Digest 10

There’s plenty of Scalextric in this week’s Digest…

We have news of Scalextric Australian exclusives, pics of 2022 prototypes and samples, new images and box art, plus Scalextric is on the cover of Slot Car Magazine and the theme of this week’s video. Don’t worry, there’s other stuff too – including new projects from Avant Slot and George Turner and new cars from Le Mans Miniatures, Pendles and NSR. We also have a focus on slot car publications – and the usual slot car racing, automobiles and motorsport. Enjoy!

Slot Cars

• Avant Slot Peugeot 207 Models of these three Peugeot France cars from the 2011 centenary edition of the Monte Carlo Rally are scheduled for a summer release. The cars will be available separately and there’s a choice of Petter Solberg, Stéphane Sarrazin or Bryan Bouffier. Woodcote looks back to a classic 2011 Monte over in the News section of the forum.

• Scalextric Grand Prix Race Set Updated box art and images of the cars have been added to the listing of Scalextric’s new Ayrton Senna themed 80s Grand Prix set – due this summer. The two Lotus cars will also be available separately.

• Scalextric 2022 Australian Exclusives The exciting news from down-under is a brand-new LJ Torana GTR XU-1, plus some great classic and modern liveries – all with a strong Australian theme. You can see them all, plus details about the cars they’re based on, over in the News section.

• Scalextric Pre-production Models After a recent meeting with Scalextric, Pendle Slot Racing were able to see a selection of some pre-production products from the Scalextric 2022 range, and have shared their photos.

• Scalextric Sets for Summer 2022 There’s more updated artwork for the five new sets being released in the summer and autumn. You can see the track layouts and the latest images of the cars in our SlotRacer review of the 2022 Scalextric catalogue.

• ERA Mini Turbo Pendle Slot Racing have released a new kit of the quickest official production classic Mini ever built! The ERA Mini Turbo was designed and engineered by E.R.A. (Engineering Research & Application Ltd), and the PCS kit is available now.

• Lotus Elan Body Shell George Turner’s Lotus Elan is nearing completion, with just the artwork and 3D printed parts to be finished. There is also news of some variations for the Lotus 19.

• Le Mans Miniatures Renault 5 Tour de Corse 1979 New from Le Mans Miniatures us a new Gitanes livery on their little Group 2 Renault 5 Alpine. Jean Ragnotti and Jean-Marc Andrié drove this car to runner-up spot on the 1979 Tour de Corse, beating plenty of more powerful Group 4 machinery. You can also see pictures of the Gitanes-sponsored model on Hub’s thread on the forum here.

• NSR Porsche 917k Brands Hatch 1970 Available now are NSR models of the two John Wyer Automotive Porsches that raced at the 1970 Brands Hatch 1000km. The #10 car of Pedro Rodríguez and Leo Kinnunen won the race, with the other Gulf Porsche of Redman and Siffert failing to finish.

SlotRacer on Facebook

• SlotRacer Facebook Group These recent images by Doug and Mamoru are beautiful examples of the original content that slot car enthusiasts post on our Facebook group and brighten up our day.

Slot Car Racing

• GT3 Slot Car Proxy at River Run, USA Race three of the 2022 GT3 Proxy Series took place at Allan’s ‘River Run’ circuit in Massachusetts. Allan’s preview and link to the video of the race can be found in the Proxy Racing section of the forum.

• This Week’s News from SlotRacer Clubs Over in the ‘Your Club’ section of the forum, there are updates from Norwich, Worthing, Southend, Charlestown and the Isle of Man.

Tracks & Scenery

• Finniestone Crane As part of a bespoke track for a client, Think Scalextric were asked if there was any possibility to include a model of the ‘Finnieston Crane’ in Glasgow. I think it’s fair to say that the challenge was accepted.

• Event Graphics – New in the SlotRacer Graphics Archive Probably better suited to the track room than the circuit itself, these 1980s event graphics are new additions to the SlotRacer Online Graphics resource. Available as SVG and PNG files, they are easy to download, scale to your requirements and then print out.

Publications

• Slot Car Magazine March 2022 The Slot Car Magazine crew have given us a preview of their March edition. You can read the full contents over in the News section. And keep an eye out for ePilot to let us know when the magazine is ready to purchase…

• Magazines If you want to keep up to date with all the latest publications, then check out ePilot’s marvellous thread, which is regularly updated with a wide range of magazines in various languages.

• The Library If you are interested in publications from the past, then Library is the place for you. It is a growing collection of catalogues and magazines dating from the very beginnings of the hobby, right through to the present day. We have everything from official brand catalogues, and brochures, to independent periodicals, and magazines covering a wide range of slot racing, and modelling subjects.

Video: Scalextric History

• Scalextric in Havant The Havant Scalextric Swapmeet returns to the calendar in September – and this video is a timely reminder of slot car links to the area. Broadcast in 2017, BBC South Today reports on a local history project and talks to some of the former Minimodels employees who built Scalextric cars back in the early days. The full 30-minute documentary can be viewed on The Spring’s website.

Automobiles

• Ferrari Pininfarina 512S Modulo vs Lancia Stratos HF Zero This week, journalist Alex Sobran and photographer Rosario Liberti take us time-travelling back to 1970. On the roof-top circuit of the Fiat Lingotto building, these two futuristic designs remind us of a time when Italian styling went on an exciting aesthetic trip through the looking glass. You can read Sobran’s essay and view Liberti’s magnificent images on the Petrolicious website.

Motorsport

• Alfa Romeo Unveil 2022 F1 C42 Alfa Romeo were the final team to unveil their 2022 F1 challenger, during a week where the sport had plenty to chew over. The Alfa is another stunning livery to join the grid – and you can see all the 2022 cars on the Top Gear website.

• Nascar at Las Vegas Motor Speedway The Nascar series crossed the state line from California to Nevada for a weekend of racing on the 1.5-mile oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. You can catch up with all the action at the Nascar website.

• Mayo Stages Rally Sunday’s Mayo Stages saw the start of the 2022 Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship. A 140-car field tackled eight stages, totalling 97 special stage kilometres. You can find photos, video and links on the various fabulous Facebook groups that are dedicated to rallying in Ireland.

• GT America – St Petersburg On the same bill as last weekend’s IndyCar season-opener at St Petersburg were the first two rounds of the SRO GT America series. GT America features a single-driver 40-minute sprint format, including GT3, GT2 and GT4 machinery. You can follow the series – including live coverage – on the official website.