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We are back at the Barn on Wednesday 4 March for the first HO Formula One race of the year. And there is a minor earthquake about to hit Goring-by-Sea - the start of non-mag, brass-weighted HO racing...

We first started introducing 'sub-classes' or 'minor-championships' to WHO Racing back in 2012 as a way to widen access to end-of-season silverware. The F1 Classic Cup - for older, lower-performance chassis like the Tyco 440x2, Tomy Turbo, Micro Scalextric and Life Like 'M' - was first, followed by WHO Tuners  two years later and Nascar Gen6 in 2016. For a variety of reasons, the F1 Classic Cup field has dwindled, whereas the other two sub-classes have flourished. We decided at the last AGM to re-work F1 Classic Cup to feature the brass-weighted Viper-Jet chassis and custom-converted brass Turbos, Tyco and Super-Gs. They are great fun to drive and it was the perfect place on the WHO calendar to fit them in.

   

We are expecting to see at least half a dozen entrants in Classic Cup this year and they will include some of the club's top racers - including all three previous WHO club champions. The brass-weighted cars will not be competitive with the fastest magnet cars, so there is a big risk of haemorrhaging a lot of club championship points. It'll be great fun for those of us racing the brass cars and create an exciting battle to crown a first-time club champion in December.

[Gareth]

Really looking forward to this new class. I've not run my chassis yet but its sitting waiting to go. And as you've seen, I'm working on my new body for the class. 

I'm also working on a 3D model of a 1982 F1 car which won't be finished for Round 1 but hopefully by Round 2.

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Our themed anniversary tracks will also feature in our four F1 rounds. F1 is celebrating 70 years in 2020, so Mike has gone back to 1954 and the Brands Hatch Indy circuit for tonight's race...

   

Brands is also where Mike, me and Stephen spent a day a few summers ago filming a Men & Motors pilot for a 'Top Gear' style show...

       

... some good memories there! Sadly, the programme was never picked up.

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It was an excellent evening of F1 racing last night...

   

Twenty-two were on the grid - seven in the new brass-weighted F1 Classic Cup class...

       

As expected, the non-mag cars struggled against the Tyco, Super-G and Mega-G+ cars. The highest Viper-Jet qualifier made it into the D final (click the image to make it bigger)...

   

Ash and Ryan did a fabulous job on race control...

   

The finals were exciting, chaotic and close (click the image to make it bigger)...

   

Huge congratulations to Peter on his first ever WHO A final win, beating an on-form Deborah to the line. Jerome picked up the junior medal and another 110 points to put him in a clear lead in the 2020 WHO Club Championship. Andy picked up the first win of the brass-weighted Classic Cup era and Laurence finished top rookie.

   

A big thank you to everyone who came along, especially the set-up team and all those who stayed behind to pack away. Championship tables, video and report will follow over the next few days.

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Here's a video of last night's finals action...

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The race report and updated championship tables are now up on the WHO website: www.whoracing.org.uk/march2020