Scalextric C4234 Lotus 97T - Portugese GP 1985 - Ayrton Senna. RRP £53.99. Available now.

The two Senna Lotus models first appeared in the 2021 Scalextric catalogue and - after a long wait - the first has just arrived at the Hornby warehouse in Kent. These images are of pre-production samples, but this is pretty much what the cars in the crates look like...

       

Although a very nice mould decorated with a crisp JPS livery, the lack of Goodyear decals on the tyres and of detail on the helmet is a surprise. It's probable that there are licensing issues involved and - if that's the case - it's a shame such things get in the way of producing what is clearly meant as a tribute to one of the most talented racing drivers of all time.

Estoril in 1985 was the scene of Ayrton Senna's first Grand Prix victory. With sensational performances in the lower formulae and in F1 with Toleman, no-one was in any doubt that Senna was someone very special. Portugal was the second race of 1985 season and Senna's second outing with a moderately competitive team. Practice was taken up trying to sort out a misfire that had plagued his 97T in Brazil - and his spare car broke down out on the circuit... However, the Lotus mechanics did their job, with Senna top in both qualifying sessions and beating Alain Prost's erstwhile dominant McLaren by 0.413 of a second.

       

Rain was falling on the morning of the race and continued throughout the day. Senna coped perfectly with the pressure of starting on pole and with the atrocious conditions, getting away smoothly and then keeping the car in the highest gear possible. It was a masterclass from the 23-year-old Brazilian - driving away into the distance and lapping every car apart from the Ferrari of second placed Michele Alboreto. As he pulled into the pit lane at the end of the race, Senna was already half-way out of the cockpit, overcome with emotion - it was an iconic moment...

       

Writing in MotorSport magazine, legendary F1 journalist Alan Henry said at the time...

Quote:It would probably be a very slight exaggeration to suggest that Ayrton Senna has brought a fresh standard of driving excellence to Formula One simply on the strength of his splendid flag-to-flag victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril, but it wouldn’t be too much of an exaggeration. It was a masterly performance.

Henry highlighted Senna's qualifying result as worthy of excitement in itself, but the maturity he showed in the race - as far more experienced drivers failed to control their turbo-powered cars on the sodden track - was simply remarkable. But it didn't stop there - Senna's thoughtful reflections on his race was something that suggested to journalists and fans that Senna was simply a breed apart.

Looking back 30 years later, this short video is well worth a look - although for licensing reasons, you'll have to watch it directly on the F1 YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/JRIOKRHhOto



What is it about all this licensing malarkey? I have the romantic notion that our beloved sport belongs to the fans

The Scalextric JPS Lotus 97T is available now from the Scalextric website and will be with retailers soon. The C4251 Camel 99T from the 1987 Monaco race and the C1432 Scalextric 1980s Grand Prix set - containing both Senna Lotus cars -  aren't far away.

Before I begin, please note there are 2 variants of this car made by Ninco, a V12 LM which I have here, and a V12 LMR which has a different chassis, so this will not fit the LMR version.
The most obvious visual difference is the front grill, the LMR has the more modern BMW "kidney" style grill, where this one has the oblong ones.

Anyways, Angelo kindly managed to fit in my request to produce this chassis so I could use it on one of my "Endurance 2022 proxy" entries.
Although the rules are Inline or Sidewinder for the class this car is in, I asked that the chassis be made compatible with AW/SW and IL.
The stock body needs no cutting to accommodate any of those configurations with Slot.it pods.
However, you may need to remove the side fixings on Slot.it pods, not a problem for me as I only ever use the front and rear fixings.

   

   

The stock chassis rear mounting was right in the way of where a Slot.it pod has it rear screws, and there is little room further back. 
Angelo opted to provide 2 side fixing mounts with the chassis, to be fixed forward of the rear wheels.

You can see the original rear mounting posts in the  picture along with the epoxied in position replacement mountings.

   

Excuse my messy wiring, in my years of building slot cars, I this was my first attempt at lighting one 

As usual, everything fitted perfectly with just a bit of trimming to obtain the pod and body float I desired.
And with some smooth shank screws I can obtain a nice degree of body rock.

   

   

Once again, Many thanks to Angelo for producing another excellent chassis for me, despite having a major DIY job on the go 

Hi, I bought my son a Scalextric C1415 Batman vs Joker bundle with extras   As a Christmas present! It’s been set up but never used! It breaks my heart but he’s just not interested! Thought I would try on here and see if anyone is interested?! 
I’ll attach pictures but any questions let me know!! Thanks ?

 Good Morning,

I know it seems a long way off........but believe me it is "just around the corner"

   

I will start with a bit of intro

After the Slotting Car Proxy Club voted in July this topic as one of their preferred themes for next year, I decided that it should be in essence run on Rally Stages that best simulate what the topic is about. Hence it will be a contest about the cars ability to negotiate some very testing slot car tracks set up at clubs or with individual hosts for the purpose of running Rally cars.

In general I will refer to these as either "Rally/Hillclimb Stages" or "Tarmac stages", the former can be based on ready made routed wood single lane tracks or similar plastic track based single lane tracks. The latter "Tarmac Stages" will be based on short club or individual host track circuits, and again either wood or plastic tracks.
There will be no large fast Club tracks used for this particular Proxy.

The "Rally /Hillclimb  stages" will include steep inclines and tight corners, ramps are possible and hump back bridges, rough surfaces, or slippery sliding  surfaces.
We have 10 hosts/clubs volunteering to put our cars through these challenges, and each host can potentially run up to two Rally Stages. Each Host Round will count as the combined running results from the number of stages they run (ie either one or two). And the points will be awarded from the final results of each Host Round.

We have some new host/clubs who have offered their services, and I am extremely grateful for their participation. Unfortunately not all our regular hosts could be included in this specialised  Proxy series but I hope that they will be willing to participate again the latter part of next year, when we return to a more conventional "Raceway" based track themed proxy

So here is the Provisional Schedule proposal for the series next year, I am sure there maybe changes along the way before we reach the critical dates, but I will update the schedule if necessary as we run up to the end of the year.

   

Rally Cars
Although not mandatory it is recommended to fit guides with suspension because of the nature of the tracks, and additionally fitting cars with motor mount or wheel suspension may be advantageous. Long wheelbase cars (ie in the Monte Carlo Event) may struggle to get round the tight corners and steep inclines. So I would void entering them. A reminder that All cars entered must have both a driver and navigator, Rally decals and Livery appropriate to the Event in which the car is entered.

Series Format (Revised) The format will now follow the conventional practise for slot car Rally Events.
Therefore for every Stage in the round each competing car will be measured for the overall time (including de-slots) taken to  complete the Stage.
And each subsequent stage will add onto the accumulated overall time. So for this Proxy there will not be points allocated for finishing positions at each stage or Round. It will be one continuous series of stages.

The four Events will be run separately in any order as chosen by the host. A time will not be posted for any car which is felt to be incapable by the host of completing the round and a default or time out will be allocated.

After each Round (1-2 Stages) the run times of each car in each Event will be posted on the Slotracer online forum and on our facebook page.

Rally Proxy Round Scoring and Awards

Stage Times (Rally & Tarmac stages) - Hosts will run each car according to the complexity of their tracks for approx 60 secs for each car stage. 
The number of laps to be run within this time is set by each host. 
Round (Host) Times- Combined time of both Stage times, each host will run 2 stages.
DNF- a car which fails to complete a stage due to mechanical breakdown or physical impairment - Time allocation of 2x slowest car or default timing for each stage.

Round Event winner & runners up -will be announced for each Event by the host.

RoadRace Administrator - 
Event Series Points
I will announce the accumulated Event timings results and post the results the day after the Host individual Event Results. Points will be allocated for the accumulated results from the rounds. 10 points for 1st Place, 9 points for 2nd etc. All cars which entered an "Event" at or after 10th place will receive 1pt, A DNF will receive 0 points.
Car Class (Construction) Points
I will announce the accumulated  Class results and post the results along with the Event points. 10 points for 1st Place, 9 points for 2nd etc. All cars after 10th place will receive 1pt, A DNF will receive 0 points. Class D points (as there are only 1 or 2) will be added into Class B (if made using a Class A body)
Team Points
I will announce the accumulated Team points and post the results, These will be the combined Event & Car Class results from the 2 cars entered by each entrant, or if a single car entered it will be the single car combined results.
Maximum points- 10 Event win & 10 for Class win= Total possible 20 points per Round or 200 points for each car, or 400 points for a combined 2 car win of the series.

Winners Medals & vouchers
Our Medals this year are sponsored by "Truspeed Controllers"
So we will have Winners & Runners up medals for each Event (1st, 2nd & 3rd)
And we will have Winners medals for each Car Class A,B/D & C

Vouchers - with the good will of our Sponsors we will award vouchers for the winners and runners up of the Events, Car Class winners and Best Presented car.
George Turner Award will go to the winning car of the Monte Carlo (Event 1)

There will be no "Fastest Lap" award.

The "Best Presented Car" will be declared at the end of the series, and will be chosen by a "entrants vote" and will be the highest scoring car from the 4 Events.

Technical Rules
I will not be changing or modifying them from now on.
and are as attached

Rally guides
Please ensure your cars have a suitable Rally slot guide profile.
   
Any guides fitted with protruding front blades, or too thick or too long will simply not work.
All these guides above have blades 5.6mm deep, 18-19mm long and 1.6-1.7mm thick which is ideal for this Proxy.
Guide stems fitted with springs.
Please do not fit wood guides etc


Final Event Car lists and explanation
This is the list of cars eligible for the each of the four events included in the series
Event 1 (Monte Carlo) pre 66 Rally cars
This is intended to be a list of cars which competed in the Monte Carlo Rally up until 1966. In those early days many cars were driven across Europe and UK from different starting points in which was effectively a "Road Race" sometimes with whole families on board. 

Event 2 ( Class B Rally Cars) 1983-1987
This was a relatively short period of Rally history which permitted the use of specially developed "prototype" based cars of limited model production (if at all).
It was a narrow band of cars which were homologated into Rally Class B, so I have expanded the Event car list somewhat to include Rally Cars based on Group 5 Sports cars and other similar low production based cars prior to the Historic official Class B Classification allocated to these models. Some of the models listed were also homologated into what was Rally Group 4 cars.

Event 3 (Sports & Touring Rally cars) (1966- 1996)
Historically referred to as Class 2, 3 &4 Rally cars mostly based on Touring cars. But here I have omitted some Class 4 cars which were also homologated into Rally Class B.



Event 4 (WRC) 1997-to date
This is cars which are recognised as having taken part in the modern WRC series based on production Touring cars.


So hopefully all the questions have now been resolved, I will start the Official entry list in October/November, but if you want to add your intention to enter on this thread please feel free to do so.

   

Sponsors
Pendle Slot Racing www.pendleslotracing.co.uk
George Turner Models  www.georgeturnermodels.com
Truspeed Controllers www.truspeed.co.uk
Amato Slot Car Design

Race report by Andy:

 
Friday 26th August was round 5 of the club cars.  There was a good turnout of 11 racers this week which brought a good atmosphere and some good racing. 
For the heat races it was the first outing for some new club cars, the Ninco Porsche 911 GT3.  These are standard out the box cars that have a ninco NC5 motor in the anglewinder configuration.  The cars took a bit of getting used to as you had to be very smooth with the throttle otherwise the cars started to shudder under acceleration.   while the new cars proved to be popular the rear wings were very delicate with the first of them coming off 5 laps into the first heat race during a small crash, a second wing came off one of the cars during the second race and by the end of the heats all of the cars had lost the rear spoilers.
With everyone getting to grips with the new Porsches during the races it meant that all the racers started off on an even playing field as no one knew how they would handle until the race got started.  This led to some good close racing during the heats; one of the closest races was between Heather and James both evenly matched for most of the race until the rear of James’s car clipped the rear of Heathers meaning that Heather came out the slot. 
 
For the finals the Ninco Porsches were put away and the Scalextric Porsches were brought out.  Although these cars are based on the same real life car as the Ninco ones the Scalextric cars handle completely different.  They are a bit more unstable and have a lot less brakes on the motors so all drivers had to adjust their driving style to race.
 
Final C.  Tom in green, Richard in blue and Ian in red.  Richard and Ian were aloud a couple of practise laps before the final began, as they had never raced these cars before and need to get used to them.  Once the race got under way all the racers got off to a good start but they all struggled to get used to the handling of the cars and as a result there was quite a few off from all the racers. Tom managed to pull out a good lead in the middle section of the race, Ian and Richard having managed to tame their cars settled into some good close racing but an off for Ian meant that Richard pulled away from Ian.  Across the line Tom came in 1st with half a lap lead followed by Richard in 2ne then Ian in 3rd
 
Final B.  Heather in green, Tom in blue, Paul in red and Ken in yellow.  Heather got off to a good start with Ken hot on her heals, but with Ken coming off at the chicane a couple of laps later this aloud heather to take a good lead.  Meanwhile at the back there was a good race developing between Paul and Tom.  Tom was putting in some good lap times but he was unable to be consistent with keeping the car in the slot which caused him to fall behind Paul, a gap that he was unable to make up.  Back at the front Ken was pushing hard to catch up with Heather but was running out of laps and unable to catch her. It finished Heather in first, Ken in second, Paul in third and Tom in forth.

Main Final.  Elliot in green, Heather in blue, Andy in red and James in yellow.  Elliot and James got off to a good start and quickly pulled out a substantial lead.  Heather managed to get a good lead over Andy.  Andy was having a nightmare first few lap coming off on nearly every one of the first 5 laps allowing heather to get a massive lead over him.  At the front Elliot and James were having a close race but James was just proving too quick for Elliot and pulled out a slight lead.  At the back Andy had managed to sort out his car and was catching Heather who had had a few offs as a result Andy managed to pass Heather into third place.  They crossed the line with James in first, Elliot in Second Andy in third and Heather in forth.

Which is more useful or most used, the 2.2mm x 6.5mm or 2.2mm x 8mm partially threaded body screw?  

I suppose you can shorten an 8mm but can't lengthen a 6.5mm - but would that become tedious if the majority of manufacturers use 6.5mm as the norm? 

Would an 8mm just allow more free body movement or ... ?

Thinking of buying a quantity and don't want to end up with the least useful size 

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 type 256

The Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 was made between 1938–1952, versions of which were entered in the Monte Carlo Rally and Mille Miglia between 1939 - 1952

Resin printed, chassis printed in CF-PETG

   

   

I have two chassis made, one IL the other SW.  The SW setup will need narrow tyres, 8mm.

   

   

I don't enjoy detailing at all but I do try to make it look good.

...this is on my 'favourite cars' list, a beauty.

   

We're back at the Barn on Wednesday 7 September for an evening for Formula One and brass-weighted F1 Classic Cup action. All the regulations can be found here: http://www.whoracing.org.uk/rules.html

Doors open at 6.30pm for practice, heats start at 7 and we aim to finish well before 9.30pm. As always, we ask that all racers aged 12 or younger bring a responsible adult with them. Race fees: £3 for adults and £2 for under-16s. Our common-sense Covid precautions remain in place. Most importantly, please don’t attend if you have any symptoms that could be Covid. Face masks, hand hygiene and giving people space remain non-negotiable requirements inside the Barn.

We've decided on a Zandvoort-themed layout for next week...

   

The current Grand Prix circuit shape is not ideal for the Barn, so we've gone for a layout based on the 1990-8 circuit. That means an unusually large 100+ foot track to let those F1 cars stretch their legs. Orange smoke is optional.

I paid for Ultimate racer 3, or so I thought I did.  It turns out I didn't include the product id at the paypal cart, assuming it was automatic (like most other software) so now it thinks I haven't paid for it.  I have sent emails to uracer support, but received no reply.  Does anyone have contact with the Uracer people?
I don't want to buy it twice.

           

Policar CAR02g Lotus 72E #1 Ronnie Peterson - 1st Monaco GP 1974. RRP £64.95. Available next week.

This is the seventh livery on Policar's Lotus 72 and is a truly wonderful choice - Ronnie Peterson's Monaco Grand Prix winner from 1974. The iconic JPS black and gold, plus the blue and yellow helmet of a 1970s F1 hero is simply perfect. Especially when paired with the top-notch handling and power-delivery of the Policar chassis and drive-train. In my mind, the Policar model is the best 1:32 scale Lotus 72 out there...

       

Without doubt, the Lotus 72 is one of the most important Formula One cars of all time - highly-innovative, utterly beautiful and very successful, winning three constructors' and two drivers' championships, plus 20 wins in 75 Grand Prix over a remarkable six seasons. The Lotus 76 was supposed to replace the 72 for the 1974 season - but the new car turned out to be a flop, both cars failing to finish in the 76's first three races. The next stop was Monaco and although one 76 was taken for Jacky Ickx, both he and Peterson would race their 1973-spec 72E cars that had won the previous year's constructors' title. Peterson raced 72/R8 and Ickx the 72/R5 - a chassis that had to be retrieved from Colin Chapman's personal museum! The Belgian's car was fitted with a special Cosworth engine with modified inlets, exhaust pipes and camshafts - all designed to give a much faster torque curve, at the expense of some 20bhp at the top end.

       

Ickx had already scored a 1974 podium with a 72E at Interlagos - his second race with John Player Team Lotus, but it was Super-Swede Ronnie Peterson that was the star in the streets of Monte Carlo. Qualifying third behind the dominant Ferraris of Lauda and Regazzoni, Peterson was overtaken by Jarier's Shadow DN3 at the start, dropping him to fourth as Hulme and Beltoise got together on the run up to Casino Square, involving plenty of others, including Ickx. That midfield kerfuffle split the race in two - Regazzoni led Lauda, Jarier and Peterson, with Reutemann, Scheckter, Hunt and Hailwood following close behind and then there was a gap to Fittipaldi's McLaren. By the third lap, Peterson was right up Lauda's exhaust pipes, having got past the Shadow - it was an exciting four-way fight for the lead... until Peterson touched a barrier with his rear tyre and spun at La Rascasse on lap six, Reutemann running over the front of the Lotus and breaking the Brabham's suspension. Miraculously, Peterson continued unscathed in sixth place, albeit with a slightly wonky nose...



It was a race full of shunts - the most dramatic was when the March of Mass tripped over Hunt's Hesketh. Definitely one for slo-mo treatment on the highlights show. Meanwhile, Peterson was regaining places, passing Scheckter's Tyrrell 007 on lap nineteen and finding himself back in fourth. That became third when leader Regazzoni spun at Racasse. With a clear road ahead of him, Lauda pulled away from Jarier, but he soon had Peterson gaining ground after the Swede nipped past the Shadow at the Loews hairpin on lap 25. This was one of Peterson's greatest drives - the old Lotus 72 should have been no match for the Ferrari. In a magnificent head-to-head with Lauda, Peterson closed in and was pushing the Ferrari to the limit. On lap 31, the Flat-12 started to sound a bit off - Peterson forced the black and gold Lotus alongside and took the the lead into Mirabeau. It wasn't even half-distance, but Peterson kept his cool and closed out a delightful victory - his first in the principality...

       

With Scheckter's Tyrrell 007 in second and Jarier's Shadow DN3 in third, the podium is a wish-list of future Policar models! Regazzoni's fourth-place Ferrari wouldn't be bad either... However, the star of the show - and available now - is Peterson's Lotus 72E...

       

Many of you will already have a Policar Lotus 72 for racing or in your collection, but this one isn't like the others. As always, Policar's attention to detail is breathtaking - new parts include an authentic 1974 rear wing, more chunky airbox, scooped front winglets and a smaller windscreen. The JPS livery is sharp and accurate, the detailing on the driver figure magnificent. For any fan of 1970s Formula One, devotees of the Monaco Grand Prix or admirers of Ronnie Peterson, this is a must-have model.