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We're back at the Barn for the second Nascar & Legends Wednesday of the year. These are an ideal introduction to our Scalextric digital racing using RCS64 software. They are also a lot of fun!

●    The evenings feature a Nascar club car team race, followed by a bring-your-own Pioneer Legends pairs race.
●    You don’t need to buy any cars to enjoy these Wednesday events.
●    During the evening we gradually introduce the tyre wear, fuel consumption and (maybe) weather features of our RCS64 race management software. Team captains will help you with the nuts and bolts of digital racing - and to the subtleties of race strategy.
●    Doors open at 6.30pm for practice and digital driving school. Teams are allocated and we start racing with evenly-matched club cars as near to 7pm as possible.  
●    An hour of action is divided into three or four segments of either 15 or 20 minutes, including driver changes every five minutes.
●    Teams swap cars at each break - winners with last place, second with fifth etc. After an hour of racing, total laps are added up and prizes awarded at around 8.30.
●    The Pioneer Legends cars are Digital Plug Ready (DPR) so are easy to convert to digital. To compete, racers must have their own - or the offer to share another driver’s car. There are no club cars available.  Full build guidelines are explained in the WHO/Digital 2024 Guide pdf here: https://slotracer.online/community/showt...9#pid34539
●    The usual Legends format is two 8-minute qualifying heats, with a driver change at half-distance.
●    The cars completing the most laps in their 8-minute qualifying heat automatically for the feature race, the other six battle it out for the remaining places in an 6-minute ‘B-Final’.
●    In the unlikely event there are only six legends cars (or fewer), a single twenty minute race is held - a driver change window straddling the half-way point of the race.
●    And that usually takes us up to 9.30pm - or sometimes a little later.
●    Once you have a couple of Nascar & Legends Wednesdays under your belt, then our GT Championship and Digital Saturdays will be a more gentle learning curve!

Entry is £3 (£2 under-16s) for a whole evening of racing. We ask that racers aged under 14 years old bring a responsible adult with them.

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This is Simon's track plan...

   

As always, it's a 4.30pm start if you can help us build it.

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Race Report Part One - Nascar Team Race

We welcomed 25 racers to the Barn for our February Digital Wednesday. There were WHO debuts for Brian, Jez, Tim and Scott - although all had strong slot racing pedigree. Plus Russell and Steve P were back for a first taste of our digital racing after appearing at the HO Nascar Wednesday two weeks ago. Mike's Digital Driving School was busy! And we were missing a fair few regulars too - John & Alex, Ethan & Nathan, Jeremy, Pete, Stephen, Tracy and Matthew all sent their apologies...

   

Simon's track was fast - and that made some innocuous-looking corners quite a challenge for all our racers. Each of the six teams would feature one of our seven top-rated drivers and would be captained by one of our younger racers. There would also be a digital debutant to train up and look after. As 7 o'clock approached, team line-ups were announced, strategy planned and the first drivers limbered up...

   

The first of three 20-minute segments was a straight Scalextric digital race - no simulations, just overtaking and driver-change pit stops to negotiate. The room hushed as the countdown began and the six colour-coded Ford Tauruses launched off the line. There was early trouble for Team One - captained by Isaac and featuring Alex, Rob and Scott - their Green John Deere Ford requiring a rapid re-programming off-track. They were back in the race, but had lost nearly five laps to the leaders. Out front were the two Walker brothers - Oliver leading Team Five and Ryan Team Three. It was nip and tuck between the two, Oliver, Dean, Andy Phillips and Brian eventually finishing first, the Yellow DeWalt car just a lap shy of the 100-mark. Ryan, Simon, Steve C and Russell were a lap back with the Orange Tide Taurus. Daniel's Team Six were third, Isaac & Co recovering well to fourth and five laps off the stint winners. Team Two - led by Ollie - were fifth on 90 laps and Team Four - Ash, Andy Player, Mike McCann, Mike P and Steve P - rolled in sixth and twelve laps off the pace. Teams swapped cars - first place with sixth, second with fifth etc - and we were ready to go again...

   

Race Control added in a fuel simulation for the second 20-minute segment - rookie racers immediately aware that they had some pit stop technique to learn on the job. And learn they did - all the teams working well together. Scott obviously had fine teachers in Isaac, Alex and Rob as their team bounced back from those Segment One car issues to reach 100 laps and negotiate 12 pit stops with the Red Wood Brothers Ford. They were a country-mile (aka 9 laps) ahead of Ollie, Mike D, Kev and Jez in second, who had a lap advantage over Oliver's Team Five in third. That meant Isaac's team lead Oliver's by five laps overall going into the final segment. Of the rest, Ryan's quartet were next after finishing fourth in the segment, followed by Daniel, Terry, Duncan and Tim, who were third best with the fuel simulation. The team of five again rolled in sixth - eighteen laps adrift in the segment and 25 laps off the race lead...

   

The final 20-minute segment was a nervy one for the two teams battling for the race win. In the end, everyone was eclipsed by Ollie, Mike D, Kev and Jez who coped best with the double trouble of Fuel + Tyre simulations - the Red Citgo car taking a second segment win. Their score of 92 laps was four laps better than the chasing pack, led by Ryan, Simon, Steve C and Russell. Those two teams finished on 273 laps - Ollie's team taking third overall thanks to being ahead on the road in that final segment...

   

Tied on 87 laps for the segment were the race leaders - Isaac's Team One - and Daniel's Team Six. That was enough to give Isaac, Alex, Rob and Scott victory by seven laps - Oliver's team dropping two more laps in the final 20-minutes, but enough for runner-up spot overall. In fact, they were beaten in the segment by the Tail-End Charlies - Ash, Andy, Mike, Mike and Steve redeeming themselves with an excellent final stint. Here are all the stats (click the image to make it bigger)...

   

It was smiles all-round - and shiny medals for the race winners...

       

       

       

Congrats to everyone for a great race and bravo to all our rookie drivers for passing their first digital racing test. The Tauruses - ten years and a month into their WHO Digital careers - would live to race another day, although some would need TLC from Mike...

   

Next up, twenty-two racers would take part in the Pioneer Legends pairs race...

[Mr.M]

Scott showing his digital pedigree there. I believe he won the first organized digital event put on by Hornby. Seems like 50 years ago now

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Race Report Part Two - Pioneer Legends Pairs Race

A few departures after the team race left us with eleven pairs for some Pioneer Legends mayhem...

   

Two 8-minute qualifying heats would decide the top 5 for the feature race - and then the remaining six pairs would battle for one step-up spot to join them. The first five cars got stuck in good and proper. It was extremely close, although Rob & Ollie's Chevy sustained major damage and it would be touch and go whether they'd reappear for the semi. In the end, Alex & Dean romped home with a huge 40 lap score. Simon & Ryan were second with 36 laps, Mike P & Russell finishing on 35 laps and an excellent third in Terry's gold Ford. Andy & Scott managed 34 laps in fourth and would likely race again in the semi...

   

The six pairs in the second heat knew what they had to do - a target of 35 laps seemed realistic  to make the feature. Mike & Ash looked on target from the early stages, but it was chaotic behind them...

   

Duncan & Tim in the yellow & red Dodge gradually emerged from the pack and looked likely to qualify. However, like many of the pairs in this race, dramas around pit stops robbed them in the closing stages - remarkably no-one apart from Mike & Ash bettering the top four from heat one. The heat two winners slotted in to the second qualifying spot... The rest of the pairs would run again, along with Rob & Ollie in their hastily repaired car...

   

The 8-minute semi was seriously hectic - lots of action for the marshals and lots of drama. It was too close to call at the driver change, Rob handing over the green McDonalds Chevy to Ollie with a small advantage...

   

Ollie drove the car brilliantly to pull out a lap advantage over Terry & Oliver, with the rest not far behind. But then disaster struck - he wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last, but Ollie's over-enthusiastic pit entry failed to register, leaving him out on track and out of fuel. His advantage evaporated and by the time the pit stop was successfully executed, he'd dropped right to the back...

   

Ollie's misfortune was a huge slice of luck for Oliver & Terry, who took full advantage and got to the finish two laps ahead of Duncan & Tim and Isaac & Kev. Mike & Daniel were fourth, Steve & Jez fifth and the unlucky Rob & Ollie sixth. Oliver & Terry would step up to the feature race...

   

Alex & Dean blasted off from pole in their white Total Ford. It was another close race - the lead swapping on pit stops and seeing Oliver & Terry the closest challengers to the pole-sitters for the win. That battle ebbed and flowed, but in the end Alex & Dean came out on top. Behind the top two, it looked like Andy & Scott were set for the final podium place - that was until Andy made a complete hash of his final pit stop, giving Mike the opportunity to make up two laps and grab third place. The #55 Perrier Dodge still held on to finish fourth...

   

Simon & Ryan were fifth, recovering from an early re-programme and setting a very rapid sub 9-second lap. Mike & Russell finished sixth and securing an excellent championship points haul for a pair of rookies...

   

Congrats to Alex & Dean on their win and to all our top three pairs...

   

The Legends championship is ridiculously close at the top after the first two rounds...

   

And the Nascar team race championship - where laps = points - is also very tight...

   

A very big thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a fun evening at the Barn. Special thanks goes to the set-up crew, to the Race Control team and to all those who stayed behind to pack away. Ten years on, Mike's enthusiasm and generosity is still much appreciated - there would be no digital racing at the Barn without him.

Our 2024 WHO/digital season now moves on to a four-race GT Championship. We start with two-hour team endurance races in March, April and May, finishing with a four-hour race at our Digital Saturday in June. The six Gold-rated drivers will lead the Pro-Am teams and supply the cars. Everyone attending the races will be allocated to a team.

Before all that, we're back at the Barn on Wednesday 6 March for our first HO F1 race of the year.

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A big thank you to Ollie for his excellent footage of the Legends feature race!

[Scott]

Scott showing his digital pedigree there. I believe he won the first organized digital event put on by Hornby. Seems like 50 years ago now

Only 20, but I know what you mean.

[CMOTD]

Just to embarrass you here are some pictures from that Hornby/NSCC event in 2005 at Ramsgate.

General view of the one of the first ever digital races:
   

Scott with his prize for winning the racing:
   

Jim (Mr.M) with his prize for winning the quiz:
   
He also won another prize for coming 2nd in the racing - greedy bugger!