Carrera news

1/32 Carrera news:

The "Sunset Racing" set should be either at stores for sale now or will be there soon. I was told that single cars should be available in the next 2 months (and this just a guess so don't hold me to this).
Carrera "GO" news:

The Tuner Chasers set is either at dealers this week or is on the way.

Coming soon...MRRC!

Monday there will be photos and a quick look review of the new (or are they old?) trackside figures from MRRC...

...then later next week a review of the MRRC Toyota GT1. It's new for us in the US so international readers please bear with us ;)

And look for American LeMans Series updates and Carrera news this weekend.

DaveK

Scalex TransAm Jaguar review

The latest Scalextric Jaguar XKRS offers an excellent model and a great running slot car but would you expect anything less from Scalex? A well contoured black and coral body does have more detail than I expected.

There's a really nice photo etched grille. And this car might be the winner in the "who can make the smallest tampo printing" contest. There are more unreadably small logos on this car than you can imagine. The Jaguar logo on the nose is so finely done it's amazing.

Another exterior details that really catch the eye is what I assume to be the top of the fuel cell in the rear window.

In the not so distant past you'd hear lots of talk about this type of detail from other companies (like Fly for example) but not as much talk about that detail being present on Scalextric cars. But if you take a look in the driver side window you'll see, that is you will if you've got great vision, a tach that's got the smallest printing I've ever seen.

On first glance I'd bet no one would guess there are numbers, 1-10 on the white face. The first time I looked I thought there was nothing more there than specs of hash marks...but no, numbers actual numbers less than a millimeter high!

One bit of design that's got to be noted is the pop out interior. It's a full interior and is held in place by posts in front and at the rear of the interior tray. it's a great design and allows kit bashers or fiddlers to easily remove and then put the interior back in without damaging what is a great model.


The car does not have a motor pod like some other recent Scalextric releases but that doesn't take away from the performance of this car. The running gear doesn't offer any surprises when you pop the body off the car. A standard S-Can which during the on going Slot Car News motor testing turns about 20-23k rpm is mounted as a sidewinder. But then most of the time "no surprises" is probably a good thing, eh?

During testing that legendary out-of-the-box performance was evident. The tires and wheels were round and spun well on the axles which are held in by plastic bearings. I'd like to see Scalex make brass bearings standard on every car, would it add much to the costs? Who knows, but I think that this is one area that might be at least a nice "window dressing" type of improvement to give nit-picking reviewers something to talk about.

This slot car is really a great buy and a good example of things that are the best qualities that slot car companies should have. Excellent detail. A well designed drivetrain that's quiet and mechanically sound. And a car that will appeal to the newbie driver who needs an easy to drive car, and the experienced slotter who appreciates a car that DOESN'T need anything to be a competitive car in a modern GT-type class.


Thanks to Fantasy World Hobbies for the car for review.

Dave Kennedy
Publisher, Slot Car News

New Nissan NISMO 350Z

From the Nissan website:
"For the first time in the Nissan Z’s 37-year history, a high-performance NISMO 350Z is part of the 2007 Z lineup, with an extensively developed list of unique equipment.
The NISMO 350Z’s aerodynamics package strongly resembles the Super GT championship winning Zs, with an aggressive front fascia with chin spoiler, side skirts, an extended rear fascia with underbody diffuser and a rear wing. This package produces additional aerodynamic downforce for enhanced cornering and handling performance.

Additional performance features include a specially tuned independent multi-link suspension, Brembo brakes with four-piston front and two-piston rear calipers and NISMO-branded gunmetal gray RAYS super lightweight forged-alloy wheels. A special NISMO-branded tuned exhaust adds an even more authoritative tone to the Z’s standard 306-horsepower VQ35HR V6 engine.

The NISMO 350Z is the fifth model in the 2007 350Z Coupe lineup and is available only with a 6-speed manual transmission."
----------

It's looking more like the Carrera Tuner now I think....ok maybe not quite that aggressive maybe.

Slot MiniAuto #30

NOTA DE PRENSA

SLOT MINIAUTO 30 - ABRIL

Slot MiniAuto dedica su portada del mes de Abril a la última novedad de Scalextric, el Citroën Xsara Pro, del que se puede leer una completa prueba a fondo realizada por uno de los mejores pilotos de rallyslot de la actualidad. Además destaca la prueba del nuevo BMW 2002 1600 de Spirit y del Simca 1000 Rally 2 de Revell. En las páginas interiores se puede encontrar la prueba del nuevo Ferrari 312P de Racer, el Bentley Exp Sped 8 de Le Mans Miniatures y la prueba en pista del Renault 5 Maxi Turbo de Scalextric.

Además de las secciones habituales, este mes se desvela definitivamente cuál es el coche de suscripción de Slot MiniAuto para el 2007, y además se anuncia un gran regalo sorpresa para el número 31 de Slot MiniAuto del próximo mes de Mayo. Seguro que nadie se lo va a perder.

Albert Boet
Director
Slot MiniAuto



PRESS RELEASE

SLOT MINIAUTO 30 - APRIL

Slot MiniAuto dedicates its cover of the month of April to the last news from SCX, the Citroën Xsara Pro, of which one complete test, made by one of the best drivers of rallyslot of the present time, can be read. In addition it emphasizes the test of new the BMW 2002 1600 of Spirit and the Revell's Simca 1000 Rally 2. In the inner pages the track test of the new Ferrari 312P (Racer), Bentley Exp Speed 8 (Le Mans Miniatures) and the test of the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo (SCX) can be found. In addition to the habitual sections, this month keeps awake definitively which is the car of subscription of Slot MiniAuto for this year 2007, and in addition the announcement of a great surprise gift for number 31 of Slot MiniAuto of the next month of May. Surely that nobody is going away it to lose.

Albert Boet
Director
Slot MiniAuto

Coming soon to a winners circle near you....

...the MRRC Toyota GT1 is on the way to the US market.



Thanks to MRRC for the news and the photos!

DaveK

SCNews motor list updated

Rob Livingston, technical editor of Slot Car News, has been busy updating the Slot Car News Motor list with an Auto Art test RPM, Parma Homeset test RPM, and Tyco 901 6v test RPM. This list is a feature that we're proud of here at Slot Car News and it's updated as new motors become available to us for testing. Most of the motors currently available are on the list. The list is a service to the readers of Slot Car News and will hopefully be useful if you've got a question about how fast that motor is in your slot car.

Please bookmark the URL for the motor list since it's updated frequently.

The AutoArt motor was in the new Porsche Carrera S 911(997).

Smoke 'em if you got 'em! Rothman's Porsche 962 review.

When the Slot It set of three Rothman's cars came out a while back slotters banded together to purchase and split up the cost of the set, now Maurizio has given racers what they've been asking for since then...a single Rothman's slot car.

The Slot It 962 Rothman's Limited Edition comes with a nice display box...but don't expect to see it there again. Limited Editions are generally aimed at collectors but allowing the latest car to stay on the shelf is going to be difficult. Before we throw this beautiful white and blue car on the track let's take a deep breathe, restrain that "holy cow let's race this thing already" feeling and look at the packaging because it's worth a second look.

The sturdy orange box has a brief history of the car on the bottom of the lid and a small card showing the limited edition number (in this case it's 4844 of 6000).

Also to ensure this car stays put on the base during shipping, aside from the small screw holding the car down attached to the chassis, there is a light weight plastic dome that hits snugly over the car. So even if the screw does come loose, the car won't bounce around in the box....EXCELLENT!

Ok, now let's get that car out of the box finally! There are certain liveries that inspire collectors and racers alike, the Gulf liveries, the Jagermeister liveries, and the Rothman's liveries. This Rothman's car (which comes with "Racing" stickers over the Rothman's markings) is an outstanding example of this iconic race car.

Whether leaving the car as it is suits your taste or you feel the need to show the world those cigarette logo's you can do what you like with this car and it looks good either way. Along the sides of this particular slot car the slightly darker "Racing" sticker is lined up well on the car and is quite close tonally to the base color on the body.


The paint on this car is opaque and there's nothing to catch the eye and ruin that "new slot car" experience. There is overspray inside the body, but hey...it's inside the body so who cares (photo below).

The stripes down the edges of the body and top deck of the car are straight, even, and perfect. I don't take quality like this for granted when I see it, so I thought I'd mention it.

The detailing on this model is exceptional. One nice detail are small "Cibie" logos inside the light covers on the nose.

Nearly hidden but still worth trying to get and eyeful of is the driver. Detail, detail, detail...it's all good!



If we remove the usual two body screws and pull the body off we see the "orange endbell" 21.5k motor (which actually turns 23k according to tests we've done at Slot Car News BTW) and standard 28 tooth crown gear. The motor is mounted on the endbell side and between it and the crown is the magnet. No surprises here just the usual slot car goodness we've all come to expect from Slot It.



On the 60+ foot wood track I did some testing on this car performed exceptionally right out of the box. Pre-testing prep work was only some lube on the bearings, motor and gears along with a few turns out on the motor pod screws to allow a bit of rattle. I replaced the stock tires with the S2's that come in a small bag with the car and off I went. Lap times for this car were very, very good. The car nearly did a 5-second-flat-lap which is only half a second slower than highly modified 956's that I race. Honestly I was apprehensive about the high-torque "orange endbell" because I hadn't raced one before. I found the motor quite well mannered and not overpowering for this car. It was smooth out of the corners and blinding down the straight. This was my first experience with a 962 as I mentioned earlier and I found the car much better in the turns than the 956's, which tend to be a bit more tail-happy than this car.

The bottom line is obvious I think... this is a car that every slotter who's into Slot It's, Porsche's, or just has a pulse should buy. It's simple, there are only 6000 of these to go around so WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!

Thanks to Fantasy World Hobbies for supplying this car for review!

Dave Kennedy
Publisher, Slot Car News

Also note that reviews will appear on the Fantasy World Hobbies site as well....

Sepang testing starts

Sutton Images photo via Super Aguri, no reuse for any reason.
MALAYSIA TEST - 27th MARCH 2007
Date: 27th March 2007
Location: Sepang
Track Length: 5.543km
Weather:
Track temperature: 64.4° Celsius
Air temperature: 38.9° Celsius
Laps run today: 60

McLaren report Vodafone McLaren Mercedes arrived in Malaysia this week for the first test at the Sepang circuit, with an intense programme to complete over the three day session. Work for the team focused on general performance uplift, with a number of new components incorporated into the MP4-22, alongside Bridgestone Potenza tyre evaluation for next week’s race.

BMW report: The team's general programme for the three days of testing in Sepang includes set-up work for the forthcoming Grand Prix, evaluation of the two tyre specifications and some new aero parts. Fine tuning of electronic systems and also checking the cooling systems under extreme heat conditions will also be done. According to the new regulations, the teams can only run one car at the same time.

With Robert covering more laps than anybody else today, the team enjoyed a very productive test day and completed a substantial part of the programme.

What comes next: Tomorrow, Robert will continue to drive before Nick Heidfeld will take over on Thursday. Robert's programme for tomorrow is mainly aero set-up work and more work on the tyres for the race.

Renault report:The ING Renault F1 Team’s on-track development programme resumed today in the sweltering heat and humidity of Sepang, Malaysia. The first test session since the opening round of the 2007 season will see each team running with just one car, in line with the new testing agreement for this season.

As always, the team approaches the three days with a busy programme to work through – and began its work with Nelson Piquet Jr. at the wheel. His planned focus was to be a set-up programme, but a mechanical problem with the R27 disrupted his running and left the car in the garage for a large part of the day.

The Brazilian therefore completed fewer laps than expected, but the problems will not impact on the coming two days’ work – as Chief Test Engineer Christian Silk explained: “Unfortunately, Nelson wasn’t able to do many laps today after we hit problems. However, we got a good baseline set-up for the car, and the balance is now good enough to continue our programme straight away tomorrow with Heikki.”

Heikki Kovalainen will take over driving duties tomorrow, in preparation for the Malaysian Grand Prix, round two of the 2007 championship, in ten days’ time.

Duration of test: Three days (Tuesday 27th – Thursday 29th March)

Driver
Constructor Time Laps
Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1m36.187 92
Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m36.302 55
Alex Wurz WilliamsF1 1m36.334 90
Rubens Barrichello Honda Racing 1m36.826 83
Pedro de la Rosa Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m37.106 60
Franck Montagny Toyota 1m37.267 74
Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1m37.389 72
David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m37.609 84
Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 1m38.199 33
Scott Speed Toro Rosso 1m38.503 69

New SCX banked curve

SCX Slot Spot-2nd edition

Guido from SCX Slot Spot has released the second edition of SCX Slot Spot. Give it a download, there's lots to see...


DaveK

SCX Pro Cars are coming!

A new range of higher quality cars and accessories designed by slot racing champions for slot car racing enthusiasts in all forms of competition and racing.

* Cars with multiple adjustments to enable the perfect setup for every race situation or track surface.
* Components and spare parts compatible with other slot cars brands.
* Designed to comply with most recent slot racing and rallying regulations.
* Highest quality materials and finished to the highest standard
* The latest advanced technologies and innovative ideas and features

ENJOY RACING WITH US!!

MRRC brings back the classics!

From the MRE website:

MRRC are bringing back their range of plastic figures and buildings.

Starting life in the 1960's with Airfix, these buildings have been released 4 times previously but endure the test of time because they are ideal for decorating circuits for classic racing. As this is one of the most popular types of slot racing, MRRCare making a wise move by bringing these simple but effective kits to life again.

The figures are also original Airfix, completely compatable with the buildings. Five different sets with a total of 52 different figures, all you need is a selection of paints to give them character, then add to your classic racing scenes and around the track.

Thanks to MRE for allowing reuse of their news!
DaveK

Coming soon....

....Racing or Rothman's it's your choice.

50 Years of Toyota Motorsports

A really great video of Toyota's efforts over 50 years in Motorsports. Mostly about the F1 teams but there is a few seconds of the Toyota GT1 and some rally clips too.

DK

New Monogram "Classics" review

Harry Wise of Home Racing World has a review of the latest Monogram releases. The Porsche 904, Shelby King Cobra, and Chapparal 2 are all reviewed at this link.

Excerpts used here with permission...
"Starting the line up we see the Porsche 904 GTS from Sebring, 1966. There are many Porsche models found in our hobby but this one has always been a very unique model. Either you will like the lines and shape or you won't. I find it very appealing and feel it was an excellent choice to produce in this classic series."

"Tampo stamped markings were clean and crisp and found no runs or fades in either these or the clear coat. Fine scale purists will find issues here and there, but overall it appears they have done a decent job of recreating this classic."

"The half tray interior is detailed enough for my tastes as well. Items like the molded windshield wiper in the front glass I found interesting. Of course this mold is rather old and although we have seen models with finer detail than this, it can have it's advantages as at least this wiper arm will not break off. I did notice some slight mold lines in the rear and the left front near the A pillar. Nothing to offensive but I mention it as many enthusiasts do care about the detail and quality levels of the bodies."


Thanks to Harry for the review...please view the full review here.

DaveK

------------
***Update***
I thought I'd post a few photos of my own 904 which is the original Monogram 904 from the 60's for comparison.



Here's a shot of the roofline that I go on and on endlessly about. The roof of the 904 should be rounder over the side windows. It's kind of distracting from what is otherwise a nicely done model. The nose looks good and the back end is pleasingly round as well.

It would have been super to have Revell redo the model this time around with a model that's a bit closer to the real car...but you can't get everything you want can you?

Carrera Willy's & Nascar C.O.T. projected release dates

The Carrera Willy's will arrive later this year, around August/September.

The Nascar Car of Tomorrow will arrive in the third quarter of this year. Carrera is the only company to currently have this car scheded for production. It's quite possible that Nascar will switch to this car full time for the 2008 Nascar season so that puts Carrera in a good position to be producing the only current Nascar body.

DK

1/24 AutoArt Bugatti Chiron

The new AutoArt 1/24 Bugatti Chiron shares the same graceful characteristics with it's larger 1/1 cousin. The sleek lines of the real car are well reflected in the AutoArt model.


The front grille is a nice black photo etched piece along with the grille under it and 2 very small grilles on the sides just in front of the front wheels. A nice bit of detail that AutoArt has included that easy to miss but adds to the "depth" of the quality of the model.

The "W" 18 engine is very, very well modeled and has so much detail you'll find yourself looking at just the engine for some time.

The body color and other detail colors are true to the real car (from the photos I've seen) and the few details printed on the car are very well done and compliment the mininalist design of the blue jelly bean-shaped car.


The wheels are well modeled and have small Bugatti logos in the centers with small perfect little rivets around the edges.

Under the car we see a pair of magnets held in place by a center mounted screw. A few turns of this screw will allow you to adjust the magnetic downforce to a point. Since the screw is in the center if you loosen it too much the magnet can slide a bit and can be lower on one side than the other...so be careful when adjustments are made to insure the magnet is still flat in the chassis. To make adjustments to the magnets you'll need a fine phillips head screwdriver, much smaller than the one used for the body screws.

Inside we see a long spring mounted drive shaft powering the front wheels.

Nice brass bearings at every corner and on the drive shaft. The drive train is quiet and the gear mesh is excellent.

The power gets from the track to the motor via wires from the guide rather than the tabs that are used in the 1/32 models. Personally I'd rather have wires attached to the guide so if the car goes around a tight turn you're still going to get uninterrupted power.

An AWD slot car, just like it's 1/1 counterpart, the Chiron really stuck well even without the benefit of magnets on my wood track. The AWD system really pulled this car around the corners and it made the car feel very stable and you could get into the throttle before a normal RWD slot car.

On a test run at my local hobby shop, Bud's HO in Cortlandt Manor NY, this car really got to stretch its legs. The car really showed off the AWD, it really pulled out of the corners and you could really get into the throttle early in the exit of the turn. While I was racing this car the front drive shaft popped off so I went from AWD to 2WD like I switched gears. It was interesting because the car handled quite differently. It got faster, much faster, down the straight but I was not able to get into the throttle hard out of the corners without the tail coming out on the car. It was an interesting experience going that quickly from AWD to 2WD.

Supercars aren't exactly my preferred area to collect, but this car is a good example of seeing a car and liking a car that you'd at first thought might not be your cup of tea. It's a very well mannered car and was a pleasure to drive, and even though it's not supposed/designed to be a non-magnet racer, it did work very well and was a surprisingly good wood track car...

Thanks to Global Gateway/AutoArt for the car for review!
DaveK

SCX Sierra & Pro car photos-from SCX Slot Spot

Guido from SCX Slot Spot has sent some great photos of the new SCX Sierra. Also he's sent one interesting photo with the digital kit next to the chassis for the car and he says that the digital conversion is particularly easy on this slot car.





Also there are a few photos of the new Pro cars. I know that these cars are very high anticipated, they were a highlight of the NY Toyfair for me personally.



Thanks Guido!

Thanks to Marcus!

Thanks to Marcus who identified a missing piece of coding on Slot Car News. I hope the fix allows for a better viewing experience, especially for video clips.

DaveK

Ninco April Newsletter

New Scalextric Jaguar XKRS-Redline

SCX Renault 5 Turbo Maxi newsletter

Another newsletter from SCX, this time about the Renault 5 Turbo Maxi.



Thanks to SCX for the news.
DaveK

ALMS wrap up from SpeedTV

Speed has now allowed bloggers to post their reports! Very cool.

GT2 Finish at Sebring 2007!

This clip speaks for itself....GT2 Finish at Sebring 2007.

Review-AutoArt Porsche 911(997)

AutoArt has been producing their fair share of Porsche's recently, these 2 Porsche 911 (997) models are a high point in many ways.

Porsche has chosen (thank goodness) to go back to the more Porsche-like round headlights for the newest incarnation of the 911.

AutoArt has done a great job capturing the contours of the real 997 in these models. The finish on the cars is as well done, both cars are painted and have nice opaque paint. So the red looks nice and rich and the yellow DOES NOT look toy-like. I mention this because most times when you see a yellow car, the paint job leaves a lot to be desired which is not the case with these cars.


The real 911 for reference. Photo used with permission from Porsche.

These models have a nice "full look" to the rear end. The capture the overall look of the back of the car well. And for Porsche fans, it's all about the back end, isn't it? The Porsche Carrera S logo's are tampo printed on and are nice and crisp.


Do you like lights on your cars? Well this car's got plenty to go around...and holy crap they're bright! The light harness (which can be seen below) is woven throughout the body inside. There is a small plug that can be disconnected if you want to separate the body from the chassis at a distance of more than 2 inches or so. If you take the body apart and the wires come out of the little areas where they're snapped down, you'll need to make sure the wires are replaced in the proper route inside before putting the body back together. There is very little room inside the body so everything's got to be exactly where it should be to put the body together.

And yes, this release has not only a driver but a passenger as well.


The wheels are worth mentioning here. The detail is fantastic, down to a very finely done Porsche emblem in the center. And on both car the wheels are round, nothing to be taken for granted with plastic, press on wheels these days.

The real Porsche wheel for reference. Photo used with permission from Porsche.

So I opened up the car and the first thing that struck me was the motor...it's behind the axle! Well this was a surprise (ya, I didn't notice where the motor was when I looked at the bottom of the chassis...DOH!). And upon further inspection there was a "holy cow" moment here... look at the motor. No not just the huge clump of noise suppressors (5 in all!)... the motor isn't laying flat!

My first thought was that the motor wasn't snapped down in the cradle as it should be. No that's not it, AutoArt has put the motor at an angle...wow!

I'm guessing they put the motor behind the axle and at an angle to get clearance inside the car for the full interior. Full interiors aren't something that I much care about but I know that I'm in the minority on this one.

The gearing on this car is the standard 10-tooth pinion with a 36 tooth spur. The gears mesh nicely and do give the car nice acceleration. I had an issue with the gear on the red car, but more on that later. The brakes on the car are similar to other AutoArt's, so if you're looking for stop-on-a-dime brakes you might want to change the gears and/or motor. While I don't have a notation on the packaging, I'm assuming this is still the same 26k motor that's been standard for AutoArt for some time now.

Why did I take a photo of the guide? Well, look closely at the braides. There's a dab of glue on each side. This is new, and all the guides that came with each car (the 2 guides that were in place on each, plus the 2 extra's that came under the base) had this glue on them. The recent AutoArt Porsche's that I'd gotten don't have this done to them from the factory. I like this and I think it's a smart thing to do, especially with this type of guide design.

Performance on my wood track is really pretty good. I did lots of laps with both cars and not only did the tires stick better than I expected but the wheels and tires were nice and round on both. Out of the box there was a bit of repositioning I had to do to get the tires to sit flat on the wheel but after than the car smoothed out nicely. I do have to report that the red car's crown gear spun loose from the axle.

Overall, these are really great cars. They look correct for the shape of the 997. They run well even without the benefit of magnetic downforce. They're going to be available at a reasonable price. Yes they're street cars, there's no getting around that. And to appeal to a broader audience hopefully AutoArt will see their way clear to make either the RSR or Cup version of these cars so we can have racing versions. But these 911(997)'s should find their way into the collection of serious Porsche collectors.

DaveK

ZENT CERUMO SC430 get come-from-behind win

In the Suzuka GT 300km race, Round 1 of the 2007 AUTOBACS SUPER GT held at the Suzuka Circuit (one lap 5.807 km x 52 laps) in Mie Pref. on March 18, the ZENT CERUMO SC430 driven by Yuji Tachikawa and Tranosuke Takagi came from behind on the last lap for a dramatic win.

　The race started exactly at 14:00. Starting from the pole position, the ARTA NSX led the whole race until the beginning of the final lap, when machine trouble caused it to slow down. With this, the ZENT CERUMO SC430 that had started from the 5th position on the grid and worked its way up to 2nd position by the end of the race, was able to grab a miracle win. This gave Yuji Tachikawa his ninth career Super GT win to extend his own record of most wins by an individual driver.

　In the GT300 class, the win went to the ENDLESS ADVAN SENZAIKAKUMEI Z driven by Masami Kageyama and Tomonobu Fujii.
（Spectators: 30,000）

■ Winner Comments
No.38 ZENT CERUMO SC430 [GT500]
Yuji Tachikawa: "I never dreamed that we could have won today. I thought I might get a podium finish but I never imagined that we could catch the leader. I am glad that we have won but the NSX is clearly a fast machine, so we have to make the SC faster. I intend to concentrate and do everything I can to help us win again."

Tranosuke Takagi: "The Honda (NSX) had more speed than us out there, but we were able to win, I believe, because of our overall strength and the strength of our team."
RACE RESULTS TOP3
------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2007-03-18 14:04-15:48 | SUZUKA CIRCUIT |
| 5.807km×52Laps=301.964km | Weather: Fine | Course: Dry |

[GT500]-----------------------------------------------------------
Po.No.Machine Driver LAPS Time
------------------------------------------------------------------
1 38 ZENT CERUMO ZSC430 Y.Tachikawa/T.Takagi 52 1:43'25.744
2 23 XANAVI NISMO Z S.Motoyama/R.Lyons 52 1:43'29.171
3 32 EPSON NSX L.DUVAL/F.CARBONE 52 1:43'54.046

[GT300]-----------------------------------------------------------
Po.No.Machine Driver LAPS Time
------------------------------------------------------------------
1 13 ENDLESS ADVAN SENZAIKAKUMEI Z
M.Kageyama/T.Fujii 48 1:43'45.767
2 2 Privee KENZO Asset Shiden K.Takahashi/H.Katoh 48 1:43'58.445
3 101 TOYSTORY apr MR-S K.Oshima/H.Ishiura 48 1:44'06.171


News and photos used with permission of the SuperGT Series, no reuse for any reason.

Porsche loses to Ferrari in Sebring

Sebring, Florida -- It was a classic manufacturers’ battle between Porsche and Ferrari in GT2 in today’s twelve-hour endurance classic, the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. In one of the largest GT2 fields in ALMS history, the Flying Lizard No. 45 Porsche (Jörg Bergmeister/Johannes van Overbeek/Marc Lieb) battled the entire race against the No. 62 Risi Ferrari, playing a cat and mouse game in which the two cars switched positions more than a dozen times. It became a contest of wills, playing out in an unbelievable near photo finish between Jörg Bergmeister and Jaime Melo.

In the last 30 minutes of the race, Jörg gained more than 30 seconds on the Ferrari, finally passing Melo on the final turn just yards before the finish, only to have Melo regain the position with a hard bump to Jörg which nearly sent him into the wall. Jörg finished the 12-hour race just two-tenths of a second behind the No. 62, the closest finish in Sebring class history. The No. 45 was eight laps ahead of the third place finisher, the No. 71 Tafel Racing Porsche.

“I wanted that win,” said Jörg, “and I pushed with everything I had to overtake Melo. I’m proud that I was able to get cleanly by him in the last few seconds and that our new car could perform at that level. In the end, they crossed the finish ahead of me. I don’t agree with the way that Ferrari achieved their win, but I’m really proud of what we did as a team. My first race with the Lizards was something I will never forget.”

News used from the Flying Lizard Motorsports team, images used from American LeMans Series. No reuse.

McLaren 2nd and 3rd in Australian GP

2007 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton finished today's Australian Grand Prix in second and third places respectively achieving an almost perfect start to the season for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. Lewis' third place was the best performance from a rookie driver since 1996 and the English man even lead the race for a few laps. Today's result puts the team in the lead of the Constructors' Championship. Both drivers were on a two-stop strategy. Fernando came in on laps 22 (9.3 seconds) and 45 (6.5 seconds) and Lewis entered the pitlane on laps 23 (8.7 seconds) and 43 (8.2 seconds).

FERNANDO ALONSO
"What a great way to start the season and my career as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver. Of course it's always better to win but Kimi was a little bit quicker than us today, however we scored the maximum points that were possible, and I'm really pleased. My start was a bit strange with both BMWs being very quick off the line, and I was so busy defending my line from Heidfeld on the outside that it was not possible for me to stay ahead of him. I was then behind Lewis for a while and was just focusing on keeping up with him and sometimes dropping back to allow the car to cool down. I took second after the second pitstop as I was able to stay out for an additional two laps. Originally it was meant to be one lap but because I was behind Lewis I managed to save enough fuel for one more lap. Both of the Bridgestone Potenza tyre options worked well. We will now continue to work hard to give us the best opportunity to beat Ferrari at the Malaysian Grand Prix."

LEWIS HAMILTON
"I'm absolutely ecstatic – today's result is more than I ever dreamed of achieving on my Grand Prix debut. A big thank you to the team who have worked so hard during the winter to make sure I was as prepared as I possible could be. I made a good start but the BMWs were quick off the line and Kubica managed to get past. There was no room on the inside so I got on the left and managed to outbrake both Kubica and Fernando coming into the first corner to take third. The race was intense, and I was working very hard. I made a few mistakes but nothing major and really enjoyed myself. It was great to lead the race for a few laps, but I knew it was only a temporary thing. Fernando got past me at the second pitstop as he was able to stay out a bit longer and I lost some time behind backmarkers. We now have a lot of work ahead of us with the Malaysia test and the rest of the season, but there is no doubt that we can build from what has been achieved today."

Pos Driver Constructor Race Time
1 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 1h25m28.770
2 Fernando Alonso Vodafone McLaren Mercedes +7.242
3 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes +18.595
4 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber +38.763
5 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault +66469
6 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari +66.805
7 Nico Rosberg Williams F1 +1 lap
8 Ralf Schumacher Toyota +1 lap
9 Jarno Trulli Toyota +1 lap
10 Heikki Kovalainen Renault +1 lap
11 Rubens Barrichello Honda Racing +1 lap
12 Takuma Sato Super Aguri +1 lap
13 Mark Webber Williams F1 +1 lap
14 Tonio Luizzi Toro Rosso +1 lap
15 Jenson Button Honda Racing +1 lap
16 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri +2 laps
17 Adrian Sutil Spyker F1 +2 laps

Photo and news used with permission from www.McLaren.com

SCX Tuner newsletter

Thanks to SCX for the news.
DaveK

Sebring Update from Flying Lizard Motorsports

March 17, 2007, 2:05pm ET -- Sebring, Florida -- As we move into hour five of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the two Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsches are P3 (No. 45) and P 16 (No. 44) in the 18-car GT2 field, with the No. 44 behind the wall in the garage for repairs.

The No. 45 started second on the grid, and the No. 44 started 7th. It was an eventful race start for the GT2 group as the larger field jostled for position. On race start, multiple incidents sent several GT2 cars into the pits for repairs. The Lizards kept out of the fray until Darren Law in the No. 44 passed the No. 22 Panoz, and was hit from behind, causing damage to the rear of the Porsche. Darren stayed out, but was eventually forced to pit to allow the crew to repair the rear bumper and make sure there was no other damage.

In the No. 45, Joerg started the race, and went out hard in pursuit of the No. 31 Petersen/White Lightning Ferrari, which started in the lead. The No. 31 had to pit early to check damage from the Ferraris’ contact with the No. 71 Tafel car in the first few minutes of the race. That left the No. 73 car , which had moved ahead of Joerg on the start, for him to chase down. Joerg reeled in the No. 73 and passed him, taking the lead within the first 15 minutes of the race.

At the 1 hour mark, Joerg was in P1 in the No. 45 and Darren in P 7, having lost some positions to the No. 44’s repair pit stop. Both cars pitted within minutes of each other, with Johannes van Overbeek taking over for Joerg and Seth Neiman taking over for Darren. Johannes went out in P 2, now behind the No. 62 Ferrari, which would pit later in the race than the No. 45. Neiman was out in P 11.

Over Johannes’ stint, he kept a consistent pace, staying with the No. 62, lapping within a few tenths of the Ferrari the entire time. van Overbeek ran a fast stint, and just after Marc Lieb entered the car for his first stint, he passed the No. 62 Ferrari in the pits, re-gaining the lead. Lieb’s lead stretched to nearly 3 seconds after the Ferrari pitted, and in the closing laps of his first stint, the No. 62 made a clean pass in traffic to regain the lead. Lieb complained of fading tires, but with only a few laps remaining in his stint, team strategist Thomas Blam reassured him that help was on the way in the form of 2006 ALMS GT2 leader Joerg Bergmeister.

At approximately 1:10, the No. 45 pitted for tires, fuel and driver change to Joerg. A few minutes later, the No. 44 was hit by the No. 61 Krohn Racing Ferrari after the Ferrari spun on track, causing a full course caution (the first of the race) to remove the Ferrari from the track. The incident caused major rear suspension damage to Lizard Porsche, which went behind the wall to enable the crew to make repairs.

Because the No. 45 had pitted just prior to the caution, two others in the GT2 field were able to take advantage of the yellow to catch back up to the same lap as Joerg. When the track went green, the No. 71 Tafel Porsche and the No. 32 Ferrari had caught back up with Joerg under yellow. With the No. 62 in P 1, and the No. 45 in P2, P 3 and P 4 cars were now close behind. Over the next 30 minutes, the No. 32 Ferrari was able to pass Joerg, putting the NO. 45 in P 3. At approximately 2 pm ET, Joerg took back the No. 2 position from the No. 32.

Listen to the team radio at this link.

News and lede image used from Flying Lizard Motorsports. Secondary photo used with permission from American LeMans Series. No reuse without their permission.

------------------
On a side note, if you haven't listened to the team radio transmission before, you need to give it a try. It's very entertaining.
DaveK

Australian GP grid

Sutton Images via SuperAguri
The news of the day was clearly Takuma Sato of the Super Aguri F1 Team as he qualified 10th, beating the "other Honda" F1 cars at their own game...at least during qualifying.

Takuma Sato
“What can I say, it was an absolutely fantastic team effort. It was a difficult day again as it was spitting with rain and a set-up change took longer than expected in the practice session so we only completed a few laps. During the whole of Qualifying the team worked well together, building up the car, step-by-step and things just went the right way. I was always going to be very happy if we made it into Q2, but I never imagined that we would reach Q3 - but we did, and it is a great feeling. Obviously this is just the start of the season, and we have a lot of work to do, so for tomorrow we just hope to have a good race.”


Image from www.McLaren.com
Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne.
1. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari
2. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren
3. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber
4. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren
5. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber
6. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault
7. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault
8. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota
9. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota
10. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri - Honda
11. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri - Honda
12. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams - Toyota
13. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault
14. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda
15. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Williams - Toyota
16. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari
17. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda
18. Scott Speed (U.S.) Toro Rosso - Ferrari
19. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull - Renault
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso - Ferrari
21. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker - Ferrari
22. Christijan Albers (Netherlands) Spyker - Ferrari

JENSON BUTTON
Saturday Practice: P17 1:28.119
Qualifying 1: P15 01:27.540 | Qualifying 2: P14 01:27.264 | Qualifying 3: –
“It hasn’t been a good weekend for us so far. Today it was difficult to judge how hard to push the tyres. At the start of the lap I was getting understeer because the tyres were not up to temperature, then later in the lap I was getting oversteer as the rears were going off, which just show the issues that we have. I got the best out of the car today and right now we are where we are. We’ll obviously do what we can for the race then we have some work to do to start addressing the issues we have identified.”

Giancarlo Fisichella
"As always, it was a tough qualifying session, but I feel we didn’t achieve the maximum this afternoon. My position is pretty much as expected, behind McLaren and Ferrari, but I think I could have gained a place or two without traffic on my final timed lap, which slowed me down in the last three corners in particular. We had expected qualifying to be tough because we know the car’s speed on a single lap is not as competitive as the long runs at the moment. Now, we need to wait and see what the race pace is like. We were competitive this morning and yesterday afternoon, so hopefully I can make up some ground at the start – and then fight for the podium."


Image copyright Renault F1
Heikki Kovalainen
"The car was fine and the balance was good, but I just wasn’t able to get the maximum from it on a single lap. I lost track time yesterday and this morning, and my times were a little bit off in every sector. Obviously, this performance is not good enough, but there is no point dwelling on it now. Starting from P13 is not ideal for my first Grand Prix, and I will need to race aggressively to get a points finish. That will be my target for tomorrow."

Images copyright respective sources, no reuse for any reason.

Fly Audi Quattro-video review

Yup, you guessed it, Panzerpilot is at it again! This time it's the Fly Audi's which he runs off road.

A great collection of recent video's...keep up the good work.

DaveK

Coming Monday...AutoArt 997 review

Monday I'll post a review of the new AutoArt Porsche 997's, both yellow and red.

DaveK

Porsche is ready for racing!

SEBRING, Fla. - For the opening weekend for the International Motor Sports Association/Sports Car Club of America racing season at Sebring International Raceway March 15 - 17, teams competing in Porsche race cars outnumber the competition by more than three-to-one, with more than 70 Porsches competing in two classes in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Michelin, and the SCCA SPEED World Challenge.

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will be telecast on Saturday, March 17, live on SPEED TV, starting at 9:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time (the green flag drops shortly after 10:00 AM EDT). In the history of this Florida long-distance classic, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer by far, with the most overall victories (17), the most wins in succession (13 between 1976 and 1988), and the most class victories (62). Porsche also heads another "Best Of" list in Sebring, having led the field over a record 3997 laps overall.

Uwe Brettel, president of Porsche Motorsport North America, said that his parts department personnel and race engineers are ready for the challenge, with a new motorsports parts truck, additional personnel, expanded capacity of the company's headquarters in Santa Ana, Calif., and extra help from the Porsche factory.

" We have both the parts and the expertise to service the Porsche RS Spyder, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, and the two variations of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars - all from a single headquarters right in the Sebring paddock," said Brettel, noting that this weekend's Porsche roster includes six Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars running in the SPEED World Challenge GT event, four Porsche RS Spyder prototypes in the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series' Sebring enduro, ten Porsche 911 GT3 RS/RSRs in the GT2 class of the Sebring 12-hour, and 45 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup races in the IMSA GT3 Cup race.

Porsche RS Spyders - Defending Penske Champions and the New Dyson Challengers

The defending LMP2 driver, team and manufacturer champions Sascha Maassen (Belgium), Penske Motorsports, and Porsche will all be back to try for two titles in a row with factory backing from Porsche AG in Germany. Maassen will be joined by his new partner Ryan Briscoe (Australia) and Emmanuel Collard (France) in the #6 RS Spyder. In the #7 team car, the season-long driver pair of Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) will get third-driver help for this long event from Helio Castroneves (Brazil), a Penske regular in the IndyCar series and former Indianapolis 500 winner.

Photo used with permission from Dyson Racing
For 2007, Penske has been joined by Poughkeepsie, NY-based Dyson Racing, which will field two RS Spyders including the #16 prototype driven by Andy Wallace (Great Britain), Butch Leitzinger (USA) and Andy Lally (USA) . Chris Dyson (USA) and Guy Smith (Great Britain) will share driving duties in the #20 Dyson Racing RS Spyder.

With three factory-backed entries from Acura, whose vehicles attracted attention with good test times earlier in the year, and an improved factory entry from Mazda, the LMP2 class battle should provide close racing all season.

GT2 Marks the Debut of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (type 997) Race Car

The Porsche 911 GT3 R/RS/RSR family of race cars has won the American Le Mans Series' GT/GT2 class every year but one since the series inception in 1999. Last year was no exception, as Jorg Bergmeister (Germany) won the championship, and with the aid of his co-driver Patrick Long and his Petersen/White Lightning Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, helped Porsche win the manufacturers title.

Photo used with permission from Flying Lizard Motorsports
This year, Bergmeister will defend his title with Johannes van Overbeek (USA) in one of the brand new 911 GT3 RSRs prepared by Flying Lizard Motorsports. For the Sebring event, factory driver Marc Lieb (Germany) joins the the pair. Germany's Wolf Henzler, Patrick Long (USA) and Robin Liddell (Great Britain) share one of the two new 911 GT3 RSRs fielded by Tafel Racing. For the first time, the renowned IndyCar team, Rahal Lettermann Racing, competes in the American Le Mans Series with the new 911 GT3 RSR. Co-team owners Bobby Rahal and David Letterman have signed 1987 Sebring winner Ralf Kelleners (Germany) and Tom Milner (USA) to contest the GT2 season. For the Sebring classic, Rahal's 18 year-old son Graham joins the duo at the wheel of the sports car built in Porsche's Motorsport Center at Weissach, Germany.

Other Porsche GT2 class entries include a Konrad Motorsport entry with Phil Collin/Antonio Hermann/Luchiano DaSilva; the second Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche driven by Darren Law (USA), Seth Neiman (USA) and Lonnie Pechnik (USA); the new Boston-based Team Trans Sport Racing entry of Tim Pappas (USA), Terry Brocheller (USA) and recent Daytona 24-Hour GT winner marc Besseng (Germany); the second Tafel Racing Porsche of Jim Tafel (USA), Dominik Farnbacher (Germany) and Iam James (USA); the Farnbacher-Loles Motorsports entry of Pierre Ehret (Germany), Lars Erik Nielson (Denmark), and Dirk Werner (Germany); and the Solvakia-based Porsche of Miroslav Konopka, Bo McCormick (England) and Mauro Casadei (Italy).

SPEED World Challenge - Porsche riding high after 2006 title

After upsetting the favored Cadillac factory team to win the 2006 SPEED World Challenge GT championship, Porsche drivers aim to continue their success in modified Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars at the 2007 opener at Sebring.

Randy Pobst (USA), who won the final event last year which clinched the manufacturers title for Porsche, will drive a GT3 Cup racer along with former World Challenge Touring Car champion Michael Galati (USA) in a two-car effort prepared by K-PAX Racing. Other Porsche SPEED World Challenge entries include James Sofronas in the Global Motorsports Group Porsche; Eric Olberz in the 911 Design Porsche; Tim McKenzie in the TR Racing Porsche; and John Bourassa in the Team Hurricane Racing Porsche.

Story and top photo used with permission from Porsche. No reuse of story or photos without permission from those sources.

Ninco & Duvel... a tasty combination!

"Panzerpilot" is at it again! Another video review, this time of the Ninco Duvel (mmm...beer!) Toureg.


Duvel needs to sponsor more racing.... it's got to be the best beer in the world!

DaveK

New Scalex Aussie Mustang

The Scalextric #9 (C2775) model is due for release late September and has been limited to a production run of 2,500.

Thanks to Cathy at Armchair Racer.au for the news!

DaveK

Super Aguri F1 team unveils SA07 in Melbourne

Following a successful winter testing programme for the SUPER AGURI F1 TEAM, Team Principal Aguri Suzuki and race drivers Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson unveiled the team’s 2007 challenger in the F1 Paddock at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia today.

The SA07 is a continuation of the development process which began in haste last year for the team’s first challenger, the SA05. As the team is a mere 15 months old each iteration of the car is a significant step forward. The SA07 is a result of the past eight months collaboration between the SAF1 Team Design Department lead by Chief Designer Peter McCool and Honda’s R&D centre in Tochigi, Japan. The team’s winter test program has allowed them to validate a number of design concepts and to test the increased reliability of the new power-train provided by Honda.

The new homologated Honda engine is a major step forward in power and reliability for the SAF1 Team. It will increase the team’s performance and provide a competitive engine for this period of new rules and stability. A carbon gearbox is now part of the package from Honda which will allow more flexibility in weight distribution and increased integration, bringing with it the added benefits of reliability.

News used with permission from Super Aguri, photos copyright Sutton Images via Super Aguri. No reuse for any reason.

Even more Racer photos!

More super photos of new Racer Ferrari's, RCR31 and 32
312P NART - Sebring 12hrs 1970
312P NART - Daytona 24hrs 1970







Photos courtesy of Amazing Slotshot

SCX Lancer newsletter

Click to see larger view of these pages.



Thanks to SCX for the news.
DaveK

SCX Suzuki Swift-video review

"Panzerpilot" from Slot Car Illustrated has allowed SCNews to republish his video review of the SCX Suzuki Swift.

DaveK

Spirit 2007 release dates

March: #0501106-406 Silhoutte Motul
April: #0501103-406 Elis
May: #0601302-BMW RAC, #0601201-Courage Pirelli, #0601401-Porsche 936 LeMans '76
June: #0501104-406 Coupe Halfords, #0501105-406 Silhouette Esso
July: #0601303-BMW, #0601202-Courage Gulf, #0601402-Porsche 936 Nurburgring '76
Sept: #0501107-406 Coupe Team Sport, #0501108-406 Silhoutte Liqui Moly
Oct: "New Car"
Nov: #0601304-BMW Olimpia '72, #0601203-Courage Kumho, #0601403-Porsche 936 Dijon '76
Dec: "New Car", "New Car"

BMW takes first WTCC race

2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC)
Rounds 1 and 2 - 10th/11th March 2007 - Race

BMW celebrates two triple-victories at WTCC kick-off in Curitiba.

Curitiba (Brazil), 11th March 2007. The 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) started exactly in the same way as last year's season ended: Jörg Müller (GER) of BMW Team Germany claimed victory in the first race of the year. In front of 33,000 spectators at the "Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba" he made perfect use of his pole position, thus repeating his triumph in the 2006 season finale in Macau (CHN). Reigning World Champion, Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK, GBR) and Müller's team-mate Augusto Farfus (BRA) in second and third place respectively, made for a perfect start to the season for the BMW national teams.

In the second race at the 3.695-kilometre track, it was another BMW driver who stepped into the spotlight: Farfus made the Brazilian crowd cheer by taking the win. Priaulx finished second once again, with Müller finishing third. For the first time in the WTCC history, BMW took all six available podium places. With 16 points each under their belts, Müller, Farfus and Priaulx share the lead in the Drivers' Championship after the first two rounds. In the Manufacturers' Championship, BMW has 36 points to its tally, leading second-placed SEAT by 15 points.

Images and news used with permission from BMW, no reuse without their permission.

Racer, Racer, Racer!

RCR34-250LM Mecom Racing Team-Sebring 12hrs 1965-W.Hansgen/M.Donohue


RCR31-(No. 22) 312P N.A.R.T. - Sebring 12hrs 1970 - M. Parkes / C.
Parsons


RCR32-(No. 23) 312P N.A.R.T. - Daytona 24hrs 1970 - D. Piper / T.
Adamowicz


RCR33-Kremer 935K3-Dick Barbour Racing-LeMans 24hrs 1980-B.Rahal/B.Garretson/A.Moffat




Slot car photos courtesy of Giacomo at Italiaslot.

SCX Sierra photos

Some photos of the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth (SCX, 62470).




Photos from SCX.
DaveK

Fly livery design contest.

So all those that like to say they can design a better looking slot car have a chance to do just that.


But hurry the deadline is March 15th so don't wait.
DaveK

Boss Bodies-Touring cars pay a visit

A pair of Boss Bodies have been knocking around my track for a while now. Knocking being the word to use... they're nearly indestructable. Before they got to me several other slotters around the country have had the pleasure of putting these cars through their paces. The cars are sold by Smith Scale Speedway and are meant to be raced and raced hard. They're made from .020 PVC and I can tell you they can take a hit. And at only $5.00 a body (they recently raised the price, but only $.50 so they're still very, very affordable), they have a huge selection of bodies for sale.

These bodies are well proportioned and have the right look for the cars they're modeled after. The 1969 Nova body lines are on the money and capture the look of the real Nova very well. And the 1963 Checker is the only model of a Checker cab that I know of for slotters use, so if you need a Checker Cab for your city-themed track you'll want to check this body out. And again at only $5.00 you can't really go wrong.

Camaro anyone?

Smith Scale Speedway has another Boss Body now for sale, a personal favorite of mine, the 1978 Chevy Camaro.

From the Smith Scale Speedway site:

"Whether you're looking for a classic short track street stock, a hot rod, or a Pro Street drag car, these Camaros raced everywhere. This will look great racing against our 77 Firebird. Boss Bodies are .020" thick PVC and more durable than your average clear slot car body. Boss Bodies ship clear and untrimmed."

Thanks to Steve for the news!
DaveK

Jel Claws tires-Fly Carrera 6

For some time now I've looked at the Fly Porsche Carrera 6 sitting on the shelf because I had a problem on my hands. I love the wheels that come on the car, but the tires just don't stick on any surface that I usually race on. So I've waiting, and waited. When a shipment of Jel Claws tires showed up a while ago there were some tires in the package that were replacements for the Carrera Ferrari 512BBLM (part #ST-1050-C). I thought they looked like they might be good tires to try on a few cars. I slipped them onto the Fly Carrera 6 and there it was.... A DIRECT SWAP! The tires fit perfectly, and better yet they looked good!

So it was with a great deal of excitement that I put the car on Rob Livingston's East New York Raceway and did some laps. Well it was a great day indeed. Not only did the tires grip perfectly but the car was really fast. These tires transformed a car that had been sort of a disappointment to a car that's now at the top of the "to race" list!

I'm a big believer in getting the right tires on the right car for a track. There are no perfect tires for every track or a perfect tire for every car. The bottom line is that these tires on this car work as well as you could ever want them to.

Jel Claws on the Fly Carrera 6

For those that would like to check out these tires for themselves you can buy them in the Jel Claws ebay store.
Thanks to Jel Claws for sending these tires to us for testing.

DaveK

Abarth returns at the Geneva Auto Show

The 77th Geneva International Motor Show will see the return of the motorsport brand Abarth. The first new model, to be presented at the show, is the Abarth’s first interpretation of the Grande Punto which is to be followed by other models later on. Two versions of the Grande Punto will be presented at the show: the Grande Punto Abarth S2000 and the Grande Punto Abarth Preview, a concept car making its world debut. The Grande Punto Abarth Preview, to be marketed in September, aims to enhance the sporty positioning of the Grande Punto. The car on show in Geneva is equipped with a 1.4 Turbo petrol engine that delivers 150 bhp at 5500 rpm, boosted to 155 bhp by the adoption of 98 RON petrol. The racing car Grande Punto Abarth S2000 will be entering the 2007 Italian Rally Championship as well as competing in the IRC (Intercontinental Rally Challenge).




Not directly slot-related but I figured many would enjoy seeing the vintage footage of the Abarth's.
DaveK

Source:Fiat via TheNewsMarket.com

Adjustable Front Axle Mount Kit

Slot Car Corner has released adjustable front axle mounts, which can be applied to a variety of existing car chassis. The adjustable blocks are sold in pairs, with four M2 set screws for precise up-and-down location of the front axle. This adjuster idea was first seen by this writer on the MRRC re-release of the famed Pro Slot Toyota GT1; now you can buy an adjustable mount that can be installed on any car you wish. Shown above is a Slot.It Sauber chassis, with one Slot.It axle height spacer or cap removed. The mounts are not yet installed.

The adjuster blocks will be installed using the original axle uprights as guides. 3/32" holes have been drilled through the chassis floor, to access the lower adjustment screws. The Slot.It chassis pan has been cut slightly, to receive the base of the adjuster blocks. The blocks can be installed facing in, facing out, or upside-down, to fit the exact chassis you choose.

The blocks are glued to the chassis, and the axle is slid in place. Everything fits very well.

The four set screws are run into the pre-tapped holes, and the axle is adjusted for height and vertical play. Adjustment is very easy, can be altered for different tracks, and can compensate for a slightly warped chassis, or for different guides or braids. The original axle uprights are left in place.
Adjustable axle mounts are available here:
Slotcarcorner.com

New Slot It Nissan kit

A new Slot It kit, the Nissan 390 will come as a preassembled white kit. Good news for slotters that would rather have a plain white car to start with.

This photo courtesy of Giacomo from ItaliaSlot and Slot Cars Amazing Shots.
Grazie Giacomo!!!!!
DaveK

Scalex F1 twinset-more photos!

Well a huge bunch of photos showed up in my inbox from Giacomo in Italy! Just in case you're still on the fence about whether to pick up one of these sets, maybe these photos will help you make up your mind.






These photos courtesy of Giacomo from ItaliaSlot and Slot Cars Amazing Shots. Grazie Giacomo!!!!!
DaveK

Gurney wins in Mexico!

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (March 3, 2007) – In a thrilling battle over the last 12 laps of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Mexico City 400k, Alex Gurney claimed the lead from Max Papis for the final time with slightly more than two laps to go to claim a hard-earned first Rolex Series victory for himself, co-driver Jon Fogarty and the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley team.

After taking over the No. 99 machine from Fogarty during a Lap 60 pit stop, Gurney found himself trailing Papis in the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley by as many as 12 seconds. Without the benefit of a full-course caution, Gurney managed to chip away at Papis’ lead over his stint and finally caught up to the Italian within 15 laps of the checkered flag.

Taking advantage of slower traffic that bottled up Papis, Gurney took the lead with a door-banging pass in Turn 6 on Lap 88 of the 100-lap event. However, the 2004 Daytona Prototype co-champion quickly took up the chase and would not go away quietly. When Gurney was slowed by lapped traffic coming onto the front straight with five laps remaining, Papis pounced on the opportunity and won a drag race with Gurney to retake the lead.

Just as Papis had done, however, Gurney also kept the pressure on for a fight to the finish. On Lap 97, Papis spun off course in Turn 5, handing the lead to Gurney, who went on to win by 7.359 seconds. The maiden Rolex Series victory for Gurney came in his 22nd start on the same circuit where his father, legendary racer Dan Gurney, won a Formula 1 race in 1964. Gurney led a total of 11 laps.

“Jon handed the car to me in second so we knew we had a chance,” said Gurney. “The track was working well at the beginning of my stint, but after I got by Max, I though I was going to pull away. Max was super-quick after that, and when we caught the GT car in Turn 8 and he got by, it was like a dagger in my heart. Unfortunately for him but lucky for us, he had a little problem a few laps later, and we were able to get back by. I couldn’t be happier for (team owner) Bob Stallings, GAINSCO and the whole team for how hard they work.”

It was also the first Rolex Series victory for Fogarty, who made 13 previous Rolex Series starts before the Mexico City 400k. Fogarty ran the bulk of his stint in second position, but took over the lead for three laps when polesitter Colin Braun pitted before him.

“On the start, Colin and I got away pretty good,” said Fogarty. “I wasn’t able to close the gap with him, so we decided to conserve the fuel a bit. With that, we could give Alex the car with fresher tires. The track is tough, but the race was very enjoyable. It was a wild race and I let Alex do all the dirty work. Hopefully, wins will come more frequently from now on.”



News and photo used with permission from the Grand American Series, no reuse.

SCX Audi A4 newsletter

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March issue of MiniAuto Slot #29

NOTA DE PRENSA

MINIAUTO SLOT 29 - MARZO 2007
La revista MiniAuto Slot correspondiente al mes de marzo, ya esta disponible en los puntos de venta habituales. Este número es casi un monográfico sobre la Feria de Nuremberg, en el que se hace un extenso repaso de todo lo que allí se pudo ver. Además se incluye la prueba, del Subaru Impreza WRC de Superslot, que ocupa un lugar destacado en la portada así como la prueba en pista del Ford GT 2004 de AutoArt en escala 1/24 y una extensa prueba de los dos nuevos monoplazas clásicos de Superslot, el McLaren M23 y el Ferrari 312T.
En este número de MiniAuto Slot se publican además la lista de los lectores agraciados con los premios del concurso Coche del Año.

Albert Boet
Director
MiniAuto Slot



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PRESS RELEASE

MINIAUTO SLOT 29 - MARCH 2007

The monthly magazine MiniAuto Slot corresponding to the month of March, is already available in the habitual points of sale. This number is almost a monographic of the Fair of Nuremberg, an extensive review of everything what there it was possible to be seen about the slot world. In addition, the test of the Subaru Impreza WRC of Scalextric is included, that both occupies an outstanding place in the cover as well the track test of the Ford GT 2004 of AutoArt in scale 1:24 and one extensive test of new classic single-seaters of Scalextric, the McLaren M23 and the Ferrari 312T.

Albert Boet
Director
MiniAuto Slot

Ninco March newsletter

50439 FORD FOCUS RS WRC “WALES RALLY”
MSRP: $59.98
The Ford Focus has been truly one of the most anticipated cars of this year. The just released “Finland” is going gangbusters and this totally blessed by FMC and Castrol will be just as hot a seller. This “Wales Rally” with 4WD and Proshock-2 suspension will add to the continuing Ford Focus line-up.
This car will be included in the new Rally Stage figure-8 race set.

50437 RENAULT MEGANE TROPHY “FRUTTA”
MSRP: $55.98
Hot livery for the very successful Renault Megane cars. It’s powered by the potent anglewinder gear set and NC-5 motor. This model will be included in the new, basic Trophy Series oval racecar track set.

50440 SUBARU WRC “WALES RALLY”
MSRP: $59.98
Straight from the annual Wales Rally, The Subaru has a tough fight against the new Ford Focus for the supremacy in rally slot competition. The Subi’s have proven to be the best car until the arrival of the Focus and there is still no outright winner in this 4WD competition. This Wales Rally livery will be included in the new Rally Stage race set. NC-5, Proshock-2 suspension and 4WD of course.


50438 RENAULT MEGANE TROPHY “TEPAC”
MSRP: $55.98
Along with the “Frutta” model, this Megane is part of the new oval racetrack Trophy Series. Another perfect car both for beginners and seasoned racers due to its handling and NC-5 anglewinder setup. In the last year, Megane car popularity has tremendously increased and these cars have won many club races.

Thanks to MRC-US Distributor for Ninco for the news.