Firstly,..as has been written about almost ad infinitum on here and Other Forums,..Let Alone Here; http://aussieretro.ascra.com.au/about.htm
This "Aussie Retro" class has absolutely Nothing to do with and is Not in Any way trying to 'Emulate' ANY Real Form of Motor Racing,..OTHER, than Using the Bodies that Were available,upto Late 1969.
This, along with Minor 'Inclusions' and Changes from the Originating US version of Bodies and Our choice of Motor,..is about 'Emulating' the Kind of Slot Car and Era of the 60's to 70's US Pro Slot Car Racers,..guys Like Mike Steube, John Cukras, Gerry Brady, Terry Schmidt, John Gorski, Bryan Warmack, Paul Sterret and Many Many others.
In slot car racing Terms, Those guys were My 'Inspiration' as a Kid, ( as were Many Very similarly Skilled Locals,..'Hutcho' for One !!), as there were Many Magazines available that Gave Fantastic Coverage to the Cars, Drivers and Slot Racing in general,..Because, it was HUGE !!!
This class interests me,..BECAUSE of That almost Alone,..BUT as once again is Because it is a Scratchbuilding Class,..AND Because it uses Bodies that were available 'Back in The Day', AND were also from one of the Richest Era's of Motor Racing and development, That Being the Late 60's to Early 70's CanAm, F1 and Sports/GT etc,..NOT,...Sedans !!
When I was Young, CanAm and the Bruce and Denny Show, The Porsche 917 and all that Wonderful era of F1, was arguably some of the BEST Motor Racing ANY of us have Ever seen,
The Cars were Fantastic, to the Point where They Still Excite and Thrill both the Old and the Young, in a way many Modern Real Racing Cars don't,..Buit I argue that atleast for myself,..Real Racing cars have always Held and been My Main Motor Sport Influence,..NOT Sedan Racing!
And as Back then, almost All Sedan Racing, apart from Some Very Special Types and some US Racing, was for Basically Production Based Vehicles.
So on a Personal level the Concept of in some way tryimg to Emulate some Long Gone Dream of Retro Aussie Sedan Racing, sounds like the sort of Scalextric Possible Fun,..but as "Retro" is Emulating a Slot Car Racing Era, and Not a Motor Racing era Per/se, I am Very Happy with the Way it Is.
I will leave that up to ALl those Flexi type classes,..especially as Most of the Bodies that Would be suitable, Probably Fit a Flexi.
Look,..in Real terms, I am somewhat saddened by the Fact that Over Half of the People who even Bother to Race Retro's, Have NOT Built their Car!
If it Is a True Scratchbuilt chassis,...then apart from the Odd Few, Most would have been Built by Wayne Bramble,..AND,..in US Retro, a similar Problem has occured due to the Class proving to be so Popular over there.
All these people who DON'T Scratch Build Slot cars,..want to Race in an Intrinsically Scratch Building Only Class !!,..Go Figure,..perhaps,.because it is Cheap Cheerful and Most Importantly ,..FUN,..and in the Simplest of Possible terms,..
IT IS Way MORE Satisfying, To Race and WIN against Comparably Skilled Mortals, with a Car you Have designed and Built Yourself,,...Cut up from Brass and Piano Wire etc,..than ANY Purchased Over the Counter ,..'Mine is the SAME as Everyone Elses' Slot Car.
Perhaps Not all feel that way,...but I guess it is Because of the Chapmans, Brabhams etc etc of the World that we have such Rich Racing 'Heritage',..Not because Everyone Raced some kind of Production vehicle, there was Invention, Creativity etc,..it was the era Behind What Created cars Like the Flexi etc.
Perhaps if you Aren't 55 and raced slot cars Back then,..then perhaps you just don't Get It,..as I have often commented on,..Back then the Only cars you could Buy,..were Not Race suitable, to Race in the Only Class,..OPEN,..you HAD to Build,..in some cases almost Everything.
Many of us Made Many if Not all of the Chassis components and Motor Parts as well as Winding and Balancing our Own Arms etc.
Back then the Popular Class, WAS ,..Yep,..you Guessed it,..CanAm,..I think,..Because it allowed 'Beasts' of racing Cars,..Big, Brash, and Very Loud to Race in a series with almost No RULES,..you Know,..something Called Design Freedom !!,..ROFL
I would actively be interested in Racing in Other classes,..EXCEPT,..I am TOLD What Chassis I HAVE to Run etc, apart from in some cases almost Every Part is delineated,..Some people may enjoy that Kind of 'Restriction',..But I Don't,..so therefore I Don't Race in them.
This Class offered Myself and Obviously,..World Wide,.. Many others, an Opportunity to 'Enjoy' the Skills I had learned Way Back When Much Younger,...like No OTHER Current class does.
I, like a Few others Both Old and Young, REALLY Enjoy just the Racing of these cars,..as, I think Until you Have driven one of say Fox's, Wayne's or dare I suggest it One of My cars,..then I doubt you can appreciate Just How well a well designed Scratch built car Can and Does Handle !!
They ARE FUN and MY Interest and any Interest I may Show or suggest trying to get Others to Try them,..is for No Other reason than the Possible FUN they May get from the experience.
As far as I am aware,..No One racing Retro's here has Any 'Agenda's, Other than FUN.
