[PaulCooper]

all looking good .. Go Brighton .. 
I must say they Grahams videos were excellent particularly as he had no help and was his first time. The track layout really helped as with my loft track it would not .. I am hopeful the the rally track at the WSR will be easier and compact to achieve a live stream you tube style. So well done Graham you have set the bar high ???

[Kevan]

I'd love to live stream also but no interweb or wifi at the club I'll have to figure something out via phone data/webcam/sports cam

[AdeC]

Great work! Very pleased with the little Healey's performance on the bumpy Ninco stuff (and that it's hanging on to the big jags). That track surface was my downfall in the 2021 WHO rally sprint so this time round I was determined to make sure my car could cope a little better with it!

[woodcote]

Event 2 - Rally B Cars

The biggest of the four groups of cars began with Team Cube's Scalextric Ferrari 308 GTB...

       

Standard Scalextric cars often struggle on the rough Ninco off-road track, but the Ferrari did more than okay. A moderate pace and two typically random deslots gave a time of 96.98 seconds.

       

This was perfect terrain for Lifeboat Racing's Fly Audi Quattro, complete with drop-arm and motor positioned at the front. The car was nicely set-up, skipped over the rough stuff and could really attack the jumps - awesome fun! A time of 70.16 second (no offs) was a great time.

       

This is a great-looking livery with plenty of early-80s tarmac rally pedigree... but would the slot car cope with the road surface? Savage GT has done an excellent job with this M1 - although a little twitchy on the rough stuff, it was a smooth drive and would have gone even better than the 70.69 seconds without the one random deslot on the off-road section.

       

Ruscillo Racing's Audi Quattro was a smooth drive with plenty of punch, but became unpredictable when driven hard through the off-road terrain. Instead, a steady run resulted in a time of 76.53 seconds with no deslots.

       

Here was another standard Scalextric car unsettled by the rough surface and the ramps... However, the Mountain View Lancia Delta S4 had a better run than the earlier Ferrari - clocking almost nine seconds faster at 87.84 (two deslots).

       

The Woodcote Racing Ninco Porsche 911 SC was rather unpredictable on the rough stuff, including understeer on the corners. Two deslots and a steady pace gave a time of 89.36 seconds.

       

The third of four Audi Quattros, the Novissime Iterum car was a smooth drive apart from the ramps on the bridge - where the guide had a tendency to stick in the slot. That meant a rather precise run-up and some deft control on the descent - a stall and two deslots on the bridge leaving the Quattro with a time of 92.47 seconds. It could definitely been a lot worse!

       

The Ninco Lancia 037 is one of my favourite slot rally cars. Harrison Racers' example was super-smooth on both surfaces, but did suffer from a lack of rear-end grip - that grip going off very quickly after a tyre clean. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable five laps, giving a time of 80.26 seconds (two spins/deslots).

       

Green Star's De Tomaso Pantera was super-smooth and ate up the off-road surface with no problems. A time of 71.20 seconds (no deslots) put it right up with the front-runners on this stage.

       

Not much to look at, the Bangers Racing Metro 6R4 is truly a wolf in sheep's clothing. Utterly delightful to drive over all the challenges this stage had to offer, the Metro set fastest time of the day so far with a 68.01 second run (no offs).

       

Probably the lightest car in this group, the Brumos RSR BMW M1 struggled on the rough surface. Three random deslots and a careful pace gave a time of 96.35 seconds. Like the real rallying M1, the Brumos car will preform best on fast, flowing tarmac stages.

       

Groundhogs' Audi simply didn't get on with the off-road surface. Despite a very gentle run, there were still five random deslots. The time of 129.10 seconds was well off the pace.

       

The final car of this big group was Courtney Sport's Porsche 924. Although unsettled by the rough surface, the Porsche handled it better than some! A time of 81.80 seconds (two deslots) put the 924 precisely in the middle of the Event 2 pack...

   

1. Bangers Racing - Metro 6R4 - 68.01 seconds (0 deslots)
2. Lifeboats Racing - Audi Quattro - 70.16 seconds (0 deslots)
3. Savage GT - BMW M1 - 70.69 seconds (1 deslot)
4. Green Star - De Tomaso Pantera - 71.20 seconds (0 deslots)
5. Ruscillo Racing - Audi Quattro - 76.53 seconds (0 deslots)
6. Harrisons Racers - Lancia 037 - 80.26 seconds (2 deslots)
7. Courtney Sport - Porsche 924 - 81.80 seconds (2 deslots)
8. Mountain View - Lancia Delta S4 - 87.84 seconds (2 deslots)
9. Woodcote Racing - Porsche 911 SC - 89.36 seconds (2 deslots)
10. Novissime Iterum - Audi Quattro - 92.47 seconds (2 deslots)
11. Brumos RSR - BMW M1 - 96. 35 seconds (3 deslots)
12. Team Cube - Ferrari 308 - 96.98 seconds (2 deslots)
13. Groundhogs - Audi Quattro - 129.10 seconds (5 deslots)

[woodcote]

Event 3 - Rally Legends

These cars looked the fastest group from Graham's Round 1 stages and include the much-fancied SRC Porsche 914/6 rally cars. Rose has obviously been studying the form, as she appeared from her afternoon slumbers to watch the action from a perfect vantage point...

   

First to run was the first of four Porsches...

       

The Brumos RSR 914/6 rattled its way over the bumps, but was also very quick. One deslot marred an otherwise perfect timed run - 67.93 seconds was the fastest 5 laps of the day so far.

       

The three TR7s have all raced in Brighton before - but not on Ninco off-road track. Team Cube's car did not find the rough stuff to its liking... Three deslots gave a time of 89.56 seconds.

       

Savage GT's Escuderia Montjuïc Porsche 914/6 is a cracking rally livery. It rattled away over the off-road track, one deslot meaning it finished with a 72.21 second stage time.

       

The RoadRunners SCX Fiat 131 Abarth body sat on top of some very fine engineering. Whereas the Porsches were being hammered by the bumps (and so risking deslots) the Fiat skipped over the rough surface - driving smoothly and predictably. A stage time of 67.08 was a new best of the day.

       

The second of the TR7s was BARacer's. Although a little unpredictable on the rough stuff, it was a good car to drive and a time of 73.89 seconds (1 deslot) was mightily impressive.

       

The Scott Sports Escort skipped round the track very nicely. A clean run gave a time of 73.93 seconds - pipped by BARacer's Triumph by four hundredths of a second!

       

James' Porsche 914/6 was super-smooth, but I couldn't push it quite as hard as I wanted. Nonetheless, a 68.01 second run (no deslots) put it in third place in this group.

       

A third TR7 - entered by SRRC - required gentle handling on the rough stuff. A time of 80.24 seconds (no deslots) was pretty decent, all things considered.

       

A great-looking car, ALS Racing's Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm was another one that found the rough stuff a struggle. A gentle run with no deslots gave a time of 83.20 seconds.

       

Courtney Sport's Porsche 914/6 had a stage to forget. Rather like the Audi in the previous group, the guide caught on the ramps to and from the bridge. However, unlike the Audi, the Porsche wasn't predictable enough to negotiate the ramps at speed. As a result, numerous stalls and deslots resulted in a disappointing time of 108.80 seconds - disappointing, because the car was pretty nimble around the rest of the stage. That put the Courtney Sport car dead last in the group...

   

1. RoadRunners - Fiat 131 Abarth - 67.08 seconds (0 deslots)
2. Brumos RSR - Porsche 914/6 - 67.93 seconds (1 deslot)
3. James WV - Porsche 914/6 - 68.01 seconds (1 deslot)
4. Savage GT - Porsche 914/6 - 72.21 seconds (1 deslot)
5. BARacer - Triumph TR7 - 73.89 seconds (1 deslot)
6. Scott Sports - Ford Escort - 73.93 seconds (0 deslots)
7. SSRC - Triumph TR7 - 80.24 seconds (0 deslots)
8. ALS Racing - Alfa Romeo Giulia - 83.20 seconds (0 deslots)
9. Team Cube - Triumph TR7 - 89.56 seconds (3 deslots)
10. Courtney Sport - Porsche 914/6 - 108.80 seconds (many deslots)

Just one group to go to finish a busy day of racing... The Modern WRC cars did look the class of the field in last night's shakedown - can any of them beat RoadRunners' best time of 67.08 seconds?

[Kevan]

edited to say

That's NOT a surprise, I thought the 914/6's would fly round that.

[Graham]

I was wondering when we would see the “cats eyes” on the road 
Think it prefers yellow coloured cars, if I remember correctly, so that Jaguar might have to be quicker still on the next round.

Very pleased with the Fiat result 

[Gpa113]

Thank you Andy ( and Rose! ) for getting a clear round from my TR7,  hopefully it was much improved from its previous visit to Brighton! 

I totally forgot to try it out on the bumpy Ninco track, which I own a good deal of, oh well, the new sprung guide must be doing an OK job...

[woodcote]

Event 4 - Modern WRC

The cat only stuck around for the Rally Legends. To be honest, she may just have been waiting to be fed...

       

First to go of the Modern WRC cars was the Citroën Saxo Super 1600 car of Bangers Racing. This was a very nice car and despite one deslot, managed a very respectable 70.77 second run.

       

Next was Harrisons Racers' Ninco Subaru fitted with an NC-2 motor. Although steady through the off-road stuff, its rear grip was poor. One spin-out/deslot meant a 78.01 second run.

       

Ruscillo Racing's anglewinder Citroën C4 was a very enjoyable and predictable drive on both surfaces. A clean run gave one of the fastest times of the day - 68.41 seconds.

       

The best-looking car in this group was Mountain View's SCX Hyundai i20. Despite a change of chassis and mechanical parts, the car was rather unpredictable on the rough Ninco off-road track. It suffered three deslots and could only manage a 87.48 second run.

       

Team Alaric's Scalextric Subaru was the surprise package of the WRC cars. It was simply awesome over the rough-stuff and took the jumps with ease. A time of 68.93 seconds disproved the unwritten rule than Scalextric cars can't manage the bumps.

       

Just one Ford Focus in the field - and the SSRC entered car impressed with a very smooth run, timed at 69.73 seconds.

       

I do like this car! It's built to suit my driving, so a 65.05 second run wasn't a big surprise. It would have been quicker if I hadn't gone large on the final yump over the bridge - but that was fun too.

       

BARacer's inline Ninco Citroën C4 didn't like the rough stuff too much. It was unpredictable, which meant I dialled down the speed - but there were still 3 random offs in a 87.04 second run.

       

The High Voltage Subaru Impreza was also sensitive to the bumpy bits. A gentle run gave a time of 88.40 seconds with one deslot.

       

The Ninco Renault Clio Super 1600 is a lovely car to drive - and Scott Sports' car is a nicely-prepared example. I really enjoyed these five laps - super smooth and just asking to be pushed... although always the chance of a tip-over on the inner radius turns. A proper rally car. The 66.81 second run (no deslots) was very nearly best of the day.

       

The last to go was James' Ninco Impreza. Maybe lacking a bit of rear aero, it was a little unpredictable over the bumps. One deslot meant a time of 71.05 - six second off the best of the day and good enough for seventh in this group...

   

1. Woodcote Racing - Subaru Impreza - 65.05 seconds (1 deslot)
2. Scott Sports - Renault Clio - 66.81 seconds (0 deslots)
3. Ruscillo Racing - Citroën C4 - 68.41 seconds (0 deslots)
4. Team Alaric - Subaru Impreza - 68.93 seconds (0 deslots)
5. SSRC - Ford Focus - 69.73 seconds (0 deslots)
6. Bangers Racing - Citroën Saxo - 70.77 seconds (1 deslot)
7. James WV - Subaru Impreza - 71.05 seconds (1 deslot)
8. Harrisons Racing - Subaru Impreza - 78.01 seconds (1 deslot)
9. BARacer - Citroën C4 - 87.04 seconds (3 deslots)
10. Mountain View - Hyundai i20 - 87.48 seconds (3 deslots)
11. High Voltage - Subaru Impreza - 88.40 seconds (1 deslot)

That's it for the first stage of Round 2. I'll set up the ice rink Saturday evening and post some pics. Then expect the race coverage from around 8-8.30 Sunday morning. Should be completed by lunchtime.

[BAracer]

No magic change in C4 fortunes then...seems like I went in the wrong direction tuning-wise.