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WHO/Digital Nascar Team Race & Legends Pairs Race - Wednesday 20 July 2022

Our WHO Digital format and regulations can be found here: https://www.whoracing.org.uk/who_digital.html 

Doors open at 6.30pm - please don’t arrive earlier… unless you’re part of the set-up crew, of course! As always, we ask that all racers aged 12 or younger bring a responsible adult with them.

Race fees: £3 for adults, £2 for under-16s. We now have pre-pay options, including a WHO/digital season ticket.

Digital Wednesday format: The track is open for practice from 6.30, including a digital driving school aimed at new racers and those who need a refresher course. At 7pm, we allocate racers to teams for the Nascar club car team race. We’ll run 3 x 20 minute ‘segments’, with teams swapping cars. The aim is to get the most laps in the 60 minutes. Following that - at around 8.30pm - we have our Pioneer Legends pairs race, using racers’ cars. If you don’t have a car, there’s a very good chance you’ll be offered a ride as half of a ‘pair’, but there’s no guarantee. Two qualifying heats, a semi and a final bring us to the end of the evening by 9.45pm.

Covid precautions: Covid cases are rising quite rapidly again - 1 in 25 people at the end of June. We’ll be keeping our usual common-sense precautions in place to keep vulnerable members of the extended WHO family safe. The main thing is to stay away if you have any symptoms that could be Covid. Inside the Barn, wearing a face mask, practising good hand-hygiene and giving each other space are non-negotiable requirements. We will ensure as good ventilation as possible - and also have hand sanitiser and spare masks available if you forget your own. Any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Do let us know if you’re coming: This makes the job of our race control volunteers easier.

And keep an eye on this thread for more build up - including Simon's track plan - and all the post-race coverage.

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Simon's track plan gives us a different challenge for Wednesday - lots of trigger action and no long straights...

   

Should be perfect for those Pioneer Legends!

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Race Report Part 1 - Nascar Team Race

   

Nineteen survivors of the great July 2022 heatwave assembled at the Barn for an evening of red-hot Scalextric digital racing. Simon's track layout was rather different - filling the hall with wide, open turns and lots of short straights. It took a little while to get used to, but turned out to be a brilliant track for racing and overtaking. We started with our usual one-hour Nascar team race - five teams of three and one team of four running four 15-minute segments. Each team was captained by one of our younger racers, with Simon being an honorary young person for the night.

   

There was a simply fuel-only simulation to ease us all through the first fifteen minutes. Our four-man crew of Ryan, Jean, Terry and Ed hit the ground running. Each driver sat out for one of the segments - and they started with an 80-lap run, one of only two scores in the 80s. Second after fifteen minutes were Simon, Andy and Matthew with 77 laps, then Isaac, Alex and Pete with 75. All six teams were within 9 laps of each other - Jerome, Mike D and Kevin bringing up the rear with 71. A great start to the race.

The tyre wear simulation was added for the second segment - increasing the complexity of the pit stops and adding something extra to think about for the team strategists. It was Jerome, Mike and Kevin who bounced back from last place to finish first, driving the rather tasty white UPS car very effectively. Second again were the 'old-timers' - Simon, Andy and Matthew - who were now leading the race overall by three laps. That was because of a sub-par run by the team of four with the red car - only 72 laps. Ash, Oli ands Jeremy were tied in third overall after 74 and 75 laps runs. Isaac, Alex and Peter had a few car troubles and dropped back behind Oli, Dean and Mike McCann - sitting on 143 and 144 laps overall...

   

The battle for the win heightened in the third segment - the team of four putting two laps into the 'old-timers' and finishing just one laps behind overall. Those two teams were well ahead of the rest - Jerome, Mike D and Kevin coming in third, just ahead of Ash, Oli and Jeremy. Oli, Dean and Mike McCann had the better of Isaac, Alex and Peter - who had more car issues, this time with the white car - and the gap from fifth to sixth grew to seven laps overall. Going into the final 15-minutes, the gaps between first and second was one lap - as it was between third and fourth...

Right from the starts of the final segment, the top two teams were going at each other hammer-and-tongs - the team of four with the repaired white car and the 'old-timers' with the orange Tide Taurus. Ryan and Simon had the first 5-minute stint, the youngster having the better of the early stages - a lap ahead on the road and equal overall. Terry managed to open a gap over Matthew in the second stint, the orange car briefly losing its guide. Despite having to pit twice in two laps to hand over to Ed, the UPS Taurus was three laps ahead of orange car with five minutes left. And that's how it stayed - Andy and Ed lapping on a similar pace, with similar pit stop times, the winners clocking 81 laps and the runners-up 78. The pressure was certainly on, but there was no late drama. The team of four - Ryan, Jean, Terry and Ed - had driven a brilliant race...

       

The battle for third went down to the wire - Ash, Oli and Jeremy finishing ahead on the final stint and that was enough to beat Jerome, Mike D and Kevin. Both teams finished on 297 laps, the tie-breaker being position on the road in the final segment...

       

At the back, Oli, Dean and Mike Mc extended their lead over Isaac, Alex and Pete...

       

Huge congratulations to the winners - and another exciting race with the trusty old Scalextric Nascars! Here are the full results...

   

Don't forget to click on the image to make it bigger.

Next, we'll have the report of the Pioneer Legends race.

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Race Report Part 2 - Pioneer Legends Pairs Race

   

Kevin and Isaac departed after the team race, leaving us seventeen racers and lots of cars to choose from. Alex had scrutineered the Pioneer Legends during the Nascar race and - after a little horse-trading - we came up with eight pairs, Simon filling the spare seat in both Dean and Mike McCann's cars. The first qualifying group saw both Ryan & Oliver and Andy & Ash set scores of 27 laps in five minutes, Dean and Simon managing 25. Pete and Jerome's car lost a rear wheel and was retired - they'd use Terry's spare for the semi-final. The second group was headed by Mike & Jeremy on 27 laps, then Terry & Matthew on 26 - the other three pairs all scored 25 laps. That meant the three teams scoring 27 laps had qualified directly for the Feature Race and everyone else would fight it out in the semi for the final three places...

A five-minute semi-final proved as high-pressured as ever. Mike & Simon's car dropped a braid on the hairpin - and that was game over before it had even started. Things were exceptionally tight at the front and at the back Jerome & Pete were getting used to a new car and Ed & Alex had intermittent power issues - which turned out to be a loose braid. Dean & Simon and Jean & Oli battled for the win, Terry & Matthew not far behind - and Alex drove like a man possessed to claw back lost time and make the cut. In the end, he just failed to catch Pete & Jerome, but set easily the fastest lap time of the night in the process. Jean & Oli grabbed the win, Dean & Simon were second - and Terry & Matthew took that all-important final place in the Feature Race.

   

The Feature was extended to ten minutes, plus some weather - a damp, but drying track. The race was a classic - a slow-burner to begin with and then a superb two-way battle at the end. Andy led the first half of the race, handing over to Ash with a one-lap lead over Jeremy & Mike. Jean & Oli had car problems, dropping them back seven laps from the lead - but otherwise, the top four were covered by just under three laps. A couple of offs for Ash allowed Mike and then Dean onto the same lap and then get past. Mike was the first of the leaders to stop for his final fuel and tyre stop - he came out just behind Ash. Dean was next, pitting from the lead of the race - and he'd re-join nearly a lap behind Mike. An uncharacteristically long pit stop for Ash dropped him nearly two laps behind the leading pair and only a lap ahead of Oliver in fourth.

Two minutes to go and Dean was pushing hard, Mike defending. The excitement in the room ramped up as the seconds counted down. Dean was putting in some great lap times, but Mike was holding firm - teammate Jeremy keeping half an eye on fuel levels to avoid a last-gasp splash & dash than could hand victory to Dean & Simon. With much relief, they made it through to the end, finishing about half a lap ahead of Dean & Simon, who weren't too disappointed with the runners-up spot after qualifying sixth. Ash & Andy were third, Oliver & Ryan a lap behind in fourth. Terry & Matthew rolled in two laps ahead of Jean & Oli.

   

Huge congratulations to Mike and Jeremy on their first Pioneer Legends win - which consolidates their lead in the championship, with just one more round to go.

Here are all the Legends race stats (click to enlarge)...

   

Massive thanks to everyone who came along to race - especially all those who came early to set up and stayed late to pack away. We had an empty hall by 10 o'clock, which is pretty impressive for a Digital Wednesday. Part of that was down to a slick evening on Race Control - a big thanks to Ash for his hard work with RCS64, Alex's scrutineering and Oliver programming and lining up the cars. There is one more Digital Wednesday this year - on August 17 - and then we have a Digital Saturday each month from September through to the end of the year.

A highlights video of Wednesday night, plus updated championship tables will follow...

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Here are the updated championship tables, which you can enlarge by clicking on them...

   

Ryan is looking good for the team race championship - 15 laps would be an unlikely turnaround. Of course, the championship contenders will be separated for the last race next month.

   

Again, Mike and Jeremy are perfectly placed to become our first Pioneer Legends champions. They need to finish sixth or higher in August. However, the pattern so far is that our race winners finish eighth the next time out!

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And finally - here's the video from last night...



Until next time, keep well and stay cool...

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And finally - here's the video from last night...



Until next time, keep well and stay cool...

The highlight of my slot racing career so far! 

...to one of the greatest songs ever!