New Carrera McLaren M20

Photos of the new Carrera D132/EVOLUTION (analog) McLaren M20 CanAm, coming soon to North America.

New Slot It McLaren GTR

CA10e McLaren F1 GTR n.40, Le Mans 1998.

Drivers: B.Auberlen, S.O'Rourke, T.Sugden

The McLaren F1 GTR production, directed by the former Formula 1 engineer Gordon Murray, began in 1992 and ended in 1998.

At that time, it was the fastest car ever built.

In 1995, the F1 GTR gave its first performance at Le Mans and won, bringing to the finish line five cars that ended 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 13^th.

The car featured a monocoque carbon-fibre chassis and a BMW 5990 cc V12 engine.

In 1997, the F1 GTR was developed into the “Long Tail” version.

At Le Mans 1998, the McLaren n.40 finished in 4^th place, completing a very regular race, with only 40 minutes spent at the pits in the entire 24-hours time.

New Slot It McLaren-RAW!

The new "RAW" Slot It McLaren.

New Revell Monogram McLaren Can Am

In stock at REH Distributors in Cincy.... the Revell 85-4838 McLaren M6.

Jensen and Lewis build a McLaren

A funny McLaren video and a commercial worth watching.

New Carrera McLaren Gulf and Porsche 917/30

Photos of all 3 of the recently produced Carrera Cam Am's. The McLaren M20's and the Porsche 917/30 Sunoco driven by Mark Donohue.

New Carrera McLaren M20-Black Label

Photos of the new Carrera M20 McLaren. Coming soon to the North American market.

Hamilton Vodaphone commercial

I thought the premise of this Lewis Hamilton Vodaphone McLaren commercial was nice... yeah I know not slot related...

New Slot It McLaren

A newsletter from Slot It for the new BMW McLaren F1 GTR Gulf edition.

Revell 2010-first half year releases

These three slot cars will be released by Revell in the first half of 2010.

85-4829 Lola T-70 MKII #98 Parnelli Jones
85-4836 Ford Fairlane #29 Dick Hutcherson
85-4838 McLaren M6A #5 Dennis Hulme

New Slot It chassis design-EVO6

The EVO6 Slot.It Chassis

Slot.it announces the EVO6 evolution of anglewinder chassis and motor mounts - a milestone and a step forward for the company. The familiar 4 screws design of any Slot.it motor mount has evolved in a 6 screws design – where two extra screws have been added midway between the front and rear existing posts. The EVO6 parts maintain compatibility with all existing chassis and motor mounts as well: EVO6 motor mount can be used on old chassis, where it will behave like a standard 4 screws Slot.it motor mount and the new 6-screws chassis is as well compatible with the old motor mounts. The EVO6 advantage of course is only available if both parts are of the EVO6 type.

All RTR GT cars from Slot.it (Audi, McLaren, Nissan) from now on will come standard with the EVO6 chassis, but still with the standard inline motor mount as always. An exception will be the RAW series, which will be extended to other GT models as well, which will be assembled with the new EVO6 motor mount and chassis. Note that for a limited time, the new cars (Audi R8C n.9 and F1GTR Gulf) will come with a standard EVO1 chassis assembled in the car and an extra EVO6 chassis under the base. As these two model cars were already assembled when the EVO6 chassis became available, we've decided that it was a nicer gesture to provide new cars with state of the art chassis rather than delivering cars with old chassis and at the same time announcing such a radical improvement.

Available now:

• CH60 - EVO6 AW motor mount, 0.5mm offset, flex.
• CS12T-60 - Audi R8C EVO6 chassis
• CS14T-60 - Nissan R390 (Short and Long Tail) EVO6 chassis
• CS10T-60 - McLaren F1GTR EVO6 chassis

From a Slot It press release:
Q: what is it?
A: The familiar 4 screws design of any Slot.it motor mount has evolved in a 6 screws design –
where two extra screws have been added midway between the front and rear existing posts.

Q: when was it first designed?
A: Already in 2005, when Slot.it filed and obtained a patent in Italy and Spain for its angled motor mount, before anyone else came to the market with a similar system, the EVO6 design was filed for protection as well. Eventually, all the necessary tooling modifications were made, and extensive testing gave excellent results.

Q: So what is the reason for this evolution?
A: By looking at the part from above, it can be seen that the position of the rear axle is between the new set of screws, and the old rear one. The motor mount can then be attached to the main chassis with 4 or 6 screws. With 4 screws only, there are two options: use the front and rear screws, which is just like a standard motor mount, or move the screws forward, to the mid position, thus leaving the back end of the motor mount floating. In this configuration, the behaviour of the car is radically different from the standard setup, as the motor mount can flex under the various forces that act on the car: depending on the grip and setup of the car, it might work very well or hop might happen, which is not unexpected. However, the EVO6 uniqueness is that suspension can replace the rear screws: this gives the racer an absolutely precise control on the amount of flex of the motor mount, something previously unavailable to slot racers. The increase in traction and smoothness is absolutely remarkable. For racers who like to use the Lexan interiors, an even better option is to use 2 sets of suspensions: one in front (lexan interiors leave plenty of space), very soft and with short run, and one in the rear, whose amount of run and stiffness can be fine tuned at will. We are launching stiffer springs at the same time. Further, when the car is travelling straight, the suspensions keep the proper alignment and riding height of the motor mount and main chassis, which is better and more predictable than standard loosen screws.

Q: How does it affect lap times?
A: This is a question with many answers, as a lot depends on setup, driver, track type. Our tests in a club Ninco track of approximately 10” all other things being equal, show a lap time improvement varying between 0.1” and 0.3” (average on stints of 50 laps). Your mileage might vary.

Q: What models will come with EVO6 chassis?
A: Right now, Audi, McLaren, Nissan. The Ferrari F40 will not be made EVO6 ready. Regarding Gr.C, we are currently studying each model to see what is needed to make it EVO6 ready. In any case, wherever possible, all future chassis will be EVO6 ready.

Q: are the RTR cars going to change?
A: whenever possible every new chassis will be EVO6 ready, but the box stock motor mount will remain as it is. An exception of course are the RAW models which will come with EVO6 motor mount and chassis. McLaren and Nissan RAW models are being planned.

Q: are the new EVO6 chassis compatible with the old motor mounts?
A: Yes, 100% compatible. Of course the two extra screws being absent, there will be no change in the performance of the standard motor mount.

Q: is the new EVO6 motor mount compatible with the old chassis?
A: Yes, as long as the two extra screw posts do not interfere with the body. Of course the two extra screws being absent, there will be no change in the performance.

Q: the new EVO6 motor mount is a 0.5 offset. Is Slot.it going to issue the 0.0 and 1.0 versions as well?
A: Nothing has been decided yet. Technically, it is possible.

Q: are these chassis going to be used in the European Championship?
A: Certainly not in 2010. For 2011, we'll see but it is not a priority.

Senna F1

The new SCX Ayrton Senna F1 McLaren.




Read the newsletter at this link.

McLaren free practice notes-Silverstone

In order to explore the performance of MP4-24 to a fuller extent, the team has chosen to pursue differing paths for Lewis and Heikki over the course of the Silverstone weekend. Today’s practice was the most divergent of the season so far: on a track where the benefits of using KERS are less pronounced, Heikki’s engineers chose to continue running the system while Lewis’s team decided to focus on developing the most effective balance without it.
Also evaluated today were further modifications to the floor and front wing, the back-to-backing of tongued and standard static front hubs and the addition of new double-fin sidepod strakes.

LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04
P1 programme 26 laps 1m20.650s (8th)
Lewis spent the morning understanding the balance of the car and was encouraged by its consistency. He completed two installation laps and three runs, all on the Prime tyre, as he evaluated a series of new aero components. With the track starting off cold and slippery and the tyres requiring several laps to reach their optimum, Lewis spent the morning working down to a fast time. He completed runs of four laps/1m23.722s best; six laps/1m21.026s and seven laps/1m20.650s, ending the morning session eighth fastest.
“It took a while to get used to the car this morning,” he said. “It feels a little different from what we’ve been running in previous races. Generally, I’m very happy with the balance but, with a revised car and on a high-speed circuit like this, it takes a bit longer than usual to find the limit.”

P2 programme 35 laps 1m20.417s (7th)
Lewis’s opening five-lap run (1m21.181s) felt different from the pace shown this morning. Nonetheless, his second run, on Primes, was remarkably consistent, seeing him post the following eight-lap sequence: 1m22.572s, 1m22.736s, 1m21,826s, 1m21.862s, 1m21.768s, 1m24.032s, 1m21.644s and 1m21.688s. Two further runs on Options (10 laps/1m21.475s and four laps/1m20.417s) concluded his session.
“It’s no secret that we’re lacking speed in the faster sections,” Lewis concluded. “But the car wasn’t too bad today. The balance was good, we’ve made some set-up changes and it now appears to be fairly consistent. But this has already turned out to be one of the best weekends of the year for me because I’m at my home grand prix and the fans are incredible here – I’ve seen and felt their support from the very first lap I did today.”

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-02
P1 programme 22 laps 1m21.029s (12th)
Heikki completed three runs this morning: five laps/1m22.779s;four laps/1m22.161s and six laps/1m21.029s. MP4-24’s lack of high-speed grip and its nervousness in the faster corners meant it was difficult to extract a strong time from the car, but Heikki felt the team made progress with its understanding of the car and its balance at high speed.
“Firstly, it’s great to be back at Silverstone because it’s a circuit I love,” Heikki said. “I got pole position last year and I really enjoy driving here. We know we face a tougher weekend this season because we’re lacking grip, but the balance of the car didn’t feel too bad this morning. As Lewis is running without KERS this weekend, we now have to analyse the balance of both cars and see what we’ll do for the rest of the weekend.”

P2 programme 37 laps 1m20.733s (12th)
Another busy session. Heikki started off on Primes (five laps/1m21.796s) and Options (three laps/1m20.859s) before starting his long-run programme, completing runs of seven laps (Primes/1m22.682s) and eight laps (Options/1m22.822s).
“We’re definitely making progress,” he said afterwards. “It’s still difficult to say whether it’s an advantage to be running KERS, but I felt I was getting a laptime benefit from the system. This weekend will be all about developing our car and seeing what difference the changes make to both Lewis’s and my pace. The whole team is pushing like crazy and we’re getting a better understanding of our car. Whatever happens, we are definitely going to learn a lot of useful things about the car this weekend.”

1 Sebastien Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m19.456 39 laps
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m19.597 35
3 Adrian Sutil Force India 1m20.141 41
4 Kazuki Nakajima Williams F1 1m20.209 36
5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1m20.237 36
6 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP 1m20.244 26
7 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m20.417 35
8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m20.458 40
9 Nico Rosberg Williams F1 1m20.468 42
10 Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 1m20.608 37
11 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1m20.622 23
12 Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m20.733 37
13 Timo Glock Toyota 1m20.762 37
14 Jenson Button Brawn GP 1m20.767 28
15 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1m20.932 35
16 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 1m20.945 36
17 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari 1m21.005 37
18 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 1m21.132 38
19 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 1m21.413 40
20 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1m21.668 37

Session 1
Pos Driver Constructor Time Laps
1 Sebastien Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m19.400 20
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m19.682 19
3 Jenson Button Brawn GP 1m20.227 20
4 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP 1m20.242 29
5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1m20.458 26
6 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari 1m20.471 23
7 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m20.585 32
8 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m20.650 26
9 Nico Rosberg Williams F1 1m20.815 32
10 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 1m20.838 25
11 Adrian Sutil Force India 1m20.913 22
12 Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m21.029 22
13 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1m21.103 24
14 Kimi Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari 1m21.179 27
15 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 1m21.384 23
16 Timo Glock Toyota 1m21.386 32
17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams F1 1m21.489 26
18 Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 1m21.525 30
19 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1m21.590 37
20 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1m21.801 16

News and photos courtesy of McLaren.com, ToyotaF1, and Red Bull no reuse for any reason.

Turkish GP preview

McLaren Mercedes:
Lewis Hamilton
“I love racing in Turkey: it’s a real challenge because you need to attack the lap to get a good time, but you also need to be careful with your tyres – if you push too much, particularly through Turn Eight, then your tyres are going to suffer. It’s all about finding the perfect balance in practice and being disciplined in the race so you don’t overdo it. I also love the fact that it’s a new circuit that has really captured the flavour of some of the older, classic tracks – it’s got a bit of everything and is fantastic to drive. Also, as it’s anti-clockwise, it gives your neck a bit of a workout – but you just need to make sure you’ve exercised the left side of your neck a little more than usual before getting in the car.”

Heikki Kovalainen
“Turkey is all about Turn Eight – the high-speed, four-apex left-hander. On a good day in qualifying, it’s flat-out – and that’s a pretty good feeling when you get it right. It’s also very important to look after your tyres through Turn Eight – you put a lot of load through the tyres, particularly the fronts, so it’s a good idea to look after them during the race. The best place to overtake here is into Turn 12, the corner at the end of the back straight. You can get a good tow and slipstream past – with KERS we should hopefully see some exciting racing.”

Martin Whitmarsh
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“The Istanbul Park circuit is one of the most challenging modern circuits – for both teams and drivers. Firstly, it’s a real set-up challenge – you need to find a handling balance between the high-speed corners, the slower, infield section and the long straights. In addition, tyre-wear – particularly to the heavily loaded front-right through Turn Eight – is a crucial factor in determining overall strategy. For the drivers, a combination of multi-apex and blind corners adds to the challenge. We go to Turkey in the knowledge that the track characteristics are a bit less likely to suit our package than Monaco, but we are improving all the time, have several minor upgrades for MP4-24 and look forward to assessing our competitiveness against our rivals.”

BMW Sauber:
Munich/Hinwil, 29th May 2009. The work continues and there’s no time for licking our wounds. After the disappointing result in Monaco, the BMW Sauber F1 Team will be turning up on the grid for the Turkish Grand Prix with a batch of further developments for the F1.09.

An initial aero update sparked a forward trend at the fifth Grand Prix in Spain, but didn’t bear fruit under the specific demands of the Monaco circuit. Meanwhile, the next package of innovations is in place for World Championship race number seven on the modern high- speed track outside the gates of Istanbul. Here the F1.09 will feature a double diffuser for the first time.

Robert Kubica:
“The track in Istanbul is totally different to Monaco. It is a very modern race track with a couple of high-speed corners. The most famous high-speed corner there is the left-hander turn 8. Of course, we hope to perform better in Istanbul than in Monaco.”

Nick Heidfeld:
“I hope our dismal performance in Monaco proves to be a glitch and that it was down to that particular circuit being unsuitable for our car. After all, there were signs of a forward trend at the previous race in Spain, and the next update is ready for Istanbul – also including a double diffuser.

“The Istanbul circuit has some extremely good sections, particularly turn 8, of course, which is quite a challenge – very long, fast and with several apexes. For the long straight with the right-hand kink you need a good top speed.

“It’s a vast city, very international and fascinating. I’ll be there on Wednesday already for an event with our partner Intel. I’m staying at a hotel on the European side again and will take a motor scooter to carve my way through the congestion over the bridge to Asia.”

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
“Ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix our results are quite sobering. Nobody in the team expected the season to pan out as it has so far. After taking a forward step in Spain, we were clearly off the pace in Monaco. To regain our competitiveness we will have to ramp up our development speed significantly. In Istanbul we will have the next step of our development ready and will be using a multistage diffuser for the first time.

“After three successful years, this phase is our first setback. We can deal with it. After all, it was the same team in Munich and Hinwil that ensured our progressive advancement since the BMW Sauber F1 Team was founded. We are all determined to get ourselves back among the front runners again.”

News and photos used with permission from BMW Motorsports and McLaren.com. No reuse of the images or news without permission from those entities.

F1 Teams agree on cost freeze

The FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) Executive Committee met today in Heathrow to further progress the cost reducing initiatives already developed. All the Members unanimously agreed a number of important principles and supported the process now established within FOTA.

The teams detailed and signed a comprehensive Aerodynamic Test Restrictions Agreement, effective in 2009.

Furthermore, the Teams agreed that they would develop and freeze low cost transmissions for the 2010/12 seasons which would have a six race life, priced at € 1.5 million per season per team.

FOTA also reaffirmed its commitment to a € 5 million engine supply from 2010 for independent teams, who have expressed their agreement with and support for this arrangement.

The FOTA Technical Regulations Working Group will now conclude the elimination of expensive materials and identify further opportunities to reduce the cost of components and systems which do not deliver performance differentiation. All of the Teams present wished to express their support for the entrant currently known as Honda and they will agree to any name change registered.

All of the Teams are committed to working together in a rational and systematic manner, within the framework of FOTA to effectively reduce the costs inherent to Formula One. The same approach will now be used to improve the spectacle of the sport, following the outcome of the FOTA commissioned market research.

New Airfix Hamilton kit

Airfix is pleased to announce the release of a Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes kit.(see attachments).

The 1/32 scale kit itself which features a snap and screw-together assembly consisting of 17parts, has been modified from a current Scalextric tool.

It is pre-decorated and pre-painted and comes complete with base stand. (No paint or glue needed).


We anticipate availability to be early December with a cost of $31.85 each

Lewis Hamilton wins F1 championship!!!!!

Photos here with permission McLaren.com, no reuse for any reason.
You CANNOT say it gets any closer in racing than the finish just now in the F1 season. On the last corner of the last lap of the season (and thanks to Timo Glock who slowed down) Lewis Hamilton had to finish 5th or better to win to win the championship in his SECOND year in F1. I was standing on the bench at the end of my bed screaming at the TV ( ya I got into this season just a bit ) and then to see Glock's Toyota crawling around the track on the last possible second on the track and Hamilton crossed the line in 5th.... I think my heart stopped for a minute.

And it was amazing to see Ferrari's garage celebrating when they thought they saw Massa win. Then DURING that moment, still on TV live, they got word that Hamilton HAD finished 5th and he had won and not Massa. I'm a hug Hamilton fan (and given my love for Porsche I'd rather push a Porsche than drive a Ferrari.... especially after the Sebring ALMS race last year...I still haven't gotten over that one!) I thought I'd enjoy seeing the reaction on the faces of the Ferrari crew as they found out they lost. But to see Massa with tears in his eyes and his dad too finding out that his son didn't win... well you gotta feel for them, you really do.

Massa's class during the post race interview now is great.

And you gotta love the direction F1 is going in. Massa is young and gifted, and it goes without saying that Hamilton is, so is Vettel... Vettel, WOW what a driver!

And how in the wide, wide world of sports did the Speed coverage NOT SHOW ANY OF THE HAMILTON POST RACE INTERVIEW??????????

doh! S's added, I was excited.... :)

SCX Analog Pitbox C3 set

SCX Digital Pitbox set

See more SCX news on SCXWorldWide.com.

McLaren and Renault-new from Scalextric

New photos of the Alonso McLaren and ING Renault to show from Scalextric today.