Questa settimana…
New cars from AFX, George Turner, Avant Slot (sort of), SCX, MR Slotcar, BRM, Slot.it and HobbyClassic; a full archive of Slot.it models; another fabulous layout for the Members’ Tracks section; our list of scenic resources; a Magic ARC app tutorial; slot car events; an automobile that never was… and lots of motorsport news – including a comprehensive review of all this week’s F1 developments…
Slot Cars
- George Turner Models Lotus 19 Previewed here last week, we take a closer look at the little Lotus from George Turner. There’s the story of Colin Chapman’s first mid-engined sportscar, Dan Gurney’s explanation of why this is the best car he ever drove, a fabulous 1960’s film of the Daytona Continental race – plus more pictures of the GTM model.
- Avant Slot BMW 635CSi Okay, it’s not quite a new car… Avant Slot have resurrected the Spirit 635Csi mould and will be producing these three liveries on their new version. That’s two cars from the 1984 Macao Guia race and a rare rally 635CSi from the Canary Islands. There’s lots more detail about the model, the liveries and the real cars over in the News section of the website.
- SCX Toyota Celica ‘Safari’ Just released in Spain is the Scalextric-branded Celica GT‑4 ST165 that was driven to fourth place at the 1990 Safari Rally by Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya. This an update of a previous mould, featuring a new chassis and motor arrangement. There’s no news on when the model might be available in the worldwide SCX guise.
- AFX Ford MkIV Sebring 1967 The long-awaited AFX Ford MkIV should be with retailers this spring. This is a stunning 1:64 slot car, one of the best Racemasters AFX have produced. You can see more in the News section of the website.
- Slot.it Ford GT40 Sebring 1967 Staying on the ’67 Sebring theme, Slot.it’s first release of 2022 is the wonderful Scuderia Brescia Corse GT40 that won the sportscar class at the 12 Hours fifty-five years ago. You can find out more about the car, the team and the model in the News section.
- Slot.it Historical Archive This is a project the team at Galileo Engineering have been working on for a while – the publication of a historical archive of every Slot.it car ever made. The index lists each theme – eg ‘Classic’, ‘Group C’ etc – and each product line by name and CA number. However, it’s not just a list, there’s a gallery of fabulous photographs for almost every model.
- BRM Autobianchi A112 New in from BRM are two fabulous 1:24 scale Autobianchi super-minis. These cars will run on all 1:32 scale track – and if you’re doubtful about that, take a look at the video Greg has shared on the forum here. Yes, that’s Scalextric Sport track.
- MR Slotcar Shadow DN4 Ernie Mossetti introduces an exciting new project from MR Slotcar – a 1:32 scale model of the final championship-winning car of the classic 1966-74 Can-Am era. With such a low front end, there are engineering challenges – but Ernie explains how he had fitted a newly-designed guide. You can discuss the car and follow the model’s progress on our forum.
- Driver’s Heads George Turner has announced that he is working on some driver’s heads with separate helmets.
- HobbyClassic / Le Mans Miniatures Renault 5 TS Available now is the limited edition Le Mans Miniatures Renault 5 TS produced in conjunction with HobbyClassic in Barcelona. It represents the circuit racing car that carlos Sainz drove in 1981.
Tracks & Scenery
- Members’ Tracks Farrout Raceway is the latest track to earn a well deserved place in our Members’ Track section, which is a hand picked selection of forum members’ layouts, with details, photos and links to the full forum threads should you wish to see more. It’s ideal if you are looking for ideas and inspiration for your track build.
- Scenic Items Manufacturers & Suppliers Index Looking for figures, buildings, detailing parts and other scenic materials? Brian keeps a comprehensive list for 1:32 scale modellers up to date on the SlotRacer Forum. Take a look – you’ll probably find exactly what you’re looking for.
Slot Car Racing
- Wales & West at North Staffs The Wales & West roadshow visited North Staffs Slot Car Club last weekend. Hotlap has shared all the results and some pictures over in the forum.
- SlotRacer Your Club Reports In the ‘Your Club’ forum this week, there’s the latest news and results from Bury St Edmunds, Norwich, Worthing, New South Wales, Woodland Fort and Manx Slot Car Clubs.
Digital Racing
- Magic ARC App GT Endurance Format Carrying on from his ARC Pro Guide, Woodcote has added an introduction to the Magic ARC App to the SlotRacer forum. It is a bit more than just that – the thread looks at the steps needed to re-create a real-life motorsport format and how to prepare Scalextric cars for endurance racing.
Events
- Swindon Scalextric Swapmeet One of the biggest and longest running Scalextric events in the UK, the Swindon Swapmeet returns next month at a new venue – the Grange Leisure Centre. There are details in the SlotRacer Calendar and up-to-date news on the event’s Facebook page.
Automobiles
- Toyota 222D Group S Described as an MR2 on steroids, the Toyota 222D was the Japanese company’s project for the stillborn Group S rally category. Two cars were built and photojournalist Robb Pritchard takes a look at one for a fascinating photo-essay on the Petrolicious website.
Video
- BMW 700 at Goodwood Revival The BMW 700 is an unlikely racing car. Powered by a 697cc two-cylinder motorcycle engine, it is outgunned by even the most modest of Austins in the St Mary’s Trophy. That didn’t stop the tiny BMW from fighting hard in the midfield battles.
Motorsport
- Ferrari reveals F1-75 In a busy week for F1, Ferrari has unveiled its new 2022 Formula 1 car – the F1-75 with a striking red and black livery.
- Alpha Tauri launch new car Pierre Gasly says he expects a “season full of surprises” as his Alpha Tauri team launched their 2022 car.
- Williams launches FW44 livery Williams has unveiled its 2022 livery which will adorn the FW44, whilst still remaining coy on the design of its actual new car.
- Mercedes launch Mercedes have switched back to their traditional silver livery on the tightly packed W13. Seven time World Champion Lewis Hamilton also confirmed that he will be fighting for the drivers championship again this year.
- Michael Masi removed In a move that will probably come as no surprise to anybody, Michael Masi has been removed as F1 race director as part of a restructure at governing body the FIA in the wake of last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
- Sprint Races The F1 Commission has approved plans to run the F1 Sprint format at three Grand Prix weekends – Imola, the Red Bull Ring and Interlagos, with more points on offer.
- Daytona 500 After the ‘interesting’ season-opening exhibition at the LA Coliseum, it was back to tradition for NASCAR with the Daytona 500. 2021 champion Kyle Larson started from pole – but that means nothing ahead of 500 miles of mayhem on the superspeedway. You can follow the race and the outcome on the official NASCAR website.
- Extreme-E Saudi Arabia Desert X-Prix The electric off-road championship returned for another season this weekend, starting with a desert race in Saudi Arabia. There were more teams, more big names and some scary crashes. The grand final was certainly dramatic – and stuffed full of WRC champions and Dakar winners. You can catch up on the action at the official website.
- Asian Le Mans Series 2022 – Yas Marina Four races in ten days on two Middle Eastern circuits – and the 2022 Asian Le Mans Series is over. A strong field of mostly European LMP2, LMP3 and GT3 teams has delivered some excellent racing and an important warm-up for the WEC and ELMS seasons. There’s loads of coverage to watch on the Asian Le Mans YouTube Channel.
- Northern Ireland Rally Championship The opening round of the 2022 Northern Ireland Rally Championship took place at Kirkistown Stages Rally on Saturday. You can read a full report on the championship website.
- Sno*Drift Rally 2022 Atlanta, Michigan was the location of the 2022 American Rally Association curtain-raiser. Less snow than expected – but more ice – gave very tricky conditions for an ARA field missing some of its biggest names. You can read a report on the DirtFish website.
