Carrera "Special" universal guide.

The Carrera "Special" guide that works for Non-Carrera brands of track with a narrower (than Carrera) slot. The part number is 85309 and it's used for 2007 and newer cars.

The Carrera "Special" guide in the packaging.


The standard guide on a Carrera Scirocco.


The "Special" guide now on the Scirocco.


Both guides, the standard guide on top and the smaller guide on the bottom of the picture.

Lizard MS ready for Laguna

Flying Lizard Motorsports heads to Laguna Seca next week for their third race of the season: the American Le Mans Series Monterey Presented by Tequila Patrón. In the Flying Lizard No. 45 Porsche Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long are currently tied for the GT championship with Jaime Melo and Gianmaria Bruni of Risi Competizione's No. 62. After a fourth place finish at the season opener at Sebring, the duo were able to close the points gap to the No. 62 with a win at Long Beach last month. In the No. 44 Flying Lizard Porsche, factory driver Timo Bernhard will join Seth Neiman and Darren Law for the six-hour race on May 22.

In October of 2009, Flying Lizard secured their second consecutive ALMS championship at Laguna Seca in the season finale; it was the sixth GT2 win of the season for the No. 45 and Porsche's 100th ALMS victory. The race falls earlier in the series schedule this year — May instead of October — and will run six hours, instead of the traditional four. Flying Lizard chief strategist Thomas Blam commented, "A six-hour race is inherently more complex than four: we'll have more stops to manage, and Laguna is typically a caution-filled race, which makes it tough to follow a pre-determined strategy. We could also see a wide swing in temperatures from race start to finish which will make setup challenging."

Laguna Seca will be Bernhard's first race with the Flying Lizard squad. "We are very much looking forward to having Timo on board at Laguna," added Flying Lizard team manager and No. 44 strategist Eric Ingraham. "It will be Timo's first time driving with us and his first run in the ALMS this year but I'm confident that he'll get acclimated quickly. He's very familiar with the track and won here in class in 2007. Unfortunately, the No. 44 did not score any points at Long Beach (the car was retired early due to mechanical failure) so a solid finish at Laguna is even more important."

Bernhard has been a Porsche factory driver since 2002, driving in both the GT2 and LMP2 classes. In the ALMS, he is two-time LMP2 driver champion (2008 and 2007 with Penske Racing) and GT2 champion in 2004. Bernhard has also won the 24 Hours of Nürburgring three times (2006-2008), the 24 Heures du Mans in GT in 2002 and the 24 Hours at Daytona twice (GT in 2002 and overall in 2003).

Follow the Race
The race will get the green flag on Saturday, May 22 at 2:30 pm PT. It will be broadcast tape-delayed on CBS Sports at May 29, starting at 10:30 am PT/1:30 pm ET. Flying Lizard will broadcast their team radio live during the race: for more information, go to www.lizardms.com. Team gear will be available onsite at the race in vendor village and online at www.lizardms.com/store.

News and photos used with permission from Flying Lizard Motor Sport.

New Carrera McLaren M20-Black Label

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

A change of scenery

I've been a hobbyist slotter for many years now and because of my website, Slot Car News, I had the good fortune to be given the chance to work for Tecnitoys North America (SCX) as Marketing Manager for several years.

On Monday May 3, 2010 I started working for Carrera of America as the North American Marketing Manager. I was pleased to accept this newly created position for the company which is based in Cranbury, NJ.

Working for Carrera my duties will include being online to answer questions from racers on message boards and other social media. I will also be holding racing events around the US and Canada to help to get the word out about slots to the general public. I will be working on Carrera's US website to expand the exposure of the site and the site's value to the hobby.

The hobby of slot racing is not only a profession for me but a passion as well. Mixing working and hobby is sometimes difficult but it's meant a lot to me to be able to have some effect on the hobby that I love.

Carrera of America, with the largest line of US-specific slot car designs, is going to be more engaged than ever with the hobby market in the US and Canada.

Dave Kennedy
Publisher, Slot Car News


Personal note from Ed Gershowitz, President of Carrera of America: I am pleased and excited to have Dave join the Carrera family. His knowledge and passion for slot car racing will be invaluable as Carrera continues to bring the best slot car designs to market. With Dave's help, I look forward to significantly growing Carrera's presence in the U.S. and Canadian hobby market as we look forward to another record year for our company.

New GP Miniatures Astona DB4 GT Zagato

Photos of a prototype of a new DB4 GT Zagato from Graham at GP Miniatures.

GT racing live on internet now!

http://gt3europe.com/liveGT3.php

http://gt1world.com/gt1tv

Watch 'em while you can! The GT3 race ends soon. The GT1 race later today.

Jr. drives No.3!

WELCOME, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Through a joint effort between Richard Childress Racing, JR Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and Wrangler®, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will pay tribute to his father’s upcoming induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame by driving the No. 3 Wrangler® Chevrolet Impala in the July 2 Subway Jalapeno 250 powered by NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

The announcement and car unveiling was made today at JR Motorsports and to the fans at Dale Earnhardt Inc., both in Mooresville, N.C. In attendance were Richard Childress of Richard Childress Racing, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Kelley Earnhardt of JR Motorsports, Teresa Earnhardt of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated and Craig Errington, vice president of Wrangler® marketing. The No. 3 Wrangler® Chevrolet Impala is an RCR entry but built and prepared by JR Motorsports.

“This was an idea that came up as a way to pay tribute to my Dad, and it’s pretty cool that it’s a collaborative effort between JR Motorsports, RCR and DEI,” said Earnhardt Jr. “The Wrangler car is definitely in the top-10 of coolest cars that have ever been on the race track. A lot of people identify with it, and I can’t think of a better way to honor my dad and celebrate his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame than to bring the Wrangler colors back with the No. 3 on the side, similar to the ‘Wrangler Jean Machine’ scheme of the 80s. I think it will be worth seeing, and I’m looking forward to driving it at Daytona.”

The combination of Earnhardt Jr., DEI and RCR has a very brief yet shining history on the track together. In their one and only race together, Earnhardt drove the No. 3 Chevrolet to victory in the February 2002 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway. That car, with just the one race to its credit, is on display at the RCR Museum in Welcome, N.C.

“Bringing this group of people and these organizations together is the best way I can think of to honor Dale Earnhardt’s induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame,” said Childress. “Dale means so much to all of us, as well as his fans across the country and throughout the world. We created a special piece of history together in 2002 and, with Wrangler back on board the No. 3 Chevrolet at Daytona, we look to make some more history in July. I know the fans will love it as much as we all will.”

In support of the program, an array of licensed product will be available to fans from die-cast cars to apparel and select novelty items. Merchandise will highlight both Dale Earnhardt original Wrangler® car and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s current paint scheme. Fans can find the products at www.nascar.com, trackside or through each of the represented team stores.

“Dale’s induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame is truly a special honor for the Earnhardt Family as well as for all of Dale’s fans,” said Teresa Earnhardt. “Dale was a competitor, but he was also a person who loved the fans and worked hard to connect with the people who supported him through his career. Wrangler was one of Dale’s first sponsors and it’s great to connect back with those early years, where it all started for Dale as he drove his way into the Hall of Fame.”

Wrangler® has a long history with all parties involved, and is the first apparel brand to have significant involvement in NASCAR, beginning in the 1980s when Dale Earnhardt was featured in the brand’s “One Tough Customer” marketing campaign. Wrangler® was the primary sponsor of Dale Earnhardt and the famed yellow-and-blue “Wrangler® Jean Machine” from 1981 to 1987. After a couple race team changes in the early 1980s including a brief 1981 stint with Richard Childress, Earnhardt moved back to Richard Childress Racing in 1984, bringing the brand with him as his primary sponsor. In 1998, the brand became one of the first corporate sponsors to sign up with Dale in his new role of team owner of Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

The Wrangler®-Earnhardt legacy continued in 2004 with a relationship between a second generation Earnhardt and a “New Generation of Wrangler®” – Earnhardt Jr. signed on as the endorsee for the Wrangler Jeans Co.TM line of new fits and styles of jeans and apparel. This longstanding relationship continues today with Earnhardt Jr. starring in the current brand marketing campaign.

“For Wrangler, this yellow-and-blue paint scheme signifies a lot of our brand history, marketing and persona from the 1980s,” said Craig Errington, vice president of Wrangler® marketing. “It’s truly a piece of our history that will be on the track July 2 and it makes it that much more meaningful that it’s not only Dale Earnhardt’s son who will be driving it, but also the brand’s current partner and friend – Dale Jr.”

As part of Earnhardt Jr.’s tribute to his father, Wrangler® is also launching a consumer promotion offering racing fans a way to honor their own fathers with the chance to win a trip to Daytona Beach to meet Earnhardt Jr. and watch him drive the yellow-and-blue racecar. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 18, in time for Father’s Day. Fans can get more information, view the official rules and enter by visiting www.wranglersalutetodad.com beginning April 30.

AutoClassic Brasil

Please click on the photo to see the larger version of this photo. AutoClassic Brasil's event poster.

Grand Am Rolex-Lime Rock practice

LAKEVILLE, Conn. - The GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototypes made their long-awaited first appearance at Lime Rock Park on Tuesday, taking part in an unofficial test in preparation for the Memorial Day classic.

A total of 19 cars - including 11 Daytona Prototypes - tackled changing weather conditions throughout the six-hour session. The GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 will race here on Monday, May 31, at 2 p.m. ET (SPEED, live), featuring both the Daytona Prototypes and production-based GT cars.

Competitors gave favorable reviews to the new 1.5-mile layout, using the optional uphill with the classic West Bend.

Daytona Prototype teams participating included two cars from both Michael Shank Racing and Starworks Motorsports, along with single cars from TELMEX Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates, GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing, Brumos Racing, Action Express Racing, SunTrust Racing, AIM Autosport and Krohn Racing.

GT teams included three Mazdas from SpeedSource plus the Dempsey Racing/Team Seattle Mazda, Racers Edge Mazda, Magnus Porsche, Turner BMW and Whelen Corvette.

By the end of the day and on a dry track, Daytona Prototype drivers were turning laps in the 49-second range. Drivers in the GT class, which last visited Lime Rock in 2008 on the old course, clocked in at 53 seconds.

"A lap goes so quick here," said Rojas, testing the championship-leading TELMEX BMW Riley with Joey Hand. "The biggest thing I remember is that you have to stay on top of things the entire time. There isn't a lot of time to do things here."

David Donohue is happy to see the Daytona Prototypes becoming part of the Memorial Day Weekend habit.

"Lime Rock was one of the tracks I grew up on and a place my father (Mark Donohue) was really good at," said Donohue, sharing the No. 59 Brumos.com Porsche Riley with Darren Law. "I'm definitely looking forward to coming back on Memorial Day and being part of that tradition."

The only incident of the day occurred late in the session, when Nick Longhi spun the No. 69 FXDD Mazda RX-8 into the guardrail on the back straightaway. Longhi was uninjured. The team currently leads the GT team championship by three points (118-115).

The Memorial Day weekend will also feature a Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race on Saturday, May 29. The Rolex Series events will be compressed into a single day, with practice at 9 a.m. and qualifying at 11:55 a.m.

SCX Digital Demo at the Glen

A demo I did recently at the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen during the opening weekend of the track.

New Sloting Plus wheels, bearings, and more

From Sloting Plus:

We are pleased to present you some news.

Ref 1003 Universal brass bearings compatible with all major slot brands ( for 2,38 mm axle ). Ref 1015 will be used only with the future Reynard car !


We provide also now steel ball bearings one flanged ( ref 1006 for 2,38 mm axle and ref 1007 for 3 mm axle ) and double flanged ( ref 1008 for 2,38 mm axle )

A new measure of allen screws M2 x 6 mm for front axles ( ref 9306 )

And finally, a new Aluminium-Magnesium wheel called Atlantis in five measures :
15 x 8 mm - 15,9 x 8,5 mm - 16,9 x 8,5 mm - 16,9 x 10 mm and 17,5 x 9 mm !

Kind regards
Jacques
Sloting Plus

Additional Yellow Dog Super Tires (R)

Slot Car Corner, the world's largest distributor of 1/32 Super Tires (R) and Yellow Dog Super Tires, now offers twelve (12) additional "Yellow Dog" (urethane) Super Tires. Until now, these tires were only available in the "Classic" (silicone) compound. For more information or to place an order, please visit our website.

Note: Slot Car Corner Canada will also carry these additional Yellow Dogs shortly (approx. 2 weeks).

Slot It website down.

From Maurizio Ferrari of Slot.It:

The process of transferring the slot.it domain to a different provider is going completely wrong, so we are currently left with no site and no email. The company can still be temporarily contacted as slotit.mferrari@gmail.com

I cannot give any dates for resuming of normal operations but should not take more than one week.

Regards
Maurizio

NSR 24Hour race recap

Video showing race highlights from the NSR 24 Hour World Edurance Race held recently in Italy.

Lap of the Glen!

Ok... I know, I know... I'm laughing in a slightly giddy and embarrassing manner. Trust me, if anyone was in my position during this video they'd be doing the SAME thing. I had the extremely good fortune to have a member of the Corvette Club from Rochester to offer me a shot gun seat in his C6 Corvette as he did 3 laps at the Glen today. The first lap we did (that you will see in this video) was "only" about 90 mph on a straight. But the second and third laps were over 100 mph. Which might not sound like a lot for a race track but HOLY CRAP it was amazing! I've done over 150mph on a straight on the Autobahn in a Porsche 911 but THIS was fantastic, over 100 on the uphill turn at the Glen was... well... a real "holy crap" moment!

We did 3 laps and this was the first, and slowest, of the laps I had the good fortune to do in a dream Vette. Wow, a yellow Vette at the Glen, does it get better than that?

Sooooo sick of spammers

Well because of spammers comments on Slot Car News have been turned off again. Sorry folks.

DaveK
SCNews Publisher

FIA GT1... race on!

Due to the Iceland volcanic disruption the European airspace crisis has caused disruption to businesses around the world, including the FIA GT1 World Championship. Following the opening round of the championship at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi flights to the majority of European destinations were canceled due to the volcanic ash cloud. The Championship promoter SRO has worked tirelessly to find a solution to the problem of getting teams and their equipment back to Europe. Today the second of two cargo planes with the race cars and equipment has arrived in Luxemburg as planned and two charter flights to Europe have been booked to fly the teams and the organizers to Vienna, which will be arriving in the Austrian capital on Thursday morning.

“This situation has been extremely difficult but we have managed to pull all the different elements together to get the cars and teams to where they need to be so our next event at Silverstone can go ahead,” said Patricia Kiefer, Chief Operating Officer for SRO. “The cars are now back in Europe and the teams will arrive tomorrow; they will be able to pick up their cars and equipment before the weekend. The FIA GT1 World Championship races at Silverstone on 1/2 May will now be able to go ahead barring any further problems caused by mother nature.”

The Silverstone Supercar Event is taking place at Silverstone on 1st and 2nd May, with Round 2 of the FIA GT1 World Championship racing for the Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy. The meeting also features the open rounds of the FIA GT3 European Championship, the GT4 European Cup and the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series.

For more information on the FIA GT1 World Championship visit www.gt1world.com.

Slot MiniAuto 67

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA

SLOT MINIAUTO 67 – MAYO

El protagonista de la portada de Slot MiniAuto del mes de mayo es el nuevo Matra Simca 670B de Le Mans Miniatures. Se destacan en la misma, las pruebas en pista del espectacular Koenigsegg CCX de AutoArt y un Muscle Car americano, el Chevrolet Chevelle de Carrera. En este número se presenta en primicia el nuevo “Transporter” de Pegaso, el Bacalao, realizado por Hobby Classic. Marlon Foakes de TRRC, es el invitado de este mes en la habitual sección de entrevistas.
La revista incluye también las pruebas del Citroën C4 WRC Lightning de Ninco, y de uno de sus predecesores, el Citroën DS 23 Proto realizado por Hobby Slot. Se ofrece también la colección completa de los Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 que compitieron en Le Mans.
Completan la revista las secciones habituales de Noticias, Novedades, Presentaciones y Competición.

Ahora Slot MiniAuto en Facebook
(Más información en www.revistasprofesionales.com)




PRESS RELEASE


SLOT MINIAUTO 67 – MAY

Slot MiniAuto cover of May highlights the new Matra Simca 670B of Le Mans Miniatures. It stands on it, the track test of the spectacular AutoArt Koenigsegg CCX and the American Muscle Car, Chevrolet Chevelle of Carrera. In this issue is presented in premiere the new Pegaso "Transporter", el Bacalao (the Cod), made by Hobby Classic. Marlon Foakes, of Tertre Rouge Racing Cars, answer our questions this month in the usual interview section.
The magazine also includes the track test of the Lightning Citroën C4 WRC of Ninco, and one of his predecessor, the Citroën DS 23 Proto by Hobby Slot. It also offers the complete collection of the Alfa Romeo 6C 3000, which competed at Le Mans 24 H.
This magazine is completed with the regular sections of News, Features, Novelties, Presentations and Slot Competition.

Now Slot MiniAuto in Facebook
(More information on www.revistasprofesionales.com)

LeMans Miniatures Porsche Turbo RSR's

A pair of new LeMans Miniatures Porsche RSR's are coming to the US very, very soon.

Lifelike 2010 August releases

Lifelike 2010 new releases scheduled release Aug 2010