SlotRacer Forum

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We're just two weeks away from the return of Slot Rally GB to the Barn - home of Worthing HO Racing.

Six stages will run during the day...

• Friston Forest - Scalextric Classic / SCX
  
• Titnore Lane (shortened) - Ninco ice + Ninco tarmac
  
• Jupp's Farm II - Ninco off-road + Ninco tarmac
  
• The Boulevard - Scalextric Sport
  
• Ford Ice Rink - routed foamboard + copper tape
  
• Johnny's Workshop - 3D printed + braid
  
  

Doors open at 9am, with the action scheduled to begin by 10. Entry is £4 per car, with a maximum of four cars and two in any class. Rules and regs can be found here. Payment can be made on the day, but it would be really useful to know in advance if you're coming. Either reply to this thread, message me or contact Phil Barry directly via the Abergavenny Slot Rally Club Facebook page.

For those visiting for the first time, the Barn is a typical 18th-Century Sussex flint barn and sits next to the modern English Martyrs Church building in Goring-by-Sea. The post code is BN12 4UE. You can type Worthing HO Racing into Google or Apple maps and you'll be taken straight to the Barn...

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Parking is either in the church car park or on-street in the Goring Way southern slip-road outside the Barn and the church. There are no parking charges or restrictions in Goring. For those travelling on public transport, the Stagecoach 701 Coastliner stops within a few yards of the Barn in both directions. Goring-by-Sea station is 600 yards west of the Barn - a very leisurely 5-10 minute walk.

In terms of facilities, the Barn shares a toilet block with the church, including a fully-accessible disabled cubicle. There is a ramp available at the main entrance for wheelchair access. The kitchen has a fridge-freezer, microwave and a hot water machine for making hot drinks. We'll aim to have tea bags, a jar of coffee, plus milk and sugar available on the day. Maybe some biscuits. As indicated on the map, there is a Tesco Express and small parade of shops located about 5 minutes walk to the west of the Barn. The chip shop opens at midday. The main Goring shops, takeaways and Mulberry pub are to the south east, about half a mile away. There is a shaded grass area at the front of the Barn and a patio area to the rear for those who need a breath of fresh air or a vape / smoke.

Any questions, just ask.

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Hosting a round of a national series is always a very different kettle of fish than just turning up and enjoying the show. Last July, slot rally was pretty new to us at WHO, but after another 12 months of running stages at the Barn, this year's event felt better. 

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We selected six stages that offered a satisfying mix of different challenges and made a good combination. From the tight & twisty Ford Ice Rink and Johnny's Workshop, to the wide-open Boulevard, a bumpy Jupp's Farm track and the beautiful flow of Friston Forest... there was also the deceptively punishing Titnore Lane with its tricky elevations and wicked camber.

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Friday evening saw Jeremy, John, Alex and myself build and test the six stages. We had to pace ourselves on what had been one of the hottest days of the year on the South Coast. At the same time, competitors were driving to Worthing from around the country, to spend a restful night before the event.

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The rains arrived in the early morning and would continue through to lunch time. From 8.20 through to 10, thirty-three (by my reckoning) drivers signed-on to race and they gradually took to the stages in five groups. Joining them were half a dozen local spectators, dropping in to see what it was all about. And there was Dave the dog - down from Oxfordshire and seemingly enjoying his day, especially when it stopped raining and the sun came out.

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I'm not quite sure exactly how many cars took part, but most drivers had the full complement of four, with some WHO racers just having their usual set of three for our club nights. There was - as always - a fabulous mix of machinery, manufacturers and modifications. I'd say a very good turn-out of fairly standard SCX and Scalextric cars, plus plenty of brand new releases, including Avant Slot Yaris, Galant and 240RS. Perhaps fewer SRC 914s than usual? Or their numbers were diluted by the large and varied field.

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My cars were the usual squad for Slot Rally GB 2025 - SCX Fiat 124 Spider, Ninco Porsche 911SC, Avant Slot Mitsubishi Galant and Ninco Subaru Impreza. They were good fun - particularly the Fiat - but overall I thought I was a little too cautious over the stages. I was in a big group of seven - Matt, Alfie and Phil from Abergavenny, plus Rob, Ollie, Isaac and me from WHO. It made for an enjoyable day, with some quick times and lots of chat. I did sometimes get called away to solve a technical issue or two, but that didn't happen very often. The Ice Rink required a quick braid soldering repair, which took 5 minutes - and there were a handful of controller/car combos that the Johnny's Workshop timers didn't like.

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Most groups aimed to finish four of the six stages before taking their lunch, by which time Goring-by-Sea was bathed in glorious sunshine. After that break, the groups rattled off the remaining stages, with the first finishers handing in their completed time cards at around 2.45pm.

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That gave people time to photograph their cars on the start ramp or run for fun on any empty stages. So the wait for the final two groups to finish was not onerous. And we didn't need to wait very long.

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With all the times handed in, Alan and Seb crunched the numbers and were ready to announce the top tens at 4pm on the dot. It was the locals handing out the medals, but sadly no WHO recipients this time. Both Jeremy and myself had some top-tens (and possibly a top-five?), which was pleasing in such a competitive field...

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There were several Slot Rally veterans on the class podiums, but the driver who made off with the most silverware was relative newcomer Martin Dixson from Nascot Wood. He had a magnificent day at the Barn and planned to celebrate in Worthing on Saturday night!

Thanks to a good few people helping us dismantle the stages and pack away, Jeremy, John, Alex and me had two cars and a van packed up and on the way home about 5pm. And some of that stuff will return to the Barn this Wednesday, when we build four tracks for the WHO Summer Stages!

Slot Rally GB shifts to Abergavenny for the season finale on Sunday 7 September. There will be some WHO racers making the trip, so give us a shout if you want to join us.

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It was certainly an enormous pleasure to host another Slot Rally GB event. Huge thanks goes to everyone who made the journey to the south coast and contributed to a brilliant vibe at the Barn. We couldn't have done it without Phil, Alan and Seb organising the series and doing all the admin on the day. Big thanks also goes to Staffs Slot Cars UK for sponsoring Slot Rally GB for a second year. And to Jeremy, Alex and John - a massive thank you for your hard work over 24 hours to turn an empty hall into a stage rally - and then back again.

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There are some short video clips from the event over on the WHO Facebook page.

It is always a mixed bag when hosting the Round... my spiderweb of power taps seems to have eliminated any voltage drops around Friston Forest this time, although a Ninco light bridge will always keep you on your toes. However, a battery change mid-morning helped provide some robust timing for the remainder of the day. 

Driving wise, all my cars performed well, although I don't seem to have matched previous round results with them. Perhaps the familiar surroundings, and subliminal hosting duties slightly dampened my trigger finger. But it's fun to host a round, and to witness at close quarters, Woodcote's journey into the world of trackside scenery!

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Hosting is a different kind of enjoyment, gone is the 100% focus on you and your cars, your focus is everywhere else keeping an eye(s) and ear(s) open to everything going on...
...Seb & Alan do a remarkable job to ease the workload
...it's still enjoyable though (as long as your cars are trouble-free for the day)  

Here are the results - a whopping 118 cars across the three classes...

Classic
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80s - 90s
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Modern
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Overall
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**You will need to click on the images to read them**

I'll be interested to see what that all means for the championship tables going into the final round at Abergavenny.