[Graham]

Being small could be a big plus point around the Belvoir pass, narrow roads, steep hills, sharp hairpin bends. 

[Nonfractal]

Being small could be a big plus point around the Belvoir pass, narrow roads, steep hills, sharp hairpin bends. 

narrow roads, steep hills, sharp hairpins ? 
Ouch!  And we haven't even started yet 

[Graham]

   

Alan,
I forgot to mention that this is the top of the Belvoir pass in May 

[Qman]

Being small could be a big plus point around the Belvoir pass, narrow roads, steep hills, sharp hairpin bends. 

Are we heading up Ditchling Beacon on the Brighton leg?

[woodcote]

Not quite... a mile or so to the west.

After some fun in the vicinity of Madeira Drive, Black Rock and the Marina, we’ll be heading up into the Downs on the Saddlescombe to Devil’s Dyke Hillclimb - the same layout at featured in the WHO Winter Rally-Sprint...

   

More details and track plans coming up over the next couple of days.

[Nonfractal]

... we’ll be heading up into the Downs on the Saddlescombe to Devil’s Dyke Hillclimb - the same layout at featured in the WHO Winter Rally-Sprint...

This stage was nightmare for the Megane during the Winter Rally. 
Hoping that the recent motor-lift retrofit allows her to get around the descents.
Can't wait to see how my first attempt at a spring guide works on the ClassC Capri. 
Testing? What Testing?
AlanW

[BAracer]

I was walking around Saddlecombe in the sunshine on Sunday. 

Seeing all the straw bales lining the route, and the scaffold platforms awaiting Woodcote's cameras, almost makes it seem real!

[woodcote]

Here are some details of the first two stages, coming up this Saturday and Sunday...

   

Fingers-crossed, both will be streamed live via YouTube with the videos embedded on this thread. As I said, my fingers are crossed! More about the coverage tomorrow.

   

Saturday's stage is a Ninco tarmac stage - lots of grip, a little bumpy, some tight corners and only short straights. It's a test of handling. I will be using the standard Ninco power supply and Ninco set controller. There's a single crossover, so one timed lap is two circuits. Each car will complete 7 timed laps. Timing is via a dead strip and Race Coordinator software.

   

Sunday's stage is a re-run of the Devil's Dyke Hillclimb, which was a real highlight (for me, anyway) of the WHO Winter Rally-Sprint. It is built from SCX classic track, including a long chicane and the 'Super-sliding ice-effect curve set' - which has non-magnetic rails. The track is powered by a standard SCX power supply and I'll be using a Parma 45 controller. There are two power taps. Each car will complete 5 timed ascents and descents. Timing is via a dead strip and Race Coordinator.

   

The elevation goes from the floor to 3-feet in around ten feet, with one particularly brutal ramp. The ice-effect curve (used as an S-bend) is part of the climb, placed towards the top of the hill. At each end of the fast layout are return loops made from the outer lane of standard radius curves. With a 15-foot straight and no particularly tight corners, this stage is a test of speed, plus an ability to climb and descend. It will punish cars that are a little too light at the front. Any guides that are too deep or too long out the front will cause problems on the climb.

   

One change from February is the start / timing line has been moved down towards the bottom of the hill - just next to the controller in the pic with the red Peugeot 307.

More about the schedule, coverage and running order tomorrow.

[woodcote]

The planned schedule for the weekend looks something like this...

   

Stage One - Madeira Drive - Saturday 1.30pm start.

Running order: Class C (Historic 50s, 60s, 70s), Class B (Modified / Open), Class A (Scalextric). Within each class, the cars will run in the order of the photo presentation.

The cars will be timed over 7 laps. It's expected the fastest cars will do this in just over a minute and the slowest cars may take nearly two minutes. With a planned turnaround of 60 seconds between cars and 10-20 minutes between classes, all the cars should be through the stage by around 5pm.

   

Stage Two - Devil's Dyke Hillclimb - Sunday 8am start.

Running order: Class A (Scalextric), Class B (Modified / Open), Class C (Historic 70s, 60s, 50s). Within each class, the cars will run in the reverse order to the photo presentation.

The cars will be timed over 5 ascents and descents of the hill. It's expected the fastest cars will do this in around 70 seconds and the slowest cars may take over two minutes. With a slightly longer turnaround of 75 seconds between cars and 10-20 minutes between classes, the stage should be complete by midday.

   


Live Coverage - SlotRacer Online & YouTube

Whatever happens, I shall be posting the stage times on this thread after each group of cars - you'll be able to view a photo of the official race sheet. However, the plan is that you'll be able to follow the race in real time via this screen...

   

This will be streamed on YouTube and embedded into this thread. The link for Saturday's stage is here and Sunday's here.

Apologies for the fuzziness of the screen grab - this is from a trial run of the Ninco stage earlier in the week. The 'broadcast' is set up in OBS software (see Jason's excellent thread here) and I've designed it so you can see the essentials on a small phone screen, but have access to much more data if you're viewing on a larger screen.

What will you be able to see?

• The class and the heat (ie the car) in progress
  
• The running order in the right hand column - gradually replaced by the leader board as the cars make their runs (leader in orange at the top)
  
• A webcam showing each car sat on the start line for at least 10-15 seconds before its run
  
• The team name for the car (in the white box) for 30 seconds before the start of the run, during it and for 30 seconds afterwards
  
• A running score of laps completed, last lap, average lap and best lap, with the time (in green) above
  
• A second webcam showing a long shot of most of the layout
  
• A scrolling display of the results (bottom left) - time taken, gap to the leader, gap to the next racer. This shows 5 racers (the top 5 by default), but I will scroll through every now and then - and always when the class is complete.
  

You'll also be able to hear a small selection of sounds from Race Coordinator and ambient sounds from the start line camera. The idea is you won't need much (if any) commentary from me.

Here's a little more detail to help you find your way around the screen...

   
As always, click the image to make it bigger.

The only issue with the Race Coordinator output is that the line-up / leaderboard column is limited to 20 racers - as is the scrolling results display. Each of our classes has over 20 cars (24, 21 and 24), so we'll be missing a couple from the screen - but not from the results sheets I'll be posting.

That will be the live coverage. The official results will follow once Graham has crunched the numbers.

[Qman]

Looks great, I'll try to be there for the live stream (customers permitting)