GP Miniatures Zagato

The New GP Miniatures Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato body kit is now for sale... and what a gorgeous body it is!

Visit the GP Miniatures website for more info!

Racing Carrera 124 classic cars-video

A short video of a night of racing with my friends, we put the Carrera classic 1/24 cars shod with Ortmann tires on a wood track.

New Ninco September releases *updated

Spa 24 qualifying results

2008 FIA GT2 Champion Gianmaria Bruni took the overall pole position for the 2010 Total 24 Hours of Spa in the AF Corse ALD Team Vitaphone Ferrai 430. On a drying track the second of the three qualifying sessions proved to the deciding factor, with Bruni setting a best lap of 2m22.403. The time was just 0.146 seconds faster than Dirk Werner's best in the BMW Motorsport BMW M3, his lap of 2m22.549 proving to be the best in the GTN Class and good enough for a front row start. The third place went to the nr50 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS, with Marcel Fässler posting a 2m22.807 lap and will line up on the second row alongside the nr51 Phoenix Racing Audi. The GT4 class pole went to the RJN Motorsport Nissan 370Z of Alex Buncombe who set the best time in the final third session.

News used with permission from GT2Europe.com.

Car Town Facebook App -- Autoblog

Car Town Facebook App -- Autoblog Facebook has a new game that probably will appeal to guys who are maybe a bit bored with farming or cooking... Car Town is already online!

http://apps.facebook.com/cartown/

Spa 24Hours TV schedule

Download the worldwide TV schedule for the 24Hours of Spa at this link. Programming is July 29-August 1. According to the schedule in the US Bloomberg TV will broadcast the race "live"... looking at the Bloomberg TV schedule on the website you see that there's normal programming sched'ed... hmmmm.


Live video at this link... hopefully.
http://www.total24hours.com/24h-spa/nl/videolive2.cfm

Porsche 918 Spyder approved for production

Porsche 918 Spyder approved for production!!! The car supposedly will get 78-mpg and lap the 'Ring in 7.5 minutes! Yikes, it seems like somewhere other car companies have missed something...

New Carrera GO!!! and D143 coming to North America

Pix of some new GO!!! and D143 cars that are coming to North America.


Dakar BMW X3-GO!!!Porsche GT3-GO!!!
Porsche GT3 GO!!! and D143
Ferrari 599XX-GO!!! and D143
Ferrari 599XX GO!!!
Cars "Hook" (Mater)-GO!!!
Cars "Sally"-GO!!!
Porsche RS Spyder-GO!!!
Ferrari "Alonso"-GO!!! and D143
Mercedes DTM "Lauda"-GO!!!
Renault F1-GO!!! and D143
McLaren Mercedes F1-GO!!! and D143

"Love the Beast"

There are certain movies that grab the attention of car fans and slot car fans "LeMans" is one of those enduring movies that comes up during any conversation about movies that slotters love and watch regularly. "Love the Beast" a documentary by actor Eric Bana is a movie that I think will be included in future conversations. To say Bana is a car guy is an understatement. He's owned the Ford Falcon XB since he was a teenager, and since then he's loved that car and raced it with his buddies. Over the years Bana has built, raced, rebuilt, etc that car many times. He's had the good sense to keep the car and not gotten rid of it as he's gone on with his life... sadly I'm sure there are many of us who used to own a truly cool car should have kept their first (car) love.

In the movie we learn a bit of history of the Falcon. The car isn't one that many American's would know, but would find quite familiar. It was the car driven by Mad Max and is a similar car to the Mustang of the early 1970's. Sort of a cross between a Mustang and a Torino... all muscle.

Automotive fan royalty like Jany Leno and Jeremy Clarkson appear in the movie along with Dr. Phil... yes, that Dr. Phil, to talk Bana off the ledge so-to-speak late in the movie. I won't reveal too much but the discussions about what the car means to Bana and his friends and to his life in general are as revealing as they are applicable to any car lovers life.

Cars are living things... car lovers get that. This movie explains that fact better than any other movie ever. Yes... ever.

If you've never loved a car, or just see cars as a means of transportation you WON'T get this... but if you're reading this review here, you understand what I'm saying.

In college I read a book called "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", that book's message was of the interconnectedness of everything in a person's life. A car isn't just a car, it's the "stuff" that binds relationships between friends who share a love of a car (or love of a hobby like slot cars too maybe). I don't want to get all Deepak Chopra on folks here but this movie has a lot to offer not only on a superficial way of an interesting story about building a race car, but there's a moving story as well about friendship and the relationship between a father and son. Yeah... it's worth your time on so many levels.

Movie trailer:
Love the Beast

This movie is not only available for sale from Amazon and from Netflix streaming via the internet.

Dave Kennedy
Publisher, Slot Car News

Wolf Henzler races slots!

Falken Tires Porsche RSR driver and Porsche factory driver Wolf Henzler talks about racing slots as a kid... and he's planning to get that box of slots out when he gets back home in Germany and race those slots again!

Lizards win GT at Northeast Grand Prix

July 24, 2010 – Lakeville, Conn. – Patrick Long and Joerg Bergmeister battled debilitating heat and grueling traffic at today's Northeast Grand Prix to take the GT class win and retake the championship lead. This was Bergmeister's fifth consecutive win at Lime Rock, fourth with the Lizards and third together with Long. It's the duo's third win this year. In the No. 44 Porsche, Darren Law and Seth Neiman finished a strong seventh in the thirteen-car GT field.

Starting from the pole, Long kept the lead at the start, and over the next 20 minutes held off the No. 62 Risi Ferrari which had quickly moved into P2. Narrowly avoiding an early race incident when car spun in front of him, Long held the lead and stayed out of trouble, pitting under the first caution for a short fuel top up. Patrick was back out again quickly, still ahead of the No. 62 (which had also pitted). Once the field resettled after the first round of pit stops, Patrick was now P3 and the No. 61 Risi Ferrari and No. 40 Robertson Ford, which did not pit during the first round of stops, moved to P1 and P2, with the No. 62 in P4. Just minutes later, a major incident on track claimed multiple cars, including the No. 40 Ford. The No. 62 was also involved in an incident which sent them back to the pits and an early retirement.

45 minutes into the race, now in second, Patrick pitted for driver change to Joerg, tires and fuel. The No. 61 also pitted, but required a longer fuel because they had not pitted under the first yellow, and Joerg was able to beat them out of the pits to gain a position. The No. 92 and No. 90 BMWs did not stop during the second yellow, taking first and second, with Patrick now in third and the No. 61 in P4. Over the next 45 minutes, Joerg kept the pressure on the BMWs, which finally pitted under green for their final pit stop of the race, moving Joerg back into the lead.

1 hour and 45 minutes in, Joerg pitted under green for tires, fuel and driver change to Patrick. It would be the final pit stop for the No. 45. A fast stop allowed Patrick to come out ahead of the BMWs. The No. 61 Risi Ferrari, which had been in fourth, did not pit and took the lead.

With 45 minutes left to go, the No. 61 pitted for their final stop, and Patrick retook the lead. Over the next 45 minutes, Long battled to hold off the BMWs who were running second and third. Long described his last stint, "Joerg had a flawless stint and turned over a clean, solid car to me to finish. By the time I took the wheel for my second stint, our strategy had gotten us the provisional lead. My job was to maintain the gap. Navigating the traffic was unbelievably difficult. I had to shift from trying to hold the gap to just keeping the BMWs behind me. Traffic became my friend -- each time I worked through a pack of cars I was able to increase the gap. Then the BMW just behind me would close it again on the straights. But we were better in the corners. I knew I just had to fight to the end and it became all about traffic management. Passing for position in this race would have been really tough. This victory came through our pit work, strategy and racecraft in traffic. Now we need to keep the momentum through the end of the season."
Bergmeister added, "The car was handling really well today. When I was driving alone or when there was a gap to the BMWs in front of me things were easy to maintain. But when I got close to them, temps went up and we picked up some understeer. But I knew that we were ahead of the others on our fuel strategy and I didn't want to take any risks to make sure I turned the car over to Patrick in one piece. Thanks to the crew who did a great job in both giving us a fast car and getting us every advantage they could in the pits."

In the No. 44, Seth Neiman started twelfth on the grid and ran a solid stint, turning the car over to Darren nearing the one-hour mark, now in P10. Law focused his stint on gaining ground and avoiding the many incidents that claimed nearly a third of the overall field. The No. 44 finished seventh in class.

Law explained, "We didn't have the fastest car out there today but it was a very consistent race car. We had no issues and as always the crew did a great job. It was nice to be able to finish 7th in such a tough field and get some points on the board for the No. 44. Traffic was incredibly hectic. You had to take risks to get by every single car. One piece of traffic could lose you five car lengths on a single lap. It's a testament to all of the drivers who made it through because there were so many problems out there. It was very hard to make the right judgment all on when you should pass. And adding to that, the heat and humidity were just grueling -- staying properly hydrated was half of the battle."

With this win, Bergmeister and Long move to the lead in the GT championship.

Up next for the Lizards is Mid-Ohio, August 7.

News used with permission from Flying Lizard Motorsports. Photos copyright 2010 Dave Kennedy/Slot Car News.

Patron on pole for ALMS Lime Rock

Patrón Highcroft Racing’s David Brabham won a stunning wet qualifying session Friday at Lime Rock Park for his second overall pole position in the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. Brabham turned in a best lap of 58.106 in the HPD ARX-01c that he will drive with Simon Pagenaud.

Brabham and Patrón Highcroft scored their first overall victory in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón two years ago at Lime Rock. He and Pagenaud currently are on a three-race win streak.

News used with permission from American LeMans Series. Photos copyright 2010 Dave Kennedy/Slot Car News

Lizards on the Pole for Northeast Grand Prix!

For the first time since the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR teams put their cars on the GT class front row for tomorrow New England Grand Prix, round five of the 2010 American Le Mans Series at Lime Rock Park in northwest Connecticut.

Patrick Long (USA) captured the GT pole with the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the car he shares with Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), while Wolf Henzler (Germany) put the Team Falken Tire Porsche in the second position, ahead of the factory Ferraris, BMWs and Corvettes. Henzler will share the Falken Porsche with Bryan Sellers (USA).

The two-hour, 45-minute New England Grand Prix field will get the green flag Saturday, July 24, at 2:00 PM Eastern Daylight time, and will be telecast live in its entirety on SPEED TV. The live radio broadcast will be on Sirius Radio Channel #127 and XM Radio Channel #242, as well as on www.americanlemans.com, which also provides live timing and scoring.

“"At Lime Rock, there is a fine line between being a hero and going into the guardrail, but the Flying Lizard crew and Michelin put us in position to turn a good lap in the steady rain,"” said Long, "who had the pole here in both 2006 and 2009.

“"With our engine over the rear axle, the Porsche has an advantage in the rain over our competitors, and then our crew really nailed the setup, so it gave me all the right tools to go fast. With the competition in our class, you can turn a good lap and still end up seventh on the grid, so this is a great result for us.” Henzler, whose Team Falken Tire Porsche was completely rebuilt after a fuel fire at Salt Lake City two weeks ago, was pleased with the car’s front row position on the grid."

“"When the conditions are this wet, there is always the potential to lock up the wheels under braking, so the difference for us was the performance of our Falken rain tires. Even though we were pleased with our time, we felt we could have gone even faster – maybe not fast enough for the pole, but faster – if the traffic was better. Of course, the weight in the back of the Porsche helped us as well,"” said Henzler.

Bergmeister (left)/Long trail Ferrari drivers Melo/Bruni by two points in the drivers points chase, while Porsche is a single point behind BMW in the manufacturers championship going into tomorrow’s event.

In the overall LMP qualifying, Klaus Graf (Germany), in the Muscle Milk Porsche RS Spyder which he shares with team owner Greg Pickett (USA), qualified a close second to pole-sitter David Brabham (England). Graf was fastest in both practice sessions earlier in the day, and showed the field that he will be a factor in tomorrow’s event.

In the GTC class for matched Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racers, Jeroen Bleekemolen (Netherlands) scored his third straight pole in a row as he put the Black Swan Racing Porsche on the pole for him and car owner Tim Pappas (USA). Bleekemolen and Pappas are back in the championship hunt in the class after leaders Gonzales and Leitzinger withdrew their entry.

News used with permission from American LeMans Series. Photos Copyright 2010 Dave Kennedy/Slot Car News

New Slot It Telemetry box and accessories

New Telemetry box and other new accessories here from Slot It:

Code TS01a (above): Telemetry Box_. Playback lap times in real time in the
driver's earphones. Further it allows to save the lap times and sectors
times independently from the controller used and also to save telemetry
data when connected to a SCP-01 controller. These data can then be
downloaded and reviewed by a special application, Telemetry Box PC
Interface, that can be free downloaded from www.slot.it and installed on
your PC.
PS: all the Telemetry Box will be sold with a default language of audio
playback: English. You can change it using the software application
cited above and choose one of the following languages: Italian, English,
Spanish, German, Portuguese, French and Japanese (downloadable for free
from www.slot.it).

Code TS02a (above): Track Interface._ This system interfaces the Telemetry
Box to the track. Lap sensors and sector sensors presents on the track
are to be connected to the Track Interface (DS bridge, dead band,
Wincrono ...). Each Track Interface is able to handle two lanes and for
each one of these lanes, two sensors (example: a lap sensor and a sector
sensor, or two sector sensors). Through the double switch, you can
decide which is the sensor of end lap and the sector one.

Code TS02b (above): Track to Telemetry Cable (sold separately - not currently
available)_. It allows to connect a second Telemetry Box to a Track
Interface (that is able to simultaneously manage two Telemetry Boxes and
in TS02a's packaging there is only one cable TS02b that allows the use
of a single Telemetry Box).

Code TS03a (above): Sector Time Expansion Cable (sold separately)_. If the
user needs to manage more than one sector sensor for each lane, you need
to connect several Track Interfaces. In particular, each Track Interface
added allows to increase the number of sector sensors managed on each
lane. This cable allows you to combine the output of two Track Interface
together, creating in this way a single output to connect to the Track
To Telemetry cable (TS02b).

For more informations please visit www.slot.it.

Radical Summer sale!

In the market for a new car? Want a "radical" change in what you're driving? Well read on...

RADICAL wants to move some inventory and we’ve got some hot summer deals on fast race cars. See our latest inventory (attached) of “turn key -ready to race” Radicals all with reduced prices for midsummer. JULY SPECIALS: pre-owned 2007 SR8, white 2.6L - 383bhp paddle shift/blipper, air jacks, triple dampers, FRESH (Zero Hour) Powertec engine & Hewland gearbox, “Big Dog V8 at SR3 price” Sale Price $68,500.00 OR BRAND NEW (NOS) 2008 SR3 1500cc 6 speed, spice yellow, highly optioned with V8 wheels and big V8 brakes. Car has just had full new car prep and never turned a lap. Retail List $114,516 – Sale Price $79,500 OR BRAND NEW (NOS) 2007 SR8 383bhp 2.6L paddleshift/blipper, BRG, Retail List price$179,858 – Sale Price $93,500

As a bonus, for all cars purchased thru end of July , clients may pick 1 of the following “Free of Charge” – Free shipping of race car to NE corridor, Free private coaching day with one of our “Elite” pro coaches Guy Cosmo, Pete Argetsinger, or Shane Lewis. These guys are the best in the business and will shakedown your Radical with you. Or, 6 mos Free trackside storage of your Radical at PBIR for winter 2010 season.
http://www.radicaleastusa.com/
Great deals on NEW 2010 SR3 RS ordered cars as well, delivery times as low as 4-5 weeks.

SCX Compact Cuda set

Sent to SCNews by slotbrother Tony "Ahab" from the Chicagoland area.

This set includes over 13' of track and includes one crossover track as well. The highlight of the new set is the release of the AAR Cuda in 1/43 scale. This set features two different paint schemes, one being totally new to SCX!

SEAT crash video...wow!

Video of a Seat crashing...what else can you say but, wow!

A piece of the Lizards!

Want to own a bit of racing memorabilia? How about Jorg's gloves? Flying Lizard Motor Sports is selling the driver gloves used by Bergmeister during the 2009 season. They're also selling driver suits and team crew suits and more... very cool stuff!

Tic Tac anyone?

American Muscle Mustang custom tuned

A video from American Muscle Mustang showing their tuning upgrades for the new 5.0 Mustang.