[woodcote]

   

The Maserati was tested on my usual rug-racing layout - an ARC Air Jadlam SL6 set. It's what I use to test and compare new cars - mostly Scalextric models - for the Jadlam blog and for Slot Car Magazine. Of all the Jadlam SL layouts, I think  it works well as a test track for home racing - it fits on the living room floor of a small UK home, has a combination of left and right Radius 2 corners, a four-and-a-half-foot straight, a flyover and a single radius 1 90-degree right-hander. The total length is 10.6 metres, or a smidgeon under 35 feet...

   

It is tight and twisty, so ideal to judge how a car fitted with magnets will perform on a small home track. Non-mag racing is more of a challenge, but the layout is a great test of non-mag handling. Of course, it says very little about how a car will perform on a big club track.

The first test was with the magnet as fitted at the factory - just in front of the motor - plus the aluminium hubs and C1 compound tyres. The magnet is puny, measuring 13g in situ on my DIY magnet scale - compared to 30-45g for a Scalextric car and nearly 60g for an NSR Porsche 997 GT3. As a result, the Maserati was much more fun, but a bit of a challenge to drive on the tight and twisty track.

The car was quick and - when I kept it neat - I banged in some very satisfactory sub-4-second laps. However, when the rear stepped out and the meagre magnet moved off the rails the fun started... The tail slides were perfectly controllable most of the time, although once or twice there was a 'pendulum' effect when the front de-slotted as the rear came back. I really enjoyed it as the grip went off, but I'm not sure how the average home magnet racer would have coped!

   

My two-minute timed run with the magnet gave me 28 laps, a best of 3.90 seconds and an average of 4.20 -  no offs, but the lack of grip meant I was slowing a lot by the end. Other times for comparison include...

• 3.30 seconds - NSR Porsche 997 GT3 (32 laps)
  
• 3.64 seconds - NSR Porsche 908/3 (28 laps)
  
• 3.77 seconds - Scalextric Pagani Huayra (30 laps)
  
• 3.90 seconds - Slot.it Maserati MC GT3 (28 laps)
  
• 3.97 seconds - Scalextric Camaro Z28 (28 laps)
  
• 4.00 seconds - Slot.it Porsche 956 (28 laps)
  
• 4.01 seconds - Scalextric BMW 330i BTCC (28 laps)
  
• 4.15 seconds - Scalextric Aston Martin GT3 (26 laps)
  

I've never been convinced that the C1 tyres are ideal for Scalextric Sport - Classic, yes. The grip isn't stunning to begin with and traction slips away horribly when the tyres pick up any dust or dirt. There's simply no comparison with NSR Supergrips, which are standard on their GT3 cars. Sport isn't too dissimilar to Carrera - and P6 is designated the compound of choice for Carrera. The PT24 tyre would be a direct swap for the C1s on the Maserati. I think I'll have them handy - with a SP23 tungsten weight for the non-mag test...