[woodcote]

   

The countdown is on for our first slot rally event at the Barn - the 2024 Spring Stages.

We'll see how many of our racers come with rally cars - but there will be club cars on all four of the stages, the SCX Renault 5 on the Ice Rink kindly donated by UK distributor Gaugemaster.

These are the four stages...

   

The Ice Rink has seen plenty of proxy action since its debut in March 2021 and physically moved from Brighton to West Sussex last summer - its fantasy location now outside Gaugemaster HQ in Ford. The rink is routed into white foamboard, power delivered via copper tape. As usual, it will be wired up to my Maplins adjustable power supply - probably at 12volts. Like all the tracks, there will be a club-standard 3-pin controller socket fitted, fused and the L terminal connected to the +ve output of the power supply - as per BSCRA standards.

   

This is the first stab at Titnore Lane, a glorious drive just down the road from the Barn. Much of the stage is built with ice-effect Ninco track, which will scupper the desired elevation changes through the woods. More Ninco track needs to be found! As with three of the stages, timing is using the LapTracker app on a iPhone or iPad. We had hoped to use the new Scalextric Hot Laps app, but it is not signed off as yet - should be ready for July.

   

Jupp's Farm covered much of the area around WHO HQ before the railways arrived and Goring started to be developed as a residential suburb. All that remains of Jupp's farm is the Barn where we race. This stage is mostly Ninco off-road track - a bumpy surface that requires caution and ideally a little weight up front and maybe a sprung guide. A single crossover means cars race on both lanes. This layout has been well tested with a wide range of cars and is being raced on by the local Scout group before its WHO debut. A Ninco N-Scorer will take care of the timing.

   

Another big stage based on another boy-racers' favourite - the dual-carriageway down Sea Lane, with roundabouts top and bottom, plus a sprint along Ilex Way. This is just a stone's throw from the Barn. The track surface is Scalextric Sport - and the very cool loops at either end pay homage to those built by Simon and Oli for the 2021 WHO Winter Rally-Sprint proxy.

How will Wednesday work?

The plan is to open doors at 6.30pm to see what cars people have brought (ie scrutineering) and the opportunity for a very brief shakedown session. That's followed by a driver briefing at 6.50, when all racers will be divided into groups - splitting the total number of cars into four. All racers will receive a record card for each of their cars.

Racing begins at 7pm, each of the four groups starting on a different stage and then rotating approximately every 30 minutes, until everyone has raced their cars on all four of the stages. Fingers-crossed that should be shortly after 9pm, when Rally HQ will crunch the numbers and prizes will be presented. Pretty much everyone will go home with something!

The full details of our 2024 Slot Rally events can be found here, including a 6-page pdf document with format and rules. Put simply, cars need to be 1:32 scale, analogue, have no traction magnets, an inline motor, a driver & co-driver and a rally-style livery.

[BAracer]

I can't wait!

[woodcote]

We're getting close to the cars rolling off the start ramp...

   

Everyone will be encouraged to take pictures of their cars at the start - as with the SCX Renault 5 Turbo (above) that Gaugemaster very kindly donated as a club car for the Ice Rink stage.

These are the four club cars - one will stay on each of the stages, along with a Parma or DS controller...

   

The SCX Seat Ibiza got a very good workout on the Jupp's Farm stage the other night, courtesy of Goring Scouts. It will stay on the off-road layout on Wednesday. The Scalextric Corolla and Mégane - both veterans of the 2021 Winter Rally-Sprint - will be allocated to either Titnore Lane or Ilex & Sea Lane. The Renault 5 will stay on the Ice Rink.

And if you want to buy cars on the night, Darren will be bringing the rally section of his travelling slot car emporium. Expect some good prices for new and used rally models.

The next 48 hours will see all four stages tested and everything packed up and ready to be transported to the Barn. Might take a couple of journeys...

   

[BAracer]

Rrrrrrrready to rumble...!
   

[woodcote]

Rally HQ Report

I have to say, the past few hours are a complete blur. However, the feedback from the 31 racers who took part in our first slot rally event suggests it was a most enjoyable evening... It all started at 4pm with setting up three and a half of the four stages and then from around 6.15pm booking in 49 cars...

   

With nine club car runners, that was a total of 58 cars on the race sheet - just two shy of our maximum of sixty. Eleven racers entered the full quota of three cars, five entered a pair of cars and six just the one. Sixteen cars were entered into each of Classic and Modern classes, but 80s / 90s was the most popular with seventeen.

The racers were divided into four groups to circulate round the stages. Groups A and B each had 15 cars and nine drivers. Group C had six racers and 14 cars, Group D seven racers and 14 cars. Having so many cars on the race sheet and a few teething issues, we decided to run a 'no practice' format and drivers went straight into their timed runs.

As it was our first event like this, it would take time for each group to settle into a rhythm and organise their racing. It was brilliant to see the groups gel nice and quickly. However, one fly in the ointment was that the Sea Lane & Ilex stage was incomplete and untested, giving Group C a frustrating start, but they eventually got going and by the time everyone was on their second stage of the evening, things seemed to be running well and I had a few minutes to take some pictures...

       

I was a little too busy checking in on all the groups to have too long with my camera - but Scott's Citroën DS just had to be captured in all its glory...

   

Racers seemed to be enjoying the big Titnore Lane layout with its mix of grippy Ninco tarmac and alarmingly slippery ice sections...

   

The Sea Lane & Ilex stage also had its fans, particularly enjoying Oli's fabulous donut loops that we fitted to each end...

   

Due to the backlog behind Group C, the other groups had time to enter their stage times on the race spreadsheet during the evening. Every cloud has a silver lining...

   

If Titnore Lane was most racers' favourite stage, then the Ford Ice Rink came a close second. Its 5 x 2 foot footprint packs in a lot of fun and it took centre-stage in the room...

   

And the bumpy surface on Jupp's Farm was something completely different - although all groups had to follow Group A in just recording each car's fastest 'lap' time. Oops...

   

The two hours of racing sped by and when we sorted the data on the spreadsheet, I was most surprised to find that I'd done more than alright - my focus for the night really hadn't been my cars or my racing...

   
You'll definitely want to click on the image to make it readable.

And here's the data sorted into classes...

   
Click on the image to access a bigger version.

Congratulations to all our winners, starting with the top three Club Car runners, John, Alex and Oli...

   

Next were the top three racing stock Scalextric models - Scott, Jerome & Pete...

   

There were more standard SCX cars on the grid and a podium of Ryan, Andy and Andy...

   

Now we are into the official Rally GB classes, starting with Classic. Congrats to Mike, Terry and Jeremy...

   

80s / 90s saw Andy, Darren and Andy come out on top...

   

The Modern finishing order was Andy, Jeremy and Ryan...

   

And finally the overall result - Andy first, Jeremy second, Mike D third and Ethan top junior...

   

Everyone who stayed to the end went home with a WHO Slot Rally 2024 sticker and a copy of Slot Car Magazine (thanks to Ric and Marc).

Data from each of the stages will follow tomorrow, but the winners of each are...

1. Jupp's Farm: Mike Dadson - SRC Porsche 914/6 GT
2. Titnore Lane: Mike Dadson - SRC Porsche 914/6 GT
3. Sea Lane & Ilex: Jeremy Belcher - SRC Lancia Delta S4 & Andy Player - Ninco Subaru Impreza
4. Ford Ice Rink: Jeremy Belcher - Scaleauto Peugeot 208

And hopefully there'll be a bit of video footage too...

Until then, a huge thank you to everyone who came along and made it such an exciting start to the club's slot rally journey. Everyone expressed a desire to do more - so that will be taken into account when we start to plan the 2025 WHO calendar over the next couple of months.

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And here are some rapid-fire video highlights of the four stages...



A memento for those of us who were there - and a flavour of the evening for those who weren't.

[Kevan]

Good to see a Scaley TR7 in action

[woodcote]

Rally HQ Report 2 - The Story of the Stages

Although the four groups tackled the stages in a different order, it's still fun to look at how the rally developed stage-by-stage...

   

Stage One was Jupp's Farm - a mix of Ninco off-road and Ninco tarmac. We ended up timing just the fastest double lap (ie both lanes with the crossover), so for those cars that struggled on the rough stuff, their losses were minimised...

   
You'll want to click on each of these images to make them bigger and readable.

Mike grabbed the top two times with his Classic class SRC Porsche 914/6 GT and 80s / 90s Ninco Lancia 037 - Terry's custom Ferrari 308 GTB was third. Andy's Ninco Subaru was the first of the Modern class cars in fourth. Kev led the club car runners, taking an impressive 18th with the SCX Seat Ibiza. In the battle of the juniors, Isaac beat Ethan by 2.5 seconds, Isaac driving his Ken Block Escort Cosworth and Ethan relying on the club cars.

   

Stage Two was a step anti-clockwise to the massive Titnore Lane layout - Ninco ice at the northern end and Ninco tarmac at the south. The cars were timed over two 'laps' of the stage...

   

Mike grabbed another stage win with his SRC Porsche 914/6, less than a second ahead of Jeremy's SRC Lancia Delta S4. Andy's Ninco Subaru was third, but now up to second overall - the top three in the rally separated by less than three seconds and each leading their respective classes. Oli was fastest of the club car runners on the stage and took the lead overall - less than half a second ahead of John. It was 2-0 to Isaac in the juniors and he led Ethan by just shy of twenty seconds.

   

The Ilex & Sea Lane stage caused some cars a lot of grief - including two maximum 120 second times, one for a DNF (Darren's Nissan) and Daniel's Lancer going over time. The mix of low-grip Scalextric Sport track, some tricky corners and no borders left no room for error. However, Oli's donut loops at each end were a delight. Cars were timed over 3 laps (it probably should have been two)...

   

Two cars shared the winning time of this stage - Jeremy's SRC Lancia Delta S4 and Andy's Ninco Subaru. Two seconds behind them was Terry's Ferrari 308 GTB meaning the top spots were again claimed by the three class winners. Overall, Andy's Subaru led Jeremy's Lancia by half a second going into the final stage. Mike's SRC Porsche 914/6 was third overall, despite only managing 14th on this stage. Alex finished an excellent eleventh on the stage with the club car and slotted in second behind his dad for overall club car honours. Isaac had a nightmare on this stage, Ethan comfortably beating him and taking the lead in the junior competition.

   

The final stage was the rather bijoux Ford Ice Rink. A few cars had either braid or guide issues here - and that would shake up the standings. Cars negotiated 12 laps of the little layout...

   

Jeremy won the stage, but not with his Lancia - which finished down the wrong end of the chart. A stage victory for his Scaleauto Peugeot 208 was bittersweet and placed the Modern car second in class and second overall in the final standings. Andy brought home his Ninco Subaru in second place, 1.43 seconds off Jeremy's time - that was enough to win the Modern class and win the rally overall. Third on the stage was Terry's Ferrari 308 GTB - not quite quick enough (by less than a second) to grab the Classic class or third overall... Both those went to Mike D's SRC Porsche 914/6. Fourth on the stage was Andy's Ninco Lancia 037, which benefited from the demise of Jeremy's Lancia Delta to inherit the 80s / 90s class lead and take top step on the class podium.

John was top of the club car runners on this stage and that cemented victory in his category, finishing six tenths of a second ahead of Alex. Both will be racing their own cars next time out.  Isaac grabbed a third junior stage win, but he couldn't overturn the deficit to Ethan, who took the junior medal.

And that was that. A hall that was full of energy, excitement and semi-organised chaos emptied into the night and the four stages were packed away until next time...

   

That 'next time' is a round of the Slot Rally GB series on Saturday 27 July...

   

More details to follow soon.

[BAracer]

Such a fun evening Andy, thanks for introducing a rally event into the club programme! 

As a veteran of one previous such event, as an organiser, all you can do on the evening is hand out the time cards for each of us to fill out and hope for the best...which is what happened in my view. The only complaint I heard (which was fair enough) was from Mike D who carried the heavy burden (again) of being the person who had to solve any track issues, and in particular, get my power track integrated into one of the stages with no time to spare after my late arrival...sorry Mike.

Obviously very please with the results, but secretly annoyed I didn't spend 20 seconds sorting out the braids on my Delta before the Ice Rink stage!

[Scott]

It was a fun night. Well done and thank you to all who pulled it together.  

I wore an appropriate T shirt (British Open Championship winning liveries) but no one commented. Must all be race fans. ;-)