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Rolexing at The Rock! (As originally written and posted by KK) It’s been a long offseason for the 1:1 racing cars but this weekend things got rolling again as the long anticipated 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicked off with the Rolex 24 Hrs at Daytona. This year saw the introduction of the exciting new DPi class in a race hampered by weather. As a tribute to years gone by, we decided to hold a historic Rolex Special race of our own for the 1/32 scale models we race here at The RockenheimRing in Barrie. Our day was also hampered slightly by weather but that didn’t stop ten of the finest and most dedicated racers around from attending todays event by way of snow covered roads. We had a few last minute drop-outs but still a near record crowd was in attendance for an R32 race of late. Barrie Police showed up early on to control the overflow of parking and thankfully that was the last we saw of them today. No doubt they will be back. I think my neighbours may have them on Speed Dial. Could be from the incident involving their house being bombarded with eggs, but that’s another story. The police showed up here saying that all the guest that were leaving my “live band deck party” threw eggs at the house across the street, I excused myself for a moment, checked the fridge and came back to the door to report to the officer, it couldn’t have been my guests, we have No Eggs! Now back to the racing coverage. The biggest stories out of the pit garage were, FORD winning the GTLM class at Daytona today but were given a new acronym up here in Canada. That along with James Dean dieing for a second time were the the two big stories out of the garage along with Switchgate, MV back in action and some new racers climbing the podium at The Rock for the first time. These stories and more later. 50’s 60’s Sportscars ( 3 heats x 180 seconds = 9 minutes) The home team broke away from the pack slightly in this one while the competition got familiar with the track layout. Some very close racing in this one, notably 3rd through 8th place separated by just two laps. JM took the 2nd place spot with a real nice outing for his King Cobra and our good friend Devo took the third step with a big block chevy loaner from the home team with SR, FC, MV, DO and MA hot on his heals. The well rounded field of entries circled the track while the Classic LeMans cars were prepared in the background. JCB-James Dean’s Porsche 550 was seen in the garage for most of the race due to a broken guide flag holder. People around the scene were noted as saying “That’s the second time James Dean died in that car” Classic LeMans Cars 1965-1970 ( 3 heats x 180 seconds = 9 minutes) This was a close finish with the two top spots separated by under a second. Some of the the top drivers on the circuit were absent due to the weather and this along with the rain kept the crowds from filling the grandstand. Those that showed up were treated to a thrilling race. The Home Team edged out JCB by less than a second and JCB took his first steps up the podium at the Ring. A small detour through the rhubarb thwarted his otherwise relentless pace and the older 250LM squeaked by to take the narrow victory. Whispers of “Switchgate” were heard by other racers in the paddock as JCB was certain that someone threw his lane direction switch in hopes his tires and pace would be cooled. Talk about icing a kicker! All of the banter coming out of the garage about MV’s FORD GT 40 crash and clearing the wall quickly diffused all the talk about Switchgate and got the heat off of yours truly. The roars of laughter could be heard far and wide as the new acronym for FORD was created – FOUND ON RUG DEAD! Ford may have had a great day at Daytona today but they were the butt of the funniest jokes here today. Devo wound up on the third step of the podium again with a loaner Porsche from the home team. SR, FC, MV, DO, MA. JM and TR all had strong outings in this one. Group C/IMSA ( 3 heats x 180 seconds = 9 minutes) The third race of the day was the mighty Group C cars. These beautiful machines are favorites of many and this race provided the closest finish of the day. JCB took his first victory at The Rock and by the narrowest of margins driving his appropriately named BOSS Porsche to victory. Less than two tenths of a second separated the top two racers and the top 8 places were separated by only two laps. SR had the race in hand until the third heat where a cut tire saw him spin out repeatedly. He managed to limp his car to a third place finish and his first podium finish at the Rock. You could have thrown a blanket over third through seventh with the rest of the pack nipping at their heels. See the photos below, it was that close! The Rolex Special (Any Commercially available Group C, Daytona Prototype, Lola T600, Porsche Kremer CK5 with 25k S-Can motor) ( 3 heats x 240 seconds = 12 minutes) These beautiful machines filled the pit lane as all participants were allowed to race as many as three cars in this race. The intensity of running these faster cars got to some as these high RpM machines generate incredible speeds on the long straights of The Ring. MA had a short circuiting brand new motor in his primary car and was forced to run his beautiful back-up Crown Royal DP car just minutes before the race. Controllers were hooked up incorrectly and all kinds spinouts made this a race of attrition. In the end it was home track advantage that showed through as the home team cruised to victory. We’re not sure yet if any track lap records were broken but they were certainly approached by the Rothmans Porsche 962 and Lola T600. JM took a familiar second step on the podium and TR after a great run took the third step, his first at The Ring. Second through fifth were separated by only two laps. Thanks to all who attended and participated today. This was truly a wonderful race event and it was good to see some former racers and friends out on a not so wonderful day, weather wise. We had few laughs, a few pops and rubbed a few fenders and I still have plenty of eggs in my fridge. Good times! Hope to see you all again soon. Cheers KK
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in: Local Slot Car Groups
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- 1 month ago
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Images and Results from The Rock Something stinks at THE ROCK! 9 of the clubs warriors set out to do battle at the Rock for the season opening F1 Weekend. Upon their arrival it was evident that there was a strange odor in the air. Seems that this hosts puppy got into a losing battle with a skunk the night before! 50's GP Some close racing in this one and a great looking field of entries. 3.0L GP This was a super close one with the top two finishing on the same lap. 70's GP Almost everyone's favorite class. Super close racing with a "dead heat tie" in the first round of action between the Ronnie Peterson March and the Lotus 72 - Laps and extension tied! What a great looking field. Many racers took the opportunity of running several cars in this one. Congratulations to Frank who took his first steps up the podium at the Rock. JCB got off to a fast start but the wheels fell off after the opening heat tie. Modern F1 Another tight one in Modern F1 as, like the Noah's animals, everybody paired up for battle as the top two finished on the same lap, the next two were a lap back, and the next two were also a lap back. Top 6 within 2 laps is a pretty competitive race for this class! Group 5 And we finished off the day with a Group 5 race where the difference between 1st and 2nd at the end was 0.010! This was possibly the closest finish in club history. On a 94.5' foot track over three heats that amounts to about 3/8 of an inch! Thanks for another great day Kevin. Always worth the drive to Barrie!
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in: Local Slot Car Groups
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- 1 month ago
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Bass-Seca Build Bass-Seca After who knows how many years of racing at multiple home and club tracks, my man cave has gotten a new addition built by Art! A small but exciting looking layout of approximately 44 feet for 1:32 racing with plenty of elevation changes themed after Laguna Seca's "Corkscrew". I gave my design to track builder extraordinaire Professor Tschinkel earlier this year and, thanks to Covid restrictions, he built a modular track that could be fairly quickly taken apart and reassembled. Art built the basics at his place and then disassembled it and into a VW Atlas went ALL the pieces and reassembly began at my place. Track reconstruction, lane taping, power and computer, border walls and more now done. Some detail work still to be completed but the track is now operational and the first race done with Joe Guts and I running Group 5 cars. But the track is much more fun with the slower classes! Before racing ever happened though I christened the track with laps done in remembrance, and with cars, from racers who are no longer with us. John F and Paddy you will always be remembered. (The 3rd last picture is John Flinn's MG which set identical times in both lanes) Thanks for all your work Art. It's great!
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in: Local Slot Car Groups
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- 1 month ago
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When Fangio Met The 860 Monza Nice short story and video on Fangio's last year with Ferrari https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/magazine/articles/when-juan-fangio-met-the-ferrari-860-monza?UID=4188062760&dmc_uid=4188062760&utm_campaign=New_Ferrari&utm_medium=email&MID=3900163919&utm_content=210930+TOFM+EN+%28mondo+GT+EN+-+Settembre%29&utm_source=newsletter
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in: Drivers of the Past
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- 2
- 2 years ago
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Hockey Stick Chassis A fellow racer just sent a note showing a new chassis he built .... out of a hockey stick! No details on how he cut it, but here are some pictures. Great Idea!
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in: Scratch Built Models
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- 3 years ago
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Late 70’s Early 80’s Scirocco’s Does anyone know of any 1:32 Scirocco slot cars or model kits? My first car was a 1977 Scirocco and I always wanted to have one to race. My original didn't last too long..... fortunately I did.
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in: Vintage Slot Cars
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- 4 years ago
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360 degree POV Camera vehicle A 360 degree camera mounted on a modified Range Rover at MiniGrid. Click on the screen and move your mouse around to change the camera angle! https://youtu.be/QreTCVWgSnY It was my pleasure to be able to drive this rig and I have to say the results are great. 360 a whole new way to think about camera's on slot cars, among other things. And the final version of the vehicle looks great too. Something right out of what a real Hollywood crane truck looks like! We did experiment with different speeds with the camera vehicle and found that running it at about 75% or so gave the best picture. Not too slow to put you to sleep, and not too fast to make you nauseous. Lap times were about equivalent to Cartrix cars with BWA motors.
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in: Slot Related Curiosities, Oddities & One of a Kind
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- 6 years ago
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New Scaley DP OMG .... I have to applaud, maybe even give a standing ovation, to Scaley for the new Ford DP, now in stores in the Ganassi livery. As much as I liked the 1:1 cars, I wasn't intending to buy one in 1:32. But when picking up my Javelin at Mini Grid, I stared a little too long at the DP and picked it up too. The rear wheel detail was what did it! But boy am I glad I did. Not only does the car look great, but it runs great too! Out of the box, and only with a set of Super Tire 1404's mounted on the rear wheels which are now the standard size, the car was awesome. With the magnet, and weighing in at a remarkably light 109 grams of downforce, the car whipped around MG's Scaley track like it was on rails and got down into the 6.8's. That's an unheard of time for a stock Scaley. With the magnet out, and no weight added, it handled beautifully and ran easy 8.1's, with a few laps in the 8.0's and one in the high 7.9's. That's almost stock Slot.it Group C territory! With a Slot.it orange motor in I can only imagine how good it will be. This car should easily run with the Racer DP's with perhaps only a motor change. Who knows what motor, weight, and Slot.it running gear will do to it! (I like the rear wheels so much though I'd try to leave them!) Part of the performance has to do with weight. The car only weighs 75 grams! One area of possible concern; when I took the magnet out it looks like it might be advisable to do some chassis stiffening around that area. But overall, I am might impressed. Well done! One question though ... the motor has a green end bell. Does anyone know if that's a different rpm from previous motors, or just a new colour end bell with the same innards?
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in: What’s New! New Releases & Other Useful Stuff
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- 7 years ago
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