shall not necessarily be that of the SlotCarMAG. All information should be verified before being acted upon.

Copyright: Contents of this magazine or our web site, cannot be reproduced in any way, shape or form without the written permission of the publishers.

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Pit Board

R

egular readers will have already read the history of the London Scalextric Club (Wood Green). A spin-off from this was some of the first ever “swap meets” organised by Roy Charlesworth, Roger Gilham and Martin O’Riley. Few of you may know that from those very successful ventures another, just as competitive, club emerged. Some of the drivers established themselves at Cheam near Sutton in London, building a 4-lane Polistil track to race on (The North Cheam Slot Car Club).

The initial popularity of the club faded after a while and it was also unfortunately under threat of closure. However, in 1986,

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committee members Jim Sharp and Paul Paterson decided to relocate and try again, this time at a community centre in Burnt Oak, back nearer to its original Wood Green roots. It wasn’t long before a large membership built up which led to much success for the club.

Paul won the British and European Championships and a while later Trevor Fox won the British Grand Prix.

As a club, the Burnt Oak Slot Car Club was one of the first British teams invited to represent GB in Brussels for the famous 24-hour race, which they continued to do for quite a few years.

Meanwhile, back at the club premises, the track underwent a few changes and in 1994 saw the infamous “turn one” built

immediately after the start; only drivers with a well set-up car could master this at full speed without lifting off. There quickly followed a move to fully-computerised race-managed events, using a well-known piece of software designed and written by club members Kevin Tombeur and Chris Knowls.

I became Chairman of the club in 2004 and throughout the following two years we began thinking about replacing the ageing Polistil track with Ninco, which to many racers had become the favoured surface on which to compete. Various designs

The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG

by Dave “Diddy” Druce were put forward and the committee met and agreed to build a circuit designed by member Marc Abbott. Most of the hardcore build work was done by myself throughout 2006 and, with help from Marc, the new circuit was unveiled to the members near to the end of the season.

However, trouble was looming in the world of politics and the local government started to apply pressure on all community centres to either become self-funded or close down. Exorbitant demands simply couldn’t be met and we were forced to move the club once again to our current location at Nascot Wood, Watford (just to the north of London).

Success continues for the club with three wins in the Champions League

(an inter-club competition) and we have also hosted a qualifying round of the Ninco World Cup. Since moving to Nascot Wood, the club has seen membership rise and the 6-lane track increase in length to 33.3 metres, meaning our future once again looks secure. We have a very vibrant race programme featuring all the non-magnet classes you would expect from a club with a long history. Hopefully we can see you there one day! *Since writing this piece, I have learned that during March 2013, Jim Sharp sadly passed away in hospital. I will always miss Jim’s wacky enthusiasm and although he was never any good as a driver, without him I don’t think the club would ever have gained a foothold in the world of slot car racing. May his memory always live on with members past and present!

Main picture: The track at our current location in Nascot Wood.

Left: Someone gets it badly wrong in a Renault Mégane.

Right: A series of snapshots from the mid-eighties showing (from top) the old Polistil track / Jim Sharp / Paul Paterson / start line / Dave Druce / main part of the Polistil circuit.

Far left top: A “Champions League” round on the newly built 6-lane Ninco at Burnt Oak around 2007.

Far left middle: Night racing, with car lights only

Find us at:

www.nascotwoodslotcarclub.co.uk and on FaceBook

Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders

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McLar

by Peter Solari and Marc Abbott

N

inco were still establishing themselves as a quality slot car manufacturer when members of their team travelled 700 miles from Barcelona (Spain) to Woking (England) to witness production of the now-famous McLaren F1 GTR which had just taken the 1995 24 hours of Le Mans (quite literally) by storm. An exclusive agreement and close collaboration between both

Ninco’s take on

manufacturers ensured this accurate 1/32nd scale reproduction slot car has stood the test of time.

The first release from Ninco, based on the ’95 Le Mans winner, marked a milestone in Ninco’s production, as this was their first to use painting for the car decoration: silver along the front, sides and rear of the black number 59 “Ueno Clinic”-sponsored entry. The second, the

“Harrods” livery car, employed the same painting process for the bordered green stripe running centrally from front to back.

All other decoration, such as race numbers and sponsorship logos, was by application of adhesive labels.

The following year, 1997, four more McLarens were produced: two in blue and orange “Gulf” livery (race numbers 33 & 34), a plain orange “LM Road Car” and a white

Ninco “LeMans 1995” (50129) also known as ‘Ueno Clinic’ was Ninco’s first car to use paint for contrasting body colour. Ninco previously used adhesive stickers for body decoration but combined this with painting on their early McLarens. Today, cars are entirely painted and printed using modern print technology before being sealed with a high-gloss lacquer.

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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG

en F1:

Murray’s Dream Machine and red “Art Sports” car which also featured in their GT race set. Each McLaren was powered by Ninco’s NC-1 motor, held within a motor pod in the chassis. Ninco were already offering a higher-powered motor as a spare part and this was employed as an ‘aftermarket’ component by many racers.

Ninco assembled a test car with the higherpowered NC-2 motor in conjunction with upgrades such as slick tyres (in lieu of

grooved), super magnet, longer screws and softer braids. This led to the development of a new chassis to support the more powerful motor and stronger ‘button’ magnet. The dark silver-grey “Tag Heuer” car was the last to be supplied with the original-style chassis as well as being packaged in the small crystal case and cardboard sleeve.

With the dawn of a new millennium about to break, a new-look Ninco McLaren

Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders

was launched. Using tampo-print technology across the range rather than stickers, the 1999 release “A Day Off” was beautifully presented in a large crystal case with an angled base to show off the

G

ordon Murray is known in the motor sport world as one of the best “thinking” car designers of his era. Look back to his beautiful Brabham BT series, especially the triangular-shaped BT44, adorned with Martini sponsorship, and then a decade or so later when he was part of the team that fielded the all-conquering McLaren MP4s driven

by Senna and Prost. He approached and persuaded (although how difficult that was is not too well documented) Ron Dennis to go ahead with a project that would produce the fastest-ever road car – its actual top speed on the road was clocked at 242.95 mph (390.99 km/h)!

Although we have seen betterhandling and faster cars emerge since then, it has to be said that the car still sets a benchmark for other designers to work towards. It is also peculiar in having three seats – for the driver and two passengers.

However, it was the layout of these seats that raised the eyebrows when it was first released: the driver, sat at the front and central, whilst the two passengers were either side of him/her, but set back slightly. This meant that the driver had a distinct advantage over his rivals because he had equal vision of both sides of his vehicle.

Peter Stevens was asked to design the exterior and coupled with Murray’s

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Battlefield Europe: by Brett Jurmann

BMW CSL v Capri RS3100 – Part 2 In the first part of this article we looked at the history of these two cars during the

1970s. In this second part, we will take a

look at how the Fly BMW and the Carrera

Capri compare as slot cars. I have owned both of these cars for only a short time

and have not had much of a chance to run many laps with them before now.

Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders

A

fter taking a detailed look, it is surprising how similar these cars are in layout. Not unexpectedly, both cars are tall relative to other slot cars such as the sports prototypes made by Slot.it and NSR. Physically, the BMW and the Capri are identical in wheelbase, however the Capri is noticeably narrower. Both cars are very detailed, including working lights and accurate representations of the wide BBS wheels that helped make the real racers look spectacular just standing still. These wheels are fitted with what must be close to the widest, ‘squarest’ low profile rubber of any readyto-run slot car on the market. My immediate concern is whether this will make these cars have great initial grip and then snap into oversteer, making progressive slides difficult.

TRACK DIFFERENCE

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THE THRILL OF THE CHASE acing flat, wide rocket ships around a track as quickly and as neatly as you can is probably the most widely held approach to slot car racing. To be honest, it works pretty well for most of us, but just when we thought that’s all there was to it, Gareth Jones came along with Chase-Cars. A whole new approach, based on American film and television car chase antics, where outright speed was no longer king. Slide and squeal, rock and roll, leave your lateral g at the door, sir, all designed with the latest CAD technology. It was high time SlotCarMAG found out what Gareth had to say for himself…

When and how did you first get into slot racing?

I was always into cars and as a young child I had a basic slot racing set for Christmas one year, I don’t remember the make or even the cars, but it had a battery pack for power which always seemed to go flat or leak acid. Then I had a Matchbox Race ‘n’ Chase set a year or two later which was good fun but wasn’t particularly reliable and probably the Christmas after I had a proper Scalextric set. It was (I think) the 400 set with the F1 Renault and 6-wheel March and I still have the Renault!

This set was much more useable, you could buy additional cars and sometimes another set would be dropped off by a family friend so I soon had a decent collection of cars and enough track to fill the front room.

From there I moved to 1:10 radio controlled cars and raced them at club level for a few years, but as soon as I could get a real car I found that keeping it on the road took all of my spare time.

Were you, and are you, interested in the more ‘conventional’ side of racing – as a model form of 1:1 motor sport – or did your true interest stem from road cars in general, and big American cars and chases in particular?

R

I was never seriously into 1:1 motor sport; growing up in Wales in the 1970s meant that sport on TV was rugby, or football when there was no rugby and sometimes there’d be brief highlights of motor racing. A rare treat was when rallycross was on TV, but perhaps the lack of motor sport forced my interest into cars on TV programmes. Even now I’m not tremendously into motor sport, but I like watching classic car racing and the occasional trip to Goodwood is an extraordinary spectacle.

Ok, the one we all need to know…. what’s your favourite car chase?

I’m not sure I’ve got one! Bullitt is thrilling of course, but the

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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG

George Turner and the

I

t was just about two years ago (at Milton Keynes, I think) I casually mentioned to George Turner that his sales collection was seriously lacking in the ‘modern’ Grand Prix department... I knew what his answer would be and he immediately jumped in with the anticipated “Hmmm, well there’s never really been anything that captured my imagination after the ’sixties” and “drivers nowadays have so little depth” etc. etc. I can’t remember George’s words to the letter, but they did go somewhere along those lines.

I said, “Yeah, but George, what about people like Jo Siffert in a BRM or Ayrton Senna’s McLaren and obviously Gilles Villeneuve driving... well, anything really?”

He scratched his chin for a moment and agreed, “Well obviously there’s been a few moments that would be worth capturing, but, well, I’m not sure.”

I got on to talking about some of his latest offerings at the time and I think I bought a Maserati from him. Just as I was about to leave, I said: “Ferrari 126C2, so iconic. The car Gilles died in and something that will always be remembered. You’ll probably even have the Pope order one if you make it.”

I left it at that and thought no more of our parlez until I saw him again a few months later at another swap meet.

“You’ve got a lot to answer for,” he quipped, “I went out and bought a 1/12 kit of the Ferrari 126C2. I’ve been studying the bits for hours and then made the model up in sections so that I could work out if it’s viable.”

“And?” (You can’t imagine the anticipation, as he paused).

“Nah... I’m not sure whether a guide would go underneath properly. There’s not much room.”

Once again I left George’s table with a kit and proceeded to build another of his gems at home, whilst assuming that the ‘modern’ Ferrari idea had been put to rest.

Fast forward to halfway through 2012 and I once again saw George at a swap meet. “Ok, it’s on the move. But it’ll take time. Keep looking at my web site for updates, I want to make sure it’s a good model... bloody modern rubbish.”

I remember (whilst picking myself up from the floor) asking if he thought a metal chassis would get underneath it – you know just to make it a really fast car. I think he said “Don’t push your luck.” Of course, once again, I left the table with another car.

Just to fill in you youngsters on why Villeneuve is such a legend will only take about ten minutes of your time – look up the 1979 French Grand Prix on YouTube. It’s the last few laps that need watching. For us oldies that can remember, it’s probably (arguably) the best watch of all time. I just cannot comprehend the trust those two youngsters had in each other’s driving ability!

Of course some people claim Gilles was a reckless driver, getting himself involved in too many incidents. The counter to that is, for the majority of his Formula 1 career, he was driving second-rate machinery (I can hear Enzo Ferrari turning in his grave). His best chance at the title was when he was teammate to Jody Scheckter. However, Gilles dutifully gave his number one the help he needed to take the championship, and was happy to do so, for surely his own time would come.

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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG

by Marc Abbott

The Ferrari 126C2 is finished and in production after around 2 years of preparation. Three versions are available, enabling you to build versions of the Villeneuve or Pironi cars. (Later versions with drivers Andretti and Tambay could also be constructed, with some modifications, but decals aren’t available for these as yet).

George has used Penelope Pitlane PPSRWL wheels on the rear with Scalex W94422 tyres. The front wheels are Slot It PA1715x8 plastic hubs, with Slot It PT07 Zero Grip 19x10 tyres (the wheel inserts are made for these wheels, and included in the kits). Purchase details can be found at:

www.georgeturnermodels.com

Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders

To emphasise the greatness of his ability, during the extremely wet Friday practice session for the season-ending United States Grand Prix, his teammate Jody Scheckter, who was second fastest, recalled “I scared myself rigid that day. I thought I had to be quickest. Then I saw Gilles’s time and – I still don't really understand how it was possible. Eleven seconds faster!”

There followed some really poor cars from Ferrari, which were interspersed with touches of brilliance from Villeneuve. There was also some crashes that, as I mentioned, were probably a mixture of frustration and also someone getting the car to do things the laws of physics wouldn’t allow. Villeneuve actually started the 1980 season as favourite to win with the bookies, but scored a mere 6 points. The 1981 car (the first of the 126 designs) had a very powerful engine, but lacked the necessary chassis to cope with it. However, Gilles managed two wins that year, one of them the Spanish Grand Prix, where he somehow managed to hold off a train of five other better cars.

Harvey Postlethwaite, who went on to design the 126C2, commented on the 126C, “That car... well, it had literally one quarter of the downforce of the Williams or Brabham. Yes, there was a power advantage over the Cosworths for sure, but it also had massive throttle lag. In terms of sheer ability I believe Gilles was on a different plane to the other drivers. To win those races – the 1981 Grands Prix at Monaco and Jarama, tight circuits, was quite out of this world. I know how bad that car was!”

1982 looked promising, the 126C2 was a potential winner (it actually won the constructors’ title that year). Gilles had a teammate that he had welcomed on board (Didier Pironi) and once again he felt relaxed. Yet, everywhere around him, fate was beginning to deal the last fateful hand.

FISA and FOCA were at loggerheads (there’s no point going into it all here, but basically it was an argument that split Grand Prix racing down the middle and laid a few foundation stones for the circus we know today). The major FOCA teams boycotted the San Marino race as a protest, which in effect left the Ferraris to do battle with the Renaults and Alfa Romeo. There were a few dissenting FOCA teams present, but they were no match for the Renaults and Ferraris that stole the first four places on the grid.

Once again, if you don’t know about this particular race, look it up on YouTube. You will see what appears to be a titanic battle for first place between Villeneuve and his Ferrari teammate Pironi. However, after their main rivals, Renault, had retired, the pits had signalled both Ferrari drivers to slow down and cruise to the finish. Villeneuve (who was leading at this point) assumed that also meant ‘hold position’ and was very surprised when Pironi slipped past. Later Villeneuve said that he thought Pironi was just trying to put on a show for the tifosi, since their cars were a long way ahead of the rest of the pack. Villeneuve dutifully re-took the lead and was surprised again when Pironi re-passed.

The look on Villeneuve’s face on the podium says it all. He had realised too late that Pironi was going for the win and in fact hadn’t bothered to guard his position on the last lap, because he still believed Pironi would settle back in second to honour the instructions received earlier from the pits. It is possible that he never spoke to Pironi again.

A fortnight later, Villeneuve crashed (rather horrifically) to his death whilst on a qualifying lap at the Belgian Grand Prix.

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Scalextric Clas

by Hub Habets

Main Pic: World Cup Rally 1970-winning Escort

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The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG

sic rallycars A

fter their ‘Power and the Glory’ series in the ’nineties, Scalextric started a whole new range of classic racing cars in 2002. The first car was a re-make of C77 from the ’sixties, the legendary Ford GT40, but now made with new moulds and the latest technical knowledge. At the same time they introduced the ‘American Classics’ series with the Chevrolet Camaro and the Ford Mustang. In 2004 Scalextric made new moulds for classic Grand Prix cars, beginning with the famous Vanwall and Maserati 250F, with the Cooper Climax T53 and Ferrari 156 ‘Sharknose’ following a year later.

Rally fans had still to wait, but in 2006 Scalextric launched a beautifully-made new Ford Escort MK1, followed by the Classic Mini Cooper in 2007. With the brand-new Ford Cortina GT in 2009, the classic rally cars got even more popular. Two years later the MGB, VW Beetle and the Ford RS200 appeared, followed by the MG Metro 6R4 at the end of 2012.

The Ford Escort MK1 was the most desired rally car for a long time. The first version was the 1972 RAC Rally-winning white Uniflo-sponsored MK1, driven by the great Roger Clark and Tony Mason. This was soon followed by the dark brown Colibri Lighters Escort, the winning 1974 RAC Rally car of Finnish driver Timo Mäkinen and British navigator Henry Liddon. With the Milksponsored blue/white 1973 RAC Rally winner of the same duo, Scalextric completed the list of RAC Rally-winning MK1 Escorts.

The real Escorts with Timo Mäkinen behind the steering wheel were left-hand-drive cars. Scalextric produces only the righthand-drive version, but it is possible to swap the driver and navigator, because the dashboard of the Escort is symmetrical.

After some cutting with a hobby knife, you only need to glue the parts of the dashboard and the steering wheel in their new positions. I also added mud flaps, made from pieces bicycle inner tube. On the Colibri version you can find some mud flaps under the floor pan in front of the rear axle. These protected the brake lines and rear axle on the real car. The mud flaps on the front bumper stopped water splashing against the front screen and

Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders

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Le Mans 24 hours:

Love is like 23rd-24th March 2013, Henley-In-Arden, UK

T

here were many parallels between the 2013 Slot.it oXigen Le Mans 24hrs and the actual events at Le Mans during the era chosen, 1997-1999. A Porsche won a race that quite frankly anybody could have won, including the other Porsche.

A Lotus broke down a lot. A McLaren caught fire. Nissan and Toyota were fast, but sadly had nothing to show for it after 24hrs. The Audi R8R was not fast, but it did not break down once, and it finished several places ahead of where it started simply by driving across the timing line every 18 seconds.

Perhaps the most interesting result of the weekend was qualifying - after turning barely a wheel in practice due to technical issues, race control checked the time sheets following Q2 and promptly announced that the Racing

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for Holland Lotus Elise would sit on the pole. To a stunned paddock, perhaps nobody more stunned than RfH’s Tamar Nelwan, this was an interesting development. A request was even made for some of the ‘quick’ drivers in the Lola to transfer across – a request denied under the rulebook. In the end maybe it was better off that way, from starting first it would finish dead last after endless maladies during the 24 hours. However, a further victory in the concours d’elegance for the pretty Lotus would justify the effort put into this two-car entry from the Dutch outfit.

The sister car, a Lola B2k/40, dipped in and out of the top three for the entire race, eventually coming home in fourth to win the LMP class from the Audi R8R of Sports Carazing, who themselves fought tooth and nail with the Austrian-

The magazine for racers, collectors and builders – Slot Car MAG

oXigen Q&A with Gary Skipp

So, how was it for you? Did actually knowing that the system works make this year’s event any less stressful to run?

The event was less stressful, but I’m not sure that having 100% confidence in oXigen was a factor.

Granted, first time round it was an unknown, but I couldn’t really afford to think about it not working, so it didn’t stress me out. Although, having done it before, and also the event at Pendle, the previous experience and familiarity did help. I was able to enjoy the event more, immerse myself in the experience and left thinking ‘lets do that again next week’ – a huge positive difference.

Do you see the fact that this year’s race was won by a very nearly ‘box stock’ car as a good thing for the event in general?

Yes, absolutely. Doubters already criticise the open rules that permit scratch built cars, so the fact an RTR won should shut them up pretty quickly.

What improvements were made to the track this year?

More lane changers, which were repositioned and gapped differently to the corners. Also a lot more borders; this was a cosmetic thing but I felt it made a huge difference to the appearance of the track, especially from the rostrum. We also installed hard-standing crash barriers at the run-off areas at Tertre Rouge, Mulsanne Corner, Indianapolis Corner and the Ford Chicane. Finally, we re-wired the hand controller loom to feature more robust jack sockets.

Slot Car MAG – The magazine for racers, collectors and builders

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