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Expect plenty of snow and ice for the first WHO Slot Rally club night of the year - which takes place on the eve of the real Monte Carlo Rally.

Doors open at 6.30pm for sign-on and allocation to groups for the evening. The Johnny's Workshop stage will be available for a shakedown - to make sure your cars and controllers are functioning as you want them.

The competitive stages for this one are:

1. Friston Forest - SCX and Scalextric Classic, featuring SCX ice effect track.
2. Jupp's Farm 2026 (short version) - Ninco with some patches of ice and extra rough terrain
3. Titnore Lane - Ninco tarmac with plenty of ice track and elevations
4. Ford Ice Rink - routed foamboard


All four stages are fitted with a UK club 3-pin 2 amp socket and standard club wiring (brake wired -ve and L terminal wired +ve). Power is 12V DC, apart from the Ice Rink, which runs at 10V.

As always, the aim is to get through all four stages in the quickest possible time.

Our WHO Slot Rally events are for 1:32 scale analogue rally cars running to our local interpretation of Slot Rally GB regulations - see here. The important highlights are that cars must be fitted with an inline motor and must feature a driver and co-driver sitting side-by-side.

Each driver can enter one car per class - Classic, 80s-90s and Modern Rally. Club cars and controllers are available on each stage. We will be noting the best times for standard SCX and Scalextric cars (magnets must be removed, weight can be added and tyres and braid may be replaced - otherwise no modifications).

Entry is £3 per person for the whole evening, £2 for under-16s.

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The Red Brigade are ready to roll...
   

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We welcomed 23 drivers and 62 cars to the Barn this evening for the WHO Winter Stages 2026...

         

At the start of our third season of slot rallying, there's still a healthy contingent of standard SCX and Scalextric cars - plus a lot of Nincos - but the number of SRC, NSR and Scaleauto models is certainly on the rise...

         

         

         

New for 2026 is a dedicated shake down stage - Johnny's Workshop this time - so everyone can test their cars and controllers without getting a sneaky preview of the competition stages. At least, that was the theory.

With everyone registered on the rally spreadsheet and divided into four groups, we were ready to hit the stages...

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Stage One: Friston Forest

Winner: Mike Dadson, NSR Abarth Punto S2000

   

Group A - Steve, Oliver, Ryan, Terry and Phil - started their night on this SCX & Scalextric Classic end-to-end layout. The footprint remains the same, but Jeremy added more SCX ice track pieces to give the stage even more of a wintry feel. The C164 Rough Terrain pieces were still there to catch out drivers taking too much air over the humpback bridge and into the skid chicane.

There was some specialist rally machinery in this first group, with Oliver's NSR Clio quickest with a 45.55-second run. 

   

Group D were next up. Scott, Mike McCann, Jeremy, John and Andy, plus club car runners Kevin and Stephen made this the biggest group of the four with 17 cars. Two cars went quicker than Oliver - Jeremy's TR7 set a time of 45.16, but Andy was a fraction quicker to take the stage lead on 45.15 seconds. Meanwhile, Scott's SCX Porsche 911 was looking quick and Mike's MGA just looking exquisite...

   

Mike D joined Isaac, Kev, Rob and Ollie as part of the next quintet to tackle Friston. And it was his NSR Abarth S2000 that went top by just over half a second - the new fastest time through the stage 44.52. The two Ninco Modern rally cars of Ollie and Isaac were enjoying another close battle, separated by less than a second...

   

The final drivers through - Group B - finished their rally on this stage. Rob A, the two James, Matthew, Steve C and Simon were racing a delightful array of rally cars, from 1980s Scalextric to the very latest Subaru WRX, plus some Nincos and the inevitable trio of SRC Porsche 914/6 GTs. 

   

Fastest from this group was Matthew's 914, which slotted in seventh on the leader board with a time of 48.32. Rob's vintage Ford RS200 was best of the Scalextric cars on this stage and Simon decided he'd enter the club car challenge, alongside running his new Subaru.

Here are the results of that first stage, with Mike, Andy and Jeremy in the podium places overall...

   
You'll need to click on these results tables to read them.

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Stage Two: Jupp's Farm

Winner: Mike Dadson, NSR Abarth Punto S2000

   

The Group B boys were first on Jupp's Farm, our Ninco Off-Road stage. Four pieces of Ice track were added to honour the winter theme of the event, which gave cars a little bit of respite from the lumps and bumps that make this course such a challenge for some of the cars. Rob's SRC 914 and Matthew's Ninco Lancia 037 were just a tenth of a second apart, Rob taking the early lead with his 46.8 run.

   

Next were Terry, Phil and the Walkers - Steve joining Oliver and Ryan for the first time in what must be nearly 8 years! Steve was certainly having fun, but it was the other four that jumped into the lead of the stage with their SRC Porsches. Terry was quickest on 40.54, Oliver 40.55, Ryan 40.78 and Phil 45.05.

   

The next group were delayed while we removed some livestock from the dirt track, but Scott, John, Mike, Jeremy, Andy, Kevin and Stephen didn't have to wait long...

   

Three Nincos were quickest from this group - Andy's Subaru & Porsche, plus Scott's Peugeot 407 - although they were two seconds off Terry's time. The Jupp's Farm bumps caught out the SCX Lancia Delta Integrales of both Jeremy and John, although John's new Touareg skipped over the rough stuff to finish just behind Scott's Porsche 991 in the SCX battle. Stephen finished top club car runner on the stage, handling the SCX Ibiza beautifully.

   

Last to visit Jupp's Farm was the group of Mike D, the Fullers and the Beans. Mike nailed it again with his NSR Punto, pipping Terry to the stage win by eight hundredths of a second. Ollie always drives his Ninco Subaru on the off-road track with a perfect balance of aggression and caution. His reward this time was sixth place overall - just ahead of Andy and Scott's Nincos - and first of the standard cars.

Here are the stage results...

   

That meant Mike extended his lead over Andy to 2.92 seconds. Terry's SRC Porsche was up to third, 2.63 seconds behind Andy. After a difficult run, Jeremy's TR7 had dropped to fifth behind Oliver's SRC 914.

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Stage Three: Titnore Lane

Winner: Ryan Walker, SRC Porsche 914/6 GT

   

Last to run on Stage 2 and first on Stage 3... Ollie, Mike, Kev, Rob and Isaac were the first to try the new 2026 update of Titnore Lane, based on a fabulous old-school country lane located just up the road from the Barn. This stage got tweaked through last season and we now have possibly the definitive layout - shortened in places, with smoother transitions for the elevation changes, borders and barriers where they are needed, plus the retention of the chicane-curve entry to Titnore Way (the Tesco rat run) which was added last autumn. Mike's NSR Abarth ate up the new stage in 44.74 seconds for the four 'laps'.

   

Group B were next through, Rob leading Matthew in an SRC Porsche 1-2, but 4.65 seconds behind Mike's Abarth. James set an excellent fourth quickest time of the group with a Ninco Porsche 911SC and Steve's Audi Quattro was just a second behind Rob's RS200 in a nice vintage Scalextric battle. Simon's brand new Scalextric Subaru WRX wasn't the quickest, but certainly looked fabulous on the stage...

   

Group A were next. Each with an SRC Porsche at their disposal, we were expecting some fast times...

   

Steve obliged with a 47.58, beating Phil's Porsche by nearly a second. However, Ryan's 914 was quickest with a 42.85 stage time, 0.72 of a second ahead of Terry. Oliver just failed to make it an SRC Porsche 1-2-3, falling 0.04 short of Mike's NSR Abarth.

   

Last through the stage were Group D. Titnore Lane usually favours the light and nimble SRC and Scaleauto cars, but could we see a challenge from elsewhere? Perhaps Jeremy's 3D chassied cars or the fast Nincos of Scott and Andy? Again Jeremy's challenge faltered - his quickest car the Ninco Citroën C4. Faster were Andy's Ninco Subaru and Porsche 911SC - but only good enough for seventh and eighth on the stage. Scott's Porsche 991 was again quickest of the SCX cars - and his Porsche 959 was top Scalextric car, a couple of seconds ahead of Rob & Steve. Stephen beat Kevin in their club car duel, but both were beaten by Simon.

Here are the results from Titnore Lane...

   

Our top five cars after three stages looked like this...

1. Mike Dadson, NSR Abarth S2000 - 129.72 seconds
2. Andy Player, Ninco Subaru Impreza - 134.09
3. Terry Peters, SRC Porsche 914/6 GT - 134.10
4. Oliver Walker, SRC Porsche 914/6 GT - 135.38
5. Ryan Walker, SRC Porsche 914/6 GT - 135.75

Jeremy's TR7 was now 12.19 seconds of the lead of the rally.

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Stage Four: Ford Ice Rink

Winner: Mike Dadson, SRC Porsche 914/6 GT

   

Group D were the first drivers on the Ford Ice Rink since the Slot Rally GB Saturday last July. Fifteen fast laps of the tiny Super-Special require concentration and a deft touch on the throttle - and probably not too much grip. Often it is best not to clean your tyres before this one. Andy set down the time to beat with a 39.37 second run for his Ninco Subaru. Scott's 43.3 for his Porsche 991 looked unlikely to be beaten by the other SCX runners. Kevin did a great job with the SCX Renault 5 club car...

   

The two Ragnotti Renaults - kindly donated by Gaugemaster - will receive a Dadson rebuild before next time and serve regular duty on the stages.

   

Mike and his group were next on rink. Although his Punto was a second and a half off Andy's time, it was enough to hold on to his overall rally lead. He still had to worry about the gaggle of SRC Porsches, but that was the Modern class wrapped up. Mike went fastest on the stage with his SRC 914 - a 37.64 second run taking a commanding lead. Ollie was best of the rest with his Subaru.

   

Rob again pipped Matthew in their SRC Porsche battle - those two cars the pick of the Group B runners. Rob's RS200 beat Steve's Subaru and Audi in their Scalextric skirmish, but neither could beat Scott's time with his Porsche 959.

Finally, it was Group A and the Porsche 914s challenging for the rally win... Terry managed a 39.71, Ryan a 40.17 and Oliver 40.34. It wasn't enough, but they would all be up there in the final standings after two frantic hours of the WHO Winter Stages...

   

Here are the stage results...

   

A bit of data input and crunching followed...

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WHO Winter Stages 2026 Results

Here are the official rally results...

   
You will need to click on all the tables to read them.

Congrats to Mike on a dominant performance with his Abarth Punto...

   

He and Isaac both get a Toyota GR sticker, kindly donated for our 2026 winners and top juniors by Jean of Johnny's Workshop.

Class Results

   

Congrats to Simon on his club car win...

   

Congrats also to Terry for winning Classic...

   

...and 80s/90s...

   

Mike, of course picked up Modern class honours...

   

Manufacturers

We celebrate standard Scalextric and SCX runners - whether old or new - and award points towards a championship...

   

Congrats this time to Scott, who picked up top spot for SCX...

   

And to Rob, who was best of the Scalextric runners...

   

So that's it for our first slot rally of 2026. A very big thank you to everyone who came along and made it such an enjoyable evening. Special thanks go to Jeremy and Andy, who provided the four stages, to those who came along early to help set up and to everyone who stayed behind to pack away. We do it again on Wednesday 22 April, for the WHO Spring Stages.