All the news from week 42
The latest slot car news from Scalextric, Osterero, AFX and Magnetic Racing – plus a feature on recreating the British GT Championship in 1:32 scale.
Slot Cars
- Osterero Tyrell Osterero are celebrating the 40th anniversary of Michele Alboreto’s first F1 victory at the Las Vegas GP, with the release of his race winning Tyrrell 011. Available in a few weeks!
- New AFX Corvette C8 Coming soon in an updated Super Cars set and an individually-packaged car, pictures of the new HO scale AFX Corvette C8 have just broken cover. You can watch a promo reel of the C8 and Ford GT from the set on the AFX Racing Instagram account.
- Lexus RC F Coupe Pendle Slot Racing have announced that the latest addition to the Sideways range of modern GT3 1/32 slot cars is the Lexus RC F Coupe. Fully assembled and decorated versions are to follow, but the first release will be a white kit version
- Slot.it Jaguar XJR-10 IMSA 1991 In a second news feature this week, there are plenty of stunning images of the new Slot.it Jaguar GTP car, plus a look back at Raúl Boesel’s career and successes with the TWR team.
- Racing Replicas Porsche Pete Shepherd was commissioned to build this Proto Slot Porsche, as a John Wyer promotional car, which didn’t race with this livery.
Scenery & Tracks
- Magnetic Racing Suzuka Marshals Hut F1’s trips to Japan are always memorable and Magnetic Racing now offer a marshal’s hit based on one at Suzuka. Perfect for keeping your 1:32 scale marshal figures warm and dry through the autumn and winter months.
- J-Trak is Back at SlotRacer Online A reminder that tutorials for the J-Trak modular slot car track system are now hosted here at SlotRacer Online. J-Trak is the ultimate “do it yourself” modular system for portable Scalextric Sport and Digital tracks. A semi-permanent layout, you can add alter and join with other J-Traks to make larger layouts.
Publications
- Model Car Racing The latest edition of Robert Schleicher’s Model Car Racing is out now. You can read a free sample issue or buy the full 60-page ebook from the magazine’s website.
- Slot Issue 54 of the UK-based ‘Slot’ is available now from Pendle Slot Racing
- Más Slot The premier Spanish-language slot car magazine has recently published its October issue. You can find out how to subscribe on the Más Slot website.
- ePilot’s Magazine Thread You can keep up to date with all the latest slot car publications thanks to forum member ePilot. He also adds links to many free model railway magazines, which are perfect for inspiration and tutorials to create amazing scenery.
Slot Car Racing
- Your Club There are updates this week from Bury St Edmunds, Worthing Digital (pictured), New South Wales, Manx, Mussel Bay and Norwich slot car clubs.
Feature
British GT Championship – another fantastic season
- Donington Decider The 2022 British GT Championship was decided on Sunday. Featuring Pro-Am GT3 teams, plus Silver and Pro-Am classes in GT4, there’s always something tasty going on! The British GT website is full of stats, news and information – as well as links to race highlights on YouTube, where all the races are streamed live. They produce some great event posters too!
- British GT Simulation for Scalextric ARC Pro Woodcote has used the Magic app to build a simulation of British GT racing for the six-car digital Scalextric ARC Pro system. There’s driver gradings, different race lengths, realistically long pit stops, success penalties and even Balance of Performance tweaks. You can find the How-To article in our Scalextric Digital forum.
- British GT Digital Club Racing That ARC Pro simulation has been extended to work with RCS64 for digital club racing in Worthing. You can check out how it worked at the latest WHO/digital event on Saturday.
- British GT Track Plans You want to replicate the tracks too? Most are the same as the BTCC layouts in our Scalextric Track Plan section – plus Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps from the F1 2018 plans.
- Scalextric Mustang GT4 Not surprisingly, Scalextric have had a fair few British GT Championship cars in their catalogue over the years. The three Mustang GT4 models have all been BGT liveries, two from 2019 and the Academy Motorsport car from 2020. The Mustang received the News feature treatment back in August 2021, plus links to extensive tuning tips and an interview with Academy Motorsport boss and former British GT racer Matt Nicoll-Jones.
- British GT 2023 CalendarNow the 2022 season has ended, it’s time to look forward to next year. There are races at five British circuits, plus an overseas jolly to Portimão in July. They are great events to attend – or you can watch them all online.
Motorsport
Livery of the weekend – ELMS Portimão 4 Hours
It’s such a shame no slot car manufacturer has produced the Ferrari 488 GT3 EVO 2020. Not only is it a better-looking car than the original 488, but there’d be the opportunity to re-create the fabulous Iron Lynx cars, especially that of the all-female Iron Dames team – who have regularly re-written the history books throughout 2022. Yesterday, they became the first women to win an ELMS GT race – and Sarah Bovey was the first woman to get an ELMS pole position.
- Nascar Play-offs in Vegas The round-of-eight began with a high-stakes race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Often cagey, sometimes explosive – you can watch extended highlights on YouTube.
- British GT Donington Decider The climax of the 2022 British GT Championship took place on Sunday and was a suitably nervy and chaotic encounter at Donington Park. You can watch brief highlights of the race on the GT World YouTube Channel.
- ELMS Portimão 4 Hours Another exciting season-ending race saw an emotional roller-coaster for some of the championship contenders. Only available as a full re-run at the moment, this one might be worth watching in instalments through the day – and warm you up to the idea of following the rather under-rated European Le Mans Series in 2023.
- Chattanooga Motorcar Festival 2022 A celebration of classic cars on the streets of the ‘Scenic City’, the third running of the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival featured racing and a magnificent Concours d’Elegance on Sunday. The link is to the live stream of that third day, but streams from Friday and Saturday are available too.
- Formula Ford Festival Preview Historically, one of the most important events for up-and-coming racers, the list of winners of the Formula Ford Festival is a who’s who of the past 55 years of motorsport. Formula Ford is no longer an official feeder to the top ranks of motor racing, so next weekend at Brands Hatch is less important on a global stage, but still a magnificent spectacle. Keep an eye on the BRSCC YouTube Channel for the live stream, where you’ll see the huge field whittled down through a series of knock-out heats, before the 20-lap Grand Final on Sunday afternoon.
