WHO Mod & Tuners - January 2026

WHO Mod & Tuners - January 2026 - Printable Version

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WHO Mod & Tuners - January 2026 - woodcote - 3rd-Jan-26

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Our 2026 HO season kicks off on Wednesday with an evening of high-speed WHO Mod and WHO Tuners action on our four-lane Rattlesnake Raceway, the first time we've used it for a Mod race...

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Doors open at 6.15 for practice, with the heats scheduled to start just before 7. We aim to finish all the finals by 9.30pm. Race fees remain £3 for adults and £2 for under-16s, with an HO season costing £32 up-front for 12 races and the test night. An under-16 HO season ticket is £21.

There are some big changes to our WHO Mod events this year. Although the cars will look very familiar with the lexan-bodied Mods and hard-bodied Tuners, things are very different underneath...

In WHO Mod, only the Viper V-SPEC and Bulldog BDR chassis are eligible. The Viper must run Pro4 traction and motor magnets and the Bulldog can run either the N42 or N35 traction magnets available from Slot Cars Direct. Otherwise, the rules are the same - armatures must be 6 ohm or higher and unmodified. We can help you change the magnets in your Viper and Pete has plenty of Pro4 traction magnets in the club shop.

WHO Tuners is also restricted to two chassis - the Bulldog BDR (with N35 traction magnets only) and the AFX Mega-G+ (long and short wheelbases). Pete has plenty of Bulldog chassis and parts for sale in the club shop. Those running in Tuners this season will also be awarded full Club championship points - so the winners of both Mod and Tuners with score 160 points towards the WHO Club championship.

There's more about our 2026 HO classes here.

RE: WHO Mod & Tuners - January 2026 - Gareth - 9th-Jan-26

Race Report

Round 1 of 2026 HO racing at WHO was a very important night. After the biggest rules shake up in perhaps the history of the club, we would see Mod restricted to Vipers and Bulldogs only. The Vipers would have their stock Pro4 traction magnets (and motor!) while the Bulldogs could run upgraded N42 mags. Why can’t these companies make their strength numbers be on the same scale!

The other big shake up saw Tuners restricted to the N35 Bulldog SRTs and Mega G+ cars with hard bodies. Tuners would also be competing for full club championship points for the first time as well and racing in their own finals. Of the 20 drivers on the grid, 5 would be in Tuners and 15 in Mod. Maybe those numbers will shift around later in the season.

Rattlesnake Raceway would be the battlefield for the night; a dogleg main straight feeding into a series of esses and a double right to complete the lap. It was short, fast and required a bit of thought on which corners to ease up on depending on the lane you were in. Perhaps more importantly, it was a very even track across all 4 lanes.

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Early scores in the heats suggested 28 laps was a good Mod score (courtesy of Ollie B) while Andy was eye-catching in his GT40 bodied Tuner Bulldog. 26.5 laps was impressive indeed.

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Terry’s qualifying was composed and excellent, his 30 lap run on blue was a high water mark but Dylan matching him in yellow was even more impressive! Ultimately it was Ollie once again who managed the best run of all with a scorching 31.35.

We thought that the new rules might mix up the pecking order and that proved to be the case. Terry might have had pole but it was Kev and Isaac joining him in the A final with a Bulldog and Viper respectively that made things really spicy.

The scores were remarkably tight from Pete in 6th down to Mike in 16th place with Andy being right up there in 10th in his Tuner.

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RE: WHO Mod & Tuners - January 2026 - Gareth - 9th-Jan-26

Tuners Final

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With Oliver and Adam making their customary early exit, we were left with a three car grid for the Tuners final. Andy had been the class of the Tuners field all night while Tracy and Kevin had both been struggling with their cars. I noticed Tracy had rubber tyres on during qualifying which perhaps didn’t help her cause.

As with the heats it was all one way traffic as Andy (yellow) cruised to an emphatic win, only marred by a couple of errors on the way. Tracy (red) in second only crashed once but the gap in lap times was pretty big while for poor Kevin (blue), it really was a night to forget.

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RE: WHO Mod & Tuners - January 2026 - Gareth - 9th-Jan-26

Mod E Final

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Rob (blue) was cautious away from pole, allowing James (red) and Mike in (white) to slip by. James crashed on lap 3 which gave Mike the race lead. Rob and Mike were trading fastest laps before a crash for Mike on lap 12 handed p1 back to Rob who was error free on his way to the chequered flag. Mike and James tussled for p2 briefly near the end between offs before Mike sealed the position at the end.

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RE: WHO Mod & Tuners - January 2026 - Gareth - 9th-Jan-26

D Final

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I had been so erratic with my Viper that I elected to race my Mod Bulldog in the final going from blue lane for pole while Matthew took red, Stephen (yellow) and Rob stepping up into white. The Bulldog had been easy and fast in practice but changing to flat pickup shoes seemed to upset it as I crashed every other lap until retiring after just 11 laps. Matthew took over the lead briefly before he too had an off and Stephen was in the lead before he too crashed. All of which put Rob up front. Stephen had a big car issue on lap 9 which really set him back. Rob was being cautious and much slower than his blue run which allowed Matthew to come back and briefly retake the lead before another crash left Rob with a clear run to the flag and a double step up.

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RE: WHO Mod & Tuners - January 2026 - Gareth - 9th-Jan-26

C Final

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Rob remained in white for the C final where he would take on Gary (yellow), Dylan (blue) and Ash in red. Dylan had a car problem in his final heat so had switched to my Goldie despite his car being fixed. He found it very much to his liking as he left his rivals for dust and even dipped to a crazy fast 3.6 second lap on his way to a dominant victory. Behind him Gary held p2 for a couple of laps before crashing and falling to 4th. His car was showing good pace but more crashes left him mired at the back. Meanwhile Ash and Rob entered a very entertaining battle for 2nd until Rob crashed on lap 20 to leave him a lap behind. Nevertheless he started lapping faster than Ash to begin reeling him in and when Ash had two crashes in the dying moments, that allowed Rob to consolidate p2.

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RE: WHO Mod & Tuners - January 2026 - Gareth - 9th-Jan-26

B Final

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Ollie’s stunning 31 lap run had given him pole position for the B final and he would be going from blue lane, no doubt eager to get into the A and take on his good friend Isaac. Oliver (red) was feeling slightly put out to miss out on the A while Pete (yellow) had found his Bulldog less than perfect considering he is the reigning club champion.

Ollie led the early going at a ferocious pace, his second lap was the only sub 3.5 second lap of the night by anyone. Dylan (white) was in second and driving much more cautiously than we had seen him race in the C. Oliver’s race didn’t get off to a good start with a crash on lap 2 through the dogleg. Once back on he was consistently lapping under 4 seconds until another crash on lap 10. Pete too had a difficult start with a crash on lap 4 taking his body off necessitating a lengthy stop to get it refitted.

Ollie crashed on lap 13 and then again on lap 16 where his race completely fell apart. Isaac tried to put the car back on, it wouldn’t move, the rear axle was dislodged and in frustration, he retired from the race.

All of which left Dylan two laps clear of his rivals and on course for a double step up, the second of the night after Rob’s earlier on. He didn’t falter and brought the car home to secure his first ever A final appearance, Oliver came home 2nd, Pete in 3rd and Ollie 4th.

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RE: WHO Mod & Tuners - January 2026 - Gareth - 9th-Jan-26

A Final

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We had wondered if we would have a mixed up grid with the new rules and here it was. The father and son duo of Kev (red) and Isaac (yellow), the formidable Terry (blue) and the jubilant Dylan (white). Two juniors and at least two first time A finalists.

Maybe the nerves got to Dylan (he blames me for cleaning his tyres!) but a crash on lap 1 immediately sent him to the back of the field. Ahead Terry led the opening laps before being passed by first Kev and then Isaac who swept past his dad for the lead of the race on lap 5.

Kev was the first to blink with a crash on lap 6 and then a much lengthier off on lap 9 which allowed Dylan back into 3rd. Terry followed with a pair of crash laps on laps 11 and 12 and then a further one on lap 16. Agonising stuff for the pole sitter but at least he didn’t have an immediate car failure or other catastrophe like he suffered last year.

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A late off for Isaac on lap 24 changed absolutely nothing in this race as he drove fast and consistently to win the race. Terry followed him home in 2nd while Dylan had two late offs to allow Kev to slip back through for p3.

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So a double win for Isaac who clinched both the overall win and the Junior win. It was his first ever overall victory and very well deserved. Andy showed everyone how to do it in Tuners and I wonder how many more might dip their toe in round 2.

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Thanks as always to the set up crew, race control and the tear down team as well as everyone who comes along and makes the club such a joy to be a part of.

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See you all for the new dawn of Nascar in February.