Hosting a round of a national series is always a very different kettle of fish than just turning up and enjoying the show. Last July, slot rally was pretty new to us at WHO, but after another 12 months of running stages at the Barn, this year's event felt better.
We selected six stages that offered a satisfying mix of different challenges and made a good combination. From the tight & twisty Ford Ice Rink and Johnny's Workshop, to the wide-open Boulevard, a bumpy Jupp's Farm track and the beautiful flow of Friston Forest... there was also the deceptively punishing Titnore Lane with its tricky elevations and wicked camber.
Friday evening saw Jeremy, John, Alex and myself build and test the six stages. We had to pace ourselves on what had been one of the hottest days of the year on the South Coast. At the same time, competitors were driving to Worthing from around the country, to spend a restful night before the event.
The rains arrived in the early morning and would continue through to lunch time. From 8.20 through to 10, thirty-three (by my reckoning) drivers signed-on to race and they gradually took to the stages in five groups. Joining them were half a dozen local spectators, dropping in to see what it was all about. And there was Dave the dog - down from Oxfordshire and seemingly enjoying his day, especially when it stopped raining and the sun came out.
I'm not quite sure exactly how many cars took part, but most drivers had the full complement of four, with some WHO racers just having their usual set of three for our club nights. There was - as always - a fabulous mix of machinery, manufacturers and modifications. I'd say a very good turn-out of fairly standard SCX and Scalextric cars, plus plenty of brand new releases, including Avant Slot Yaris, Galant and 240RS. Perhaps fewer SRC 914s than usual? Or their numbers were diluted by the large and varied field.
My cars were the usual squad for Slot Rally GB 2025 - SCX Fiat 124 Spider, Ninco Porsche 911SC, Avant Slot Mitsubishi Galant and Ninco Subaru Impreza. They were good fun - particularly the Fiat - but overall I thought I was a little too cautious over the stages. I was in a big group of seven - Matt, Alfie and Phil from Abergavenny, plus Rob, Ollie, Isaac and me from WHO. It made for an enjoyable day, with some quick times and lots of chat. I did sometimes get called away to solve a technical issue or two, but that didn't happen very often. The Ice Rink required a quick braid soldering repair, which took 5 minutes - and there were a handful of controller/car combos that the Johnny's Workshop timers didn't like.
Most groups aimed to finish four of the six stages before taking their lunch, by which time Goring-by-Sea was bathed in glorious sunshine. After that break, the groups rattled off the remaining stages, with the first finishers handing in their completed time cards at around 2.45pm.
That gave people time to photograph their cars on the start ramp or run for fun on any empty stages. So the wait for the final two groups to finish was not onerous. And we didn't need to wait very long.
With all the times handed in, Alan and Seb crunched the numbers and were ready to announce the top tens at 4pm on the dot. It was the locals handing out the medals, but sadly no WHO recipients this time. Both Jeremy and myself had some top-tens (and possibly a top-five?), which was pleasing in such a competitive field...
There were several Slot Rally veterans on the class podiums, but the driver who made off with the most silverware was relative newcomer Martin Dixson from Nascot Wood. He had a magnificent day at the Barn and planned to celebrate in Worthing on Saturday night!
Thanks to a good few people helping us dismantle the stages and pack away, Jeremy, John, Alex and me had two cars and a van packed up and on the way home about 5pm. And some of that stuff will return to the Barn this Wednesday, when we build four tracks for the WHO Summer Stages!
Slot Rally GB shifts to Abergavenny for the season finale on Sunday 7 September. There will be some WHO racers making the trip, so give us a shout if you want to join us.
It was certainly an enormous pleasure to host another Slot Rally GB event. Huge thanks goes to everyone who made the journey to the south coast and contributed to a brilliant vibe at the Barn. We couldn't have done it without Phil, Alan and Seb organising the series and doing all the admin on the day. Big thanks also goes to
Staffs Slot Cars UK for sponsoring Slot Rally GB for a second year. And to Jeremy, Alex and John - a massive thank you for your hard work over 24 hours to turn an empty hall into a stage rally - and then back again.
There are some short video clips from the event over on the
WHO Facebook page.
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