Digest 20

Published by woodcote on May 15, 2022

This week’s Digest focuses on plenty of new and forthcoming models in three scales, a hectic schedule of slot car racing, a feature on GT racing and how to replicate it in 1:32 scale, plus a look at a rare 1980s Alfa and just some of the highlights of a very busy weekend of motorsport…

Slot Cars

• Slot.it Mercedes 190E Kyalami 1990 Just arrived from Slot.it is this beautiful Camel-sponsored Mercedes 190E DTM – a model of a car with some fabulous history… Not only did Roland Asch win the first DTM race in South Africa, his was also the first victory for a car with ABS fitted. Read more in the News section.

• Fly/Gaugemaster 24 Heures du Mans Collection Fly have teamed up with their UK distributor Gaugemaster to produce a series of twelve cars that raced at the Le Mans 24 Hours. These two 1962 Ferrari GTOs join two 1970 Porsche 911 GT cars in the first group of four, available this summer.

• BRM Alfa GTA New Liveries BRM are getting excited by two new liveries on their 1:24 scale Alfa GTA, the Levi’s sponsored #79 from Spa 24 hours of 1972 and the black edition #77 restyled hillclimb car. Both models are expected at the end of June

• Jaguar E-Type Hard Top The decals have arrived so George Turner has now put the Jaguar lightweight E-Type Hardtop on his website.
• Jaguar E-Type Roadster Similarly the lightweight roadster is also now available, and both models come with 3D chassis and wheels.
• Ford Falcon, Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Falcon is also back on site, now with specially designed 3D chassis etc.

• New Arrivals From Carrera A whole bunch of new Digital 132 and Evolution cars from Carrera have landed in the UK. Of particularly interest are a pair of De Tomaso Panteras. Pendle Slot Racing have them all waiting for you.

• AFX Racing 1968 Corvette 427 ‘Black Flame’ The AFX Collectors Series contains some of the best HO slot cars produced over the past two decades. This latest Corvette – with its wild-fire flames and chrome wheels is another great addition to the line-up.

• Teamslot Ford Escort Zakspeed DRM 1979 Teamslot seem to be getting into their stride with some long-awaited 2021 releases. This stunning Zakspeed Escort was scheduled for May last year – plus their are two more similar cars in production with slightly different tooling. They may behind schedule, but Teamslot’s attention to detail is always breathtaking.

• Ford Escort ‘Black Beauty’ Scalextric Club Car 2022 Another delayed Escort is the 2022 Scalextric Club car… but it sounds like it’s finally on its way! To see more of the latest images and find out about Ari Vatanen’s ‘Black Beauty’ RS1800, take a look at the forum thread.

Media

• Magazines ePilot continues his excellent work in keeping us all updated with the latest publications, with recent news including the Más Slot 20th Anniversary edition, N Scale Railroading, a special supplement Issue of Slot Car Mods magazine, DRS Magazine, and Trainini.

Slot Racing

• Suzuka Double Digital 2022 – Eindhoven Oxigen digital racers from around Europe gathered at SRC Eindhoven for a weekend of GT and LMP racing – the first big international event there since before the Covid pandemic. You can watch plenty of video clips over on the club’s Facebook page.

• Triple Crown – American Road Race The American Road Race reached Edinburgh this week and Scuderia Turini has brought us all of the latest results from North of the border.

• Wye Valley Spring Stages All the results, pictures and podiums from Abergavenny can be found over on the event thread.

• SlotRacer ‘Your Club’ News & Reports There’s plenty been going on in the Your Clubs forum this week, with updates from Bury St Edmunds, Manx, Mussel Bay, Norwich, New South Wales, Southend, Viking and Worthing slot car clubs.

GT Racing

Full-size or in 1:32 scale, GT cars are simply awesome…

GT fans are in for a treat over the next few months. Starting with a memorable Bathurst 12 hour race this weekend, there’s a trio of 24 hour classics at the Nürburgring (28-29 May), Le Mans (11-12 June) and Spa (30-31 July) coming up. And you’ll find plenty on the SlotRacer Online website forum to indulge your GT desires…

• Bathurst 12 Hours Coverage The Motorsport section of the SlotRacer forum covers a wide variety of events, but GT racing is featured regularly with highlights videos and links to free live coverage.

• Track Plans Perfect for recreating your own classics like the Nürburgring, Spa, Le Mans and Daytona 24 hours, Jason’s slot car track plans also include a whole set of layouts for the British GT Championship.

• National GT3 2022 Yes, there’s an annual GT3 championship that has rounds at six clubs across the UK – you can find out how to get involved in the SlotRacer Events forum.

• GT3 International Proxy Or you can go international and test your GT car-building skills against some of the best from around the world. Hosted in Canada and the USA, a handful SlotRacer forum members took part in the qualifying shoot-out for this year’s event. It was a blast!

• Slot.it Maserati GT3 Review NSR and Scaleauto were once the 1:32 scale GT racer’s only choices – then Racer Sideways threw their hat into the ring, followed last year by Slot.it. The first Slot.it Modern GT release got a proper once-over in the SlotRacer Review section.

• Scalextric Digital GT Endurance Simulation Digital racing might not be for everyone, but there’s no argument that systems like Scalextric ARC Pro and the Magic ARC app can deliver incredibly realistic simulations of GT3 events and championships. This British GT Championship format shows what’s possible.

Automobiles

• Alfa Romeo SZ The SZ was a 1986 collaboration between Zagato, Alfa Romeo and their new owners Fiat. A concept car that saw a production run of just over a thousand, the SZ made a strong statement that Alfa Romeo would have an independent existence inside the Fiat family. Tom Hain’s wonderful photo-essay on the Petrolicious website is as striking and disconcertingly beautiful as the car itself.

Motorsport

• Monaco Historique 2022 Undoubtedly the highlight of a busy motor racing weekend was the return of the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. Packed full of incredible machinery driven by legends such as Jacky Ickx and current F1 front-runners like Charles Leclerc, this was an event not to miss. Thankfully Goodwood Road & Racing have loads of video footage on their website and YouTube Channel.

• GT World Challenge Europe at Magny-Cours It wasn’t just Bathurst that saw top-flight GT3 action this weekend. Magny-Cours in central France hosted the crème of the Fanatec Sprint Series for two exciting races on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. The official GT World website has all the details.

• Rally Islas Canarias 2022 The third round of the European Rally Championship took place in the Canary Islands this weekend. You can catch up with all the results, images and video highlights on the ERC website.

• 4 Hours of Imola The European Le Mans Series visited Imola with another packed grid of LMP2 and LMP3 cars, plus a gaggle of LM GTE teams getting ready for Le Mans next month. It was a topsy-turvy race, but definitely worth catching the highlights. In the meantime, why not head over to the ELMS website.

• British Touring Cars – Brands Hatch The BTCC circuit descended on Brands Hatch this weekend for their annual ‘get-together’ on the fast and furious Indy Circuit. With plenty of action and controversy guaranteed, you can get yourself up-to-date via the BTCC website and ITV catch-up.

• Berlin E-Prix 2022 Formula-E was in Berlin this weekend as the 2022 season reached its halfway stage. The track at the Tempelhof Airport is a little wider than most on the calendar, so overtaking is easier. As usual, Berlin served up two excellent races. Check out the official website for all the news and highlights.