Worthing Digital Wednesday - 17 August 2022

Worthing Digital Wednesday - 17 August 2022 - Printable Version

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Worthing Digital Wednesday - 17 August 2022 - woodcote - 15th-Aug-22

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The climax of our 2020-2 Nascar team race championship and inaugural Pioneer Legends championship should give us an even more exciting evening than usual! Here are the top ten from each of the points tables...

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Doors open at 6.30pm for practice and Digital Driving School, the Nascar race starts at 7 and the Legends follow, finishing around 9.30-9.45pm. As always, we ask that all racers aged 12 or younger bring a responsible adult with them. Race fees are £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'll be racing on Simon's latest track design...

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That promises to give us lots of very close racing Thumbup

RE: Worthing Digital Wednesday - 17 August 2022 - woodcote - 18th-Aug-22

Race Report Part One - Nascar Team Race

This was the first time we've held a Scalextric digital event in August - but a summer-holiday team race is a regular feature on the WHO calendar, just in HO scale. We were missing quite a few regulars - most notably Mike and Dean, making the evening a little less boisterous than usual! Simon has designed a fabulous flowing track with one of the largest footprints we've seen at the Barn. The set-up crew of Terry, Ash, Duncan and Andy managed to fit it all in - and had the circuit running perfectly in plenty of time for practice to start at 6.30pm....

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Eighteen racers gave us six teams of three. Each team had one of the leading six drivers in the team race championship, most had a top-seeded driver and all were captained by one of our younger racers. Ryan's advantage in the championship was 14 points over Andy and 17 ahead of Oliver, so some sort of disaster would be needed to overturn that lead. But anything can happen - and often does...

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In a very competitive first fifteen minutes - each team member racing for five minutes - Ryan, Jean and Duncan were top with 61 laps, one ahead of Ash, Andy and Mike McCann. Oliver, Alex and Oli were back in last place - a tough time with the red Ford Taurus bagging only 55 laps. That was equal with Isaac, Simon and Jeremy - with the other two teams tied ahead of them on 58 laps. It was Daniel, Terry and Bobby who finished third, with Stephen, Matthew and Kevin fourth. RCS64 was set up with just a fuel simulation for this first segment of the race, tyres were added for the remaining 45 minutes, making the pit stops rather more complex...

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Oliver and his team bounced back with a humongous 62 laps in the second segment - they liked the green Taurus very much! That was seven laps more than Daniel's team in second and Ryan's team in third. Isaac and Ash's teams were a lap behind in fourth and fifth, with Stephen's trio limping home in sixth, scoring 52 laps. Overall, that saw the six teams separated by just eight laps at the halfway point - Oliver's team in the lead on 117, Ryan's on 116, Ash's with 114, Daniel's team on 113, Stephen's 110 and Isaac's with 109 laps.

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The two leading teams were on fire during the third 15 minutes - Ryan, Jean and Duncan winning the segment with 62 laps, a lap ahead of Oliver, Alex and Oli. That meant they were tied for the lead. Behind, everyone lost ground. The best of the rest saw Stephen, Matthew and Kevin clock up 59 laps with the green car and Ash, Andy and Mike 58 laps with the white Taurus. Daniel, Terry and Bobby added another 55 laps - but Isaac, Simon and Jeremy had a tough time with that red car, managing only 48 laps. Going into the final 15 minutes, the battle for the lead was immense - but so was the fight for third... which would also decide who was top dog amongst the McCann clan.

This was going to be all about the cars - Oliver's team had the solid blue car, Ryan's trio the tricky red one. And it might also be about the weather - starting dry, with rain expected. At the first driver change, the blue car was leading - although just a lap ahead of the chasing pack. The rain had arrived a minute before the mandatory pit stops - Intermediate tyres the order of the day for the damp track conditions.

The track was still damp as the final driver change came round. Oliver's team still held the lead - a lap ahead of Daniel, Terry and Bobby, but crucially four laps ahead of Ryan's team. Full wet conditions developed for the final four minutes - some teams playing safe and swapping to Wets, others staying on Intermediates and adjusting to the longer braking distances. Anyone who mistakenly changed to Hard or Soft tyres would find their Nascar extremely tricky to drive! Rolling over the finish line, Oliver, Alex and Oli had closed out a comfortable win - taking the segment by two laps over Daniel's team and winning the race by seven laps, with Ryan, Jean and Duncan second.

In the battle for third, Mike was crowned king of the McCanns - Ash, Mike and Andy finishing a lap ahead of Daniel, Terry and Bobby. Stephen, Matthew and Kevin finished a further four laps back. Isaac, Simon and Jeremy ended the race very strongly - 56 laps enough for third in the segment, but those 15 minutes with the red Taurus had condemned them to sixth place overall...

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And here's all the data from the Nascar race (tap it to make it bigger)...

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Despite the disappointment of missing out on the race win, Ryan had the consolation of the 2020-22 Nascar Team Race Championship title. Starting back in January 2020, the seven races have been a test of driving skill, but also of teamwork and leadership...

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We'll have the official championship tables later... but next it's the Legends pairs race!

RE: Worthing Digital Wednesday - 17 August 2022 - woodcote - 18th-Aug-22

Change of plan! Here is the Nascar team race championship table...

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Don't forget, you can tap the image to enlarge it.

RE: Worthing Digital Wednesday - 17 August 2022 - woodcote - 18th-Aug-22

Part Two - Pioneer Legends pairs race

After their win last time, Mike and Jeremy went into the final Legends race with a healthy lead to defend in the championship. Sadly, Mike was unable to race - leaving Jeremy searching for a partner to grab the sixth place or better he needed for the Legends title. Alex kindly obliged - their car being one of nine on the grid. Jean headed home, but left his car in the hands of regular partner Oli, who was joined by Bobby, for only his second Legends race. Stephen would double-duty - sharing one car with his dad and another with his twin brother. Otherwise, Andy shared with Ash, Simon with Duncan, Oliver with Ryan and Terry with Matthew. Isaac and Kevin borrowed Terry's spare car for their first taste of Legends action.

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All the races lasted six minutes this evening - two qualifying heats, a semi-final and feature race. There were reliability issues in the qualifiers for Oliver and Ryan, who had work to do to be ready for the semi. Terry and Matthew also had troubles, but were hopeful of a second chance. Simon and Duncan were less confident. The top three qualified directly for the feature race - Oli and Bobby putting on a faultless performance to grab pole with 26 laps, Andy and Ash were second and Daniel and Stephen third, both pairs with 24 laps. Everyone else would race in the semi-final and the top three would step up. Jeremy needed that step-up to be sure of the title.

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The semi-final was an exciting race. Two of the ailing cars from qualifying were going nicely, but Simon's car retired on the first lap. At the driver change, the five remaining cars were covered by just over a lap - Oliver and Ryan leading. Alex and Jeremy were second, but Terry and Matthew ran an impressive fuel-saving strategy, grabbing second as their rivals pitted. Mike and Stephen could have put Jeremy and Alex under pressure for that third step-up... but an extra stop and too much time in the pits scuppered their chances. Jeremy was a relieved man.

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The last race of the evening was our final Legends of the year... unless we sneak them into a Digital Saturday somewhere. We had six pairs all gunning for the win - and we know by now that the Legends race are always very open. Like last time, a weather change was thrown into the mix - a dry track to start, growing damp as the race went on...

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The race was a blur - excitingly close racing from start to finish. Ryan delivered the lead to Oliver at the driver change, but a few too many offs allowed Alex and then Terry back into the mix - especially with Terry's one-stop strategy. Daniel had driven an excellent first stint, but tragically their car broke down before Stephen could take over. Bobby and Andy were slightly off the pace. The gaps between the leading trio ebbed and flowed, Alex getting a drive-through, but his pursuers not able to take advantage. Alex crossed the line the winner, followed by Oliver and then Terry - all on the same lap. Bobby was a lap behind and Andy another lap further back.

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And here are all the stats...

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It was a second Legends win for both Jeremy and Alex, but Jeremy's more consistent scoring with Mike gave him a well-deserved trophy as our inaugural WHO Pioneer Legends champion!

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Here's the full table...

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And that was the end of the racing for the evening. Huge congratulations to the winners and champions - and a big thank you to everyone who came along. Special thanks goes to the set-up crew for their awesome work, to Ash's brilliant assistance on race control and to all those who helped pack away at the end. We were done by 10pm. Our next action at the Barn is an HO F1 race on Wednesday 7 September (three weeks time) and our Goodwood Revival Digital Saturday is on 24 September, the day before the Havant Scalextric Swapmeet. That's next month sorted!

RE: Worthing Digital Wednesday - 17 August 2022 - eToad - 18th-Aug-22

(18th-Aug-22, 01:00 PM)woodcote Wrote: Part Two - Pioneer Legends pairs race

After their win last time, Mike and Jeremy went into the final Legends race with a healthy lead to defend in the championship. Sadly, Mike was unable to race - leaving Jeremy searching for a partner to grab the sixth place or better he needed for the Legends title. Alex kindly obliged - their car being one of nine on the grid. Jean headed home, but left his car in the hands of regular partner Oli, who was joined by Bobby, for only his second Legends race. Stephen would double-duty - sharing one car with his dad and another with his twin brother. Otherwise, Andy shared with Ash, Simon with Duncan, Oliver with Ryan and Terry with Matthew. Isaac and Kevin borrowed Terry's spare car for their first taste of Legends action.

All the races lasted six minutes this evening - two qualifying heats, a semi-final and feature race. There were reliability issues in the qualifiers for Oliver and Ryan, who had work to do to be ready for the semi. Terry and Matthew also had troubles, but were hopeful of a second chance. Simon and Duncan were less confident. The top three qualified directly for the feature race - Oli and Bobby putting on a faultless performance to grab pole with 26 laps, Andy and Ash were second and Daniel and Stephen third, both pairs with 24 laps. Everyone else would race in the semi-final and the top three would step up. Jeremy needed that step-up to be sure of the title.

The semi-final was an exciting race. Two of the ailing cars from qualifying were going nicely, but Simon's car retired on the first lap. At the driver change, the five remaining cars were covered by just over a lap - Oliver and Ryan leading. Alex and Jeremy were second, but Terry and Matthew ran an impressive fuel-saving strategy, grabbing second as their rivals pitted. Mike and Stephen could have put Jeremy and Alex under pressure for that third step-up... but an extra stop and too much time in the pits scuppered their chances. Jeremy was a relieved man.

The last race of the evening was our final Legends of the year... unless we sneak them into a Digital Saturday somewhere. We had six pairs all gunning for the win - and we know by now that the Legends race are always very open. Like last time, a weather change was thrown into the mix - a dry track to start, growing damp as the race went on...

The race was a blur - excitingly close racing from start to finish. Ryan delivered the lead to Oliver at the driver change, but a few too many offs allowed Alex and then Terry back into the mix - especially with Terry's one-stop strategy. Daniel had driven an excellent first stint, but tragically their car broke down before Stephen could take over. Bobby and Andy were slightly off the pace. The gaps between the leading trio ebbed and flowed, Alex getting a drive-through, but his pursuers not able to take advantage. Alex crossed the line the winner, followed by Oliver and then Terry - all on the same lap. Bobby was a lap behind and Andy another lap further back.

And here are all the stats...

It was a second Legends win for both Jeremy and Alex, but Jeremy's more consistent scoring with Mike gave him a well-deserved trophy as our inaugural WHO Pioneer Legends champion!

Here's the full table...

And that was the end of the racing for the evening. Huge congratulations to the winners and champions - and a big thank you to everyone who came along. Special thanks goes to the set-up crew for their awesome work, to Ash's brilliant assistance on race control and to all those who helped pack away at the end. We were done by 10pm. Our next action at the Barn is an HO F1 race on Wednesday 7 September (three weeks time) and our Goodwood Revival Digital Saturday is on 24 September, the day before the Havant Scalextric Swapmeet. That's next month sorted!

RE: Worthing Digital Wednesday - 17 August 2022 - woodcote - 18th-Aug-22

And here's a highlights video of the evening...

That's pretty much a wrap on the post-race coverage.

RE: Worthing Digital Wednesday - 17 August 2022 - BAracer - 18th-Aug-22

An enjoyable evening...eventually!

Many thanks to Mike and Alex for allowing me to be their passenger.