[Kevan]

Race reports - 31st March - GP + Pre-wing plus Classic F1 + F1
 
A good turnout tonight, 7 club members braved the sudden freezing blast from the north including snow.
 
GP + Prewing

   
 
It’s fair to say the Grand Prix classes are the most diverse.
Tonight there were seven different GP cars, Mike H was the sole entry in the Standard class, the Cartrix Bugatti 251 went best in the middle lane and the closest race was heat #3 finishing 3 tenths of a lap behind Gavs rapid Lancia.
 
In the Modified class we had cars from the 30’s to the late 50’s.
Kev’s Mercedes W25 is Mike D’s with a 3D chassis and had a best run in the Blue lane.  Heats #5 & #6 were very close racing against Geoff’s Talbot Lago that is one of his favourite cars and was tough to beat, he had a best run in the Blue lane which was actually the quickest run of the night and finished a couple of seconds ahead of Kev’s W25.
Brian’s Vanwall is one of those cars that isn’t super fast but always guaranteed to do 21/22 laps.  A best run in the Yellow lane for the Vanwall. Did you know that Vanwall was the first British Formula 1 team to win its home grand prix and the World Constructors’ championship.
 
Three Open class entries, Mike B racing a Mercedes W196 for a change, it’s another missile from Mike, super consistent too with a best run in the Red lane and two heat wins also.
Recently we’ve got used to seeing Chris’s Auto Union C-type on race nights but tonight raced a Maserati 250F on a rattle pan chassis. It’s very consistent and had a best run in  the Blue lane but usually goes well in the Red lane also.
Gavin racing a very fast Lancia Ferrari had a best run in the Yellow lane and his closest race was heat #3 with Mike H and his Bugatti.
 
No Pre-wing cars tonight.

   
 
Heat wins in heat order for Brian, Mike B, Geoff & Kev

   
 
Classic F1 + F1

   
 
One Standard Classic F1 tonight, Kev’s Policar March 701 managed two heat wins the closest was heat #1 ahead of Mike H’s NSR F1.
 
Standard F1 was full of NSR F1’s, Chris’s car ate a tooth off the crown gear before the racing, a SlotIt was dropped in and it was flying especially in the Blue lane with a comfortable heat win.
Brian thought it was unusual Chris should have gear issues, claiming his NSR crown gear has been problem-free…which it was until the final race of the night where it stripped all the teeth off!  Talk about famous last words, nevertheless managed the second best score in the Yellow lane.
Geoff’s yellow amel liveried car was having no messing about tonight, sh*t or bust somehow managed the best run of the night but in the Red lane and three heat wins.
Mike H managed three runners-up spots with the best being in heat #2 in the Yellow lane and a 6.7 sec hot lap.
Gavin’s F1 went best in the Yellow lane but came to an abrupt stop in heat #5 hitting the wall and jamming the axle spacer against the bearing meaning end-of-race.
 
A sole Open class entry tonight, Mike B’s Merced-ish with a best run in the Yellow lane in heat #3 also managed to win that heat ahead of Gavin & Mike H’s NSR’s.

   
 
Heat wins in heat order for Kev, Chris, Mike B & Geoff

   
 
 
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Next week is Small Sports/Saloons plus Group 5

[Kevan]

Race reports - 7th April - Small Sports/Saloons + Group 5
 
With Andy back from his trip down-under and a few not able to get down we had 5 club members racing tonight.
 
Small Sports/Saloons

   
 
Four Modified Class and one Open Class cars.
 
Geoff & Mike raced 3D Moggy Racers, both cars with S-can motors.  Mike lost out in the Red lane, other than that there was very little between them either lane scores or hot lap times.
Chris was testing a Scaley BMW before racing but went with his tried & tested E-type Jag that achieved three similar scores and a heat win.
Kev’s Chappy 2C isn’t as quick on a hot lap as Andy’s Cooper but was more consistent than last time out. Both drivers managing heat wins.
 
The closest race was heat #5 with Chris & Mike within a lap of each other.
 
Heat wins in heat order for Andy, Kev & Chris

   
 
Group 5
 
   

Three Standard Class and two Open Class cars.
 
Racer/Sideways rules Standard Class here, three different cars, Chris’s Nissan Skyline being a bit of a handful in the Red lane lost him time, otherwise he would have been really close to Geoff’s BMW 320i. Chris went well enough to win a heat.
Although Geoff’s BMW went really well it seemed a little down on lap time compared to recent outings.
Kev’s BMW M1 had a great run in the Yellow lane and two other similar lane times to keep clear of Geoff’s 320i.
 
The two Open Class cars went well, Andy’s BMW M1 was the quickest car round the track tonight and despite plenty of controller problems during testing seemed to manage around them in the racing.
Mike’s Capri always goes well, a couple of quick 26 lappers was on the pace of Geoff’s BMW.
 
The closest race was heat #3 with Mike & Chris within 4 seconds of each other.
 
Heat wins in heat order for Kev, Andy, Mike B & Chris

   
 
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Next week is 60’s Minis & 60’s Mustangs Team Race…both types were seen in testing before tonights racing.

[Kevan]

Race reports - 14th April - 60’s Mini’s & 60’s Mustangs

   
 
With Mike H having car problems we ran two rounds, round 1 was 5 minutes, round 2 was 3 minutes.  Working out teams wasn’t worth it for the number of racers so I’ve created a results sheet to get two results as close as possible.
 
What was great to see was everyone racing a Mini, they’re not as quick as the Mustangs but for team racing it doesn’t matter.
There were three distinct types of Mini racing, Cooper, Clubman…and a couple of MiniSprints.
 
The ‘65 notchback Mustangs raced this time round were joined by a ‘69 Mach 1 Mustang.
 
With custom heats created we had a constant rotation of drivers on the rostrum, everyone raced everyone else.
 
Andy & Geoff raced notchback Mustangs in round 1 and Minis in round 2.
Kev raced a notchback Mustang twice, a MiniSprint twice and a Mach 1 Mustang twice.
Brian borrowed a Mini Clubman with a quicker motor than last time and raced it all night.
 
…meanwhile, Mike H stayed to help marshall and watch the racing. Armed with info about the pod needed for his Mini should see it on it’s race debut soon.

   
 
Heat wins in heat order for Kev, Andy & Geoff

   
 
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Next week is Slot Rally

[Kevan]

Race reports - 28th April - Club GT40

   
 
Kept in the tin since 2021 the cars were all cleaned out, one had a body repair, bearings oiled, screws set then everyone had a while to set their controllers and get a fair few practice laps in.
 
Round 1
Race #1 was Kev, Brian & Andy and ended with all three cars within 7 seconds of each other, this was to be repeated throughout the evening. 
Heat #2 was close, Mike B winning by 1.4 seconds from Kev.
Heat #3 saw Mike B & Kev sitting on the line as they hadn’t heard the ‘GO!’ whilst Chris cruised off to a half lap lead.
Heat #4 saw Geoff winning by 3.6 seconds from Chris.
Heat #5 saw Andy winning by 2.4 seconds from Geoff.
Heat #6 had the biggest winning margin with Andy in Yellow racing Brian & Geoff.
 
Race wins in heat order for Kev, Mike B, Geoff & Andy.
 
Round 2
Heat #1 was a double false start as Geoff & Andy had to go round again leaving Brian to lead for a fair few laps.
Heat #2 saw Geoff winning by 3.1 seconds from Andy.
Heat #3 was the closest race of the night, Mike B, Chris & Geoff all finishing within 1.7 seconds,  Chris winning ahead of Mike B then Geoff.  All three drivers suffering deslotitis with the lead changing a few times, the last minute in particular was hero to zero and back to hero time.
Heat #4 saw Mike B winning by 2.7 seconds from Kev.
Heat #6 saw Brian winning by 1.7 seconds from Andy.
Heat #5 had the biggest winning margin with Kev in Yellow racing Brian & Mike B.
 
Race wins in heat order for Andy, Geoff, Chris, Mike B & Kev.
 
   

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Next week is Saloon + Sports.

[Kevan]

Race reports - 5th May - Saloon + Sports
 
With club members away, working or not able to attend, we had three drivers and decided to race 5 minute heats without marshalls and shout ‘TRACK’ when a deslot happened.
 
Both Saloon and Sports results are affected by the number of track calls as the race timer carried on whilst we stopped.  If the deslot was at the computer end of the track the timer was paused.
 
Saloon

   
 
All three cars entered were Open class, Geoffs Opel Calibra was easily the quickest down the main straight whilst Mike’s Mustang and Kev’s Camaro were fairly closely matched.
 
Race #1 - Kev’s Camaro in front in Yellow whilst Geoff’s Opel in Red just finished 2.5 seconds ahead of Mike’s Mustang in Blue.
 
Race #2 - Kev’s Camaro in front in Blue with Geoff’s Opel just over a lap behind in Yellow and Mike’s Mustang just over a lap behind in Red.
 
Race #3 was the quickest of the three with only one ‘TRACK’ shout, all three drivers setting best lane scores in this race and Geoff’s Opel setting the overall best lane score whilst racing the Blue lane. Mike managed the second best lane score whilst in the Yellow lane whilst Kev’s Camaro lead for a few minutes whilst in the Red lane but couldn’t stop first Geoff’s Opel then Mike’s Mustang from getting past.
 
Race wins in heat order for Kev & Geoff

   
 
Sports
 
   

All three Moslers cars were the original chassis & pod layout and white kits.
 
The race order was mixed up after the Saloons with Kev in Red, Mike in Yellow and Geoff in Blue.
Geoff managed a best score in heat #3 in the Yellow lane
Mike managed a best score in heat #2 in Blue
Kev managed a best score in heat #3 in Blue’s
 
Again the races were interrupted by ‘TRACK’ calls but at the end of the night it felt like we had some great racing.
 
   

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Next week is Club Challenge #3

[Kevan]

Race reports - 19th May - Grand Prix & Pre-wing + Classic F1 & F1
 
A good turnout tonight with seven competitors seen testing a huge range of cars from all eras seen in practice.  

   
 
Grand Prix & Pre-wing
 
No Standard Grand Prix cars tonight but the same three Modifieds seen last time we raced these in March whilst we saw a new lineup in the Open class.
 
Modified GP

   

Kev vs Brian vs Geoff - Kevs Merc W25, and Brian’s Vanwall went a little better than the last event whilst Geoff’s super smooth and quiet Talbot Lago ended up half a lap behind the Vanwall which in turn was one lap per heat behind the W25.
Kev’s Merc W25 had a best run in the Red lane which is unusual for him as he prefers Blue lane.
Heat #6 was close with the Vanwall and Talbot only half a second apart at the end of the heat, the Vanwall just nicking 2nd spot.
…Geoff finished ahead of Brian in March, last night Brian finished ahead of Geoff.
 
Open GP
Chris vs Mike B vs Gav - Chris & Mike were a little down on their last time out but heat #2 saw both cars finish within 4 seconds of each other with Chris finishing in 2nd spot ahead of Mike and heat #3 finished only 1.5 seconds apart with Mike nicking 2nd spot ahead of Chris.
Gav’s Lancia Ferrari was the quickest of the three cars in class but didn’t manage to stay in the slot as long as the other two cars and finished a few laps down.  Gav’s best run was in heat #3 in the Red lane managing to finish just 5 seconds behind Chris’s Maserati.
 
Open Pre-wing

   

Andy’s Ferrari 156 ‘shark nose’ best run was in heat #1 in Blue but managed his best lap in the last heat whilst in Yellow.  The closest anyone got to the Ferrari was Kev’s W25 in heat #7 finishing 2 laps down. 
 
Heat wins in heat order for Andy, Kev, Mike B & Brian

   
 
Classic F1 & F1
 
Standard Classic F1

   

Only one Classic F1 tonight, Brian’s Ferrari 312 B2 with three consistent and smooth runs despite being ‘run over’ late in the evening with the offending car trying to beat the high jump record set earlier by Mike’s Merc!  His first race in heat #1 was close though finishing 1.4 seconds behind Mike’s Merc with Geoff’s NSR winning the heat.
 
Standard F1
The busiest class of all tonight which at the moment is populated by NSR F1’s.
Heat #1 saw Geoff racing the first of the NSR F1’s and he wasn’t hanging about tonight as he put his best time of the night down in Blue ahead of Brian & Mike B.
Heat #2 saw the next NSR F1 with Gav racing Mike & Brian finishing a lap behind the merc.  His best run was in the next heat whilst in the Yellow lane finishing only 2 seconds behind Chris’s NSR F1.  This turned out to be Chris’s best run of the whole evening, he has a knack of doing especially well in the Red lane.
Heat #4 was all NSR as Andy flew round whilst posting the first of many sub 6 second laps seen tonight.
Heat #5 saw Kev’s Open class Black Bull flying round in the Red lane, getting the ‘holeshot’ being necessary to get ahead of Andy’s NSR.
Heat #6 was even quicker as Andy & Kev managed their best overall lane score of the night and a new class lap record for the Black Bull.
The last race of the night saw Brian’s Policar Ferrari trying to stay out of the way of two much quicker and wider F1’s whilst posting his best single lane score of the evening.

   

Heat wins in heat order for Geoff, Mike B, Chris, Andy & Kev.


NSR F1’s with the standard King 21 motor seem to go best with zero or almost zero brakes, they flow much better through bends like this as Andy proved during practice, Kev trying this out with his NSR with a Shark motor fitted to get a similar feel to Andy’s car.
 
Some of the club members have done a great job of their NSR F1, adding livery to make these look more realistic than the generic base car.
 
Andy brought a box of cars down tonight, almost all were sold, GP cars, Rally cars and a Group 5…all no doubt will be seen in action at some time soon.
 
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Next week is Slot Rally

[Kevan]

Race reports - 2nd June - Le Manx

   
 
A good turnout for the first of two Le Manx events this year.  Group C and LMP cars were seen in almost equal numbers.
 
Standard Class was an all LMP affair with most cars and all from different manufacturers.  Brian hastily chose to race his SlotIt Porsche…which turned out to be a spot on choice as you’ll see in the handicap results.  Gav was racing the sole NSR tonight, the Audi R18 tamed with his new controller and went well in the Yellow & Blue lanes.  Mike’s Avant Peugeot was involved in a few two-cars-in-one-tight-corner incidents…some people never learn and had a best run in the Blue lane and three clean runs.
 
   

Modified Class was a SlotIt Group C with NSR Shark motor battle, Geoff’s Toyota stopped on track with a broken guide wire, the race was paused whilst the pit crew got it repaired…only for the other wire to break in his final race which required a car swap.  Unsurprisingly his best run was in Yellow.  Kev’s Jaguar went much better in Yellow & Blue than the Red lane which caught the car out with one deslot and couldn’t find race pace in qually (in the Red lane) which would have seen a better finish in the handicap results.
 
Open Class was a mix of Group C and LMP, Chris opting to race the Dome Judd which does go well and looks great and was actually the third fastest car on track tonight.  A best run in Yellow for Chris.  Andy’s Toyota (same livery as Geoff’s Modified Class car) was quick and consistent, a best run in Blue and a couple of heat wins. A good overall result and a super close handicap result…to be revealed later
 
   

I’ve done two results charts, a normal results sheet with Standard, Modified and Open class results and the second results sheet where the cars are listed on how close they were to their ‘predicted result’ using their best qually run lap time.
 
   

   

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Next week sees a change to the race calendar as we’ve swapped these two weeks around.  So next week is Small Sports/Saloons & Group 5

[Kevan]

I just realised, Brian's Porsche is a Group C not LMP.

[Kevan]

Race reports - 23rd June - Club Revoslot
 
Covid, work shifts and family crisis put paid to tonights racing as Geoff, Andy & Kev spent an hour or so practicing. Even so by the time the lights went out the track had seen over 1000 laps.
 
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There is a new edition to the clubs Rally tracks as we have acquired Pendles modular layout which allows for a few different stage designs.
 
…and this week is Slot Rally

[Kevan]

Race reports - 14th July - Mike Dove Memorial Classic GP & Prewing F1
 
   

5 qually laps were run in the Red lane, the best lap time being used to see who finished closest to their estimated result.
 
This years event was an endurance race. 10 minute heats saw three of the four GP cars suffering tyre degredation at various times through the heats, quick pitstops were seen by all three drivers (as quick as possible that is…some more successful than others!).
 
Heats were mixed so everyone raced three different drivers, with five drivers we had three marshals in the first six of seven heats.
 
Kev’s Merc W25B suffered really bad tyre degradation in heat #1, lap times falling rapidly after 28 laps. The driver swapped to a W165 for the other two heats.
 
Chris’s Maserati was the surprise of the evening going really well, two heat wins proof of just how well.
 
Thankfully Andy put Slot cars before table tennis tonight, the Ferrari 156 always goes well and did tonight.  Not troubled on track and was an obvious candidate for the win.
 
Geoff’s Talbot Lago was also troubled by tyre deg later in the heats, lap times falling round about lap 40.  The Talbots closest race was the final heat finishing a couple of laps behind Chris’s Maserati.
 
Brian’s Vanwall had a best run in heat #6 in the Yellow lane racing Kev’s Merc W165, tyre deg again having a bearing on the cars overall result.

   
 
Heat wins for Chris, Andy & Kev.
 
When all the results were in, predicted results compared to actual results…Chris’s Maserati race pace was the closest to his predicted result.

   
 
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Next week is GP/Pre-wing F1 plus Classic F1/F1