25th-Sep-22, 08:06 AM
Race Report Part One - Morning Session
An early start for the set-up crew made quick work of constructing Mike's Goodwood-inspired layout. As we discovered in 2015, a Goodwood replica doesn't make a satisfactory slot racing circuit - but Mike borrowed elements from our local race track, essentially Woodcote corner going through a single-lane chicane. With some wonderful back and forth on the left side of the Barn, it made a near-perfect digital racing track for these models of classic cars.
After a 30-minute practice and shakedown session - plus Stephen's Digital Driving School for newcomers Owen and Steve - and we were all ready to learn the track in the club car rotation...
Our seventeen drivers would race for 2 minutes with each of the six Goodwood Scalextric club cars - three GT40s, a Chaparral 2F, a Ferrari 412P and a Chevy Camaro. The final three were slightly out of period... the Camaro a last minute replacement, but a nice reminder of pre-WHO/digital days in 2012-13 when we were exploring Scalextric digital and SSDC in Mike's conservatory.
The rotation is all about maximising the number of laps with every car - however good or bad they might be. The Chaparral was certainly awesome, the black GT40 a little less so - and the Camaro handled differently from the sleek prototypes. The RCS64 software was set up with fuel and tyre simulations, requiring one pit stop around half way - getting that done when the pit lane was empty was an advantage. The parts of a lap on the yellow car (the black GT40) were recorded as a potential tie-breaker.
The racing was exciting as always. Mike and Andy the early leaders, but then Ryan took the lead, only to lose out by half a lap to his older brother. Of our debutants, Owen managed an impressive eleventh place, with Steve having a disastrous second race - otherwise he'd have been in the mix for twelfth place...
Congrats to Oliver on an immense rotation victory - Ryan finished second to pick up the junior medal...
Ash was running a slick operation on race control, assisted by Oliver, Ryan and Isaac cleaning tyres and lining-up the cars. This kept the morning moving along without delays. Mike and Andy were also busy in the background with scrutineering and programming. The four Richmond trophy cars - three Cartrix and one Scalextric - were ready to go as soon as the rotation results were announced...
The Richmond Trophy class - for front-engined 2.5-litre Grand Prix cars of 1948-60 - is a great exhibition of what our Goodwood day is all about. Very different from our usual fare - these are the first open-wheel cars we've raced at WHO/digital - and certainly a challenge to fit with a digital chip! Congrats to Mike, Simon, Jean and Pete for preparing cars that functioned well and looked great on the track.
A 3-minute practice session saw Jean set the fastest time with his Lancia - 16.182 seconds - followed by Mike's BRM P-25 (16.375), Pete's Vanwall (16.782) and Simon's Maserati 250F (16.984). However, the 20-lap race would be about more than practice times. Mike grabbed the lead off the line, pulling a small gap at the front of the quartet of F1 cars. They weren't the quickest - and the three Cartrix cars were full-throttle for much of the lap - but it was enthralling racing for those marshalling and spectating. The Cartrix cars were all in the pits for fuel in the opening six laps, giving Simon's more frugal Scalextric Maserati a slender lead. All four cars pitted around half distance - with the field still covered by not much more than a lap.
Simon was banging in some impressive lap times whilst saving fuel - the standard Mabuchi in his Maserati more suited to the big, flowing track than the Cartrix ones. Mike pitted a third time, departing the battle for the lead and leaving Simon a lap ahead. The BRM would unlap itself by the end, but only just - giving Simon a thumping win in the inaugural Richmond Trophy race...
After seeing the cars in action, I suspect there will be more 1950s F1 cars next year. The Scalextric Maseratis, Vanwalls and Ferrari 375s will be good-value and competitive options - Simon using the standard tyres on his winning car. Expect a small rule change to allow the Scalextric motor cans to be used in the Cartrix models - and George Turner kits are also eligible with standard Scalextric, Carrera or PSR (S-Can and FF) motors.
We were a little short on kits, re-liveries and scratchbuilt cars this year. Most of our WHO/digital racing uses Ready-to-Run (RTR) models, so the more creative side is something our Goodwood events will gradually grown into. However, we did have five entries into the concours d'élégance competition, which all the racers voted on during the lunch break...
People voted for the first, second and third choices - with Oliver's #22 Monogram Ford Galaxie re-livery the resounding winner of the poll.
Congrats to Oliver and Gary for producing a great-looking car that was the clear favourite. We'd see how the Galaxie would run in the first race of the afternoon...
An early start for the set-up crew made quick work of constructing Mike's Goodwood-inspired layout. As we discovered in 2015, a Goodwood replica doesn't make a satisfactory slot racing circuit - but Mike borrowed elements from our local race track, essentially Woodcote corner going through a single-lane chicane. With some wonderful back and forth on the left side of the Barn, it made a near-perfect digital racing track for these models of classic cars.
After a 30-minute practice and shakedown session - plus Stephen's Digital Driving School for newcomers Owen and Steve - and we were all ready to learn the track in the club car rotation...
Our seventeen drivers would race for 2 minutes with each of the six Goodwood Scalextric club cars - three GT40s, a Chaparral 2F, a Ferrari 412P and a Chevy Camaro. The final three were slightly out of period... the Camaro a last minute replacement, but a nice reminder of pre-WHO/digital days in 2012-13 when we were exploring Scalextric digital and SSDC in Mike's conservatory.
The rotation is all about maximising the number of laps with every car - however good or bad they might be. The Chaparral was certainly awesome, the black GT40 a little less so - and the Camaro handled differently from the sleek prototypes. The RCS64 software was set up with fuel and tyre simulations, requiring one pit stop around half way - getting that done when the pit lane was empty was an advantage. The parts of a lap on the yellow car (the black GT40) were recorded as a potential tie-breaker.
The racing was exciting as always. Mike and Andy the early leaders, but then Ryan took the lead, only to lose out by half a lap to his older brother. Of our debutants, Owen managed an impressive eleventh place, with Steve having a disastrous second race - otherwise he'd have been in the mix for twelfth place...
Congrats to Oliver on an immense rotation victory - Ryan finished second to pick up the junior medal...
Ash was running a slick operation on race control, assisted by Oliver, Ryan and Isaac cleaning tyres and lining-up the cars. This kept the morning moving along without delays. Mike and Andy were also busy in the background with scrutineering and programming. The four Richmond trophy cars - three Cartrix and one Scalextric - were ready to go as soon as the rotation results were announced...
The Richmond Trophy class - for front-engined 2.5-litre Grand Prix cars of 1948-60 - is a great exhibition of what our Goodwood day is all about. Very different from our usual fare - these are the first open-wheel cars we've raced at WHO/digital - and certainly a challenge to fit with a digital chip! Congrats to Mike, Simon, Jean and Pete for preparing cars that functioned well and looked great on the track.
A 3-minute practice session saw Jean set the fastest time with his Lancia - 16.182 seconds - followed by Mike's BRM P-25 (16.375), Pete's Vanwall (16.782) and Simon's Maserati 250F (16.984). However, the 20-lap race would be about more than practice times. Mike grabbed the lead off the line, pulling a small gap at the front of the quartet of F1 cars. They weren't the quickest - and the three Cartrix cars were full-throttle for much of the lap - but it was enthralling racing for those marshalling and spectating. The Cartrix cars were all in the pits for fuel in the opening six laps, giving Simon's more frugal Scalextric Maserati a slender lead. All four cars pitted around half distance - with the field still covered by not much more than a lap.
Simon was banging in some impressive lap times whilst saving fuel - the standard Mabuchi in his Maserati more suited to the big, flowing track than the Cartrix ones. Mike pitted a third time, departing the battle for the lead and leaving Simon a lap ahead. The BRM would unlap itself by the end, but only just - giving Simon a thumping win in the inaugural Richmond Trophy race...
After seeing the cars in action, I suspect there will be more 1950s F1 cars next year. The Scalextric Maseratis, Vanwalls and Ferrari 375s will be good-value and competitive options - Simon using the standard tyres on his winning car. Expect a small rule change to allow the Scalextric motor cans to be used in the Cartrix models - and George Turner kits are also eligible with standard Scalextric, Carrera or PSR (S-Can and FF) motors.
We were a little short on kits, re-liveries and scratchbuilt cars this year. Most of our WHO/digital racing uses Ready-to-Run (RTR) models, so the more creative side is something our Goodwood events will gradually grown into. However, we did have five entries into the concours d'élégance competition, which all the racers voted on during the lunch break...
People voted for the first, second and third choices - with Oliver's #22 Monogram Ford Galaxie re-livery the resounding winner of the poll.
Congrats to Oliver and Gary for producing a great-looking car that was the clear favourite. We'd see how the Galaxie would run in the first race of the afternoon...
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