Australian Slot Car Racers Association

Hi All,

Well the second (and last) round for the NSW Retro Championship for CanAm and F1 was held last Saturday on the Big Track at HSC and drew seven contenders.

Five racers were a follow up from the first round held on the Flat Track at HSC and they were all hoping for glory. An additional two racers in Brad and Matt who missed the initial fray were out for a race because they love to race even though they would be out of the title contentions – just the way it should be – racing for the love of it.

OK – seven racers meant that the format would be two heats of three (evens) and four (odds) based on qualifying positons. We are all succumbing to age and a vote carried a move to two minute brackets.

Concourse for the night went to Daryl for CanAm and F1 - its a close thing between Daryl and Neil for the best lookers generally and I certainly appreciate the effort and the finished product.

Off we go Racing

CanAm
Qualifying to start and I kept my record of top qualifying for most events going with a track record of 5.364 which pleased me greatly. Race 1
This was a battle between James and Matthew who were very evenly matched. Matthew led for the first 4 brackets to hand over the lead to James for the last four and to finally take the win by a lap. Neil drove nice and steady but the pace of the lead pair was too hot to handle. Race 2
An all the way win for me with Joe holding down 2nd for the first four bracket followed by Brad and then Daryl. Joe slipped to 3rd in the fifth allowing Brad to inherit 2nd spot which he held for a couple of brackets until Daryl just got ahead but on the same lap in the seventh. Joe retired early in the 7th which left Daryl and Brad battling it out for 2nd and 3rd with Daryl finishing just under a second in front. Final Wash-up
James 165
Mark 164
Matthew 164 (3.369 secs behind)
Daryl 156
Brad 156 (0.946 secs behind)
Neil 153
Joe 116

The Cars (in place order)
James Mark - TQ Matthew Daryl - Concourse Brad Neil Joe F1
Qualifying saw Joe take the honours for the second year in a row for F1 on the big track with a new record of 5.662 which pleased him greatly judging by the smile. Race 1
Well Joe started off like a rocket and his car was the goods over James for speed but every now and again a deslot would keep James in the hunt and in fact he took the lead by the end of the fifth bracket. For the next three brackets Joe would run James slowly but surely down only to let him off the hook. At the start of the final bracket James was ahead by about half a lap when Joe again starts reeling him in – Joe held it together this time and took the win by 0.39 sec. Joe and James were never more than a lap apart for the whole race and in fact were on the same lap for the final five brackets. Daryl and Neil were 3rd and 4th all the way as the lead couple scorched off into the distance – amazing race to watch. Race 2
All the way win for me (although my car was injured early on) with Matt in hot pursuit. Brad had major problems after a mishap and unfortunately was out very early on. Full credit and thanks to Brad though for sticking around to marshal even though he was welcome to leave early as he has a long drive home. Final Wash-up
Joe 160
James 160 (0.39 secs behind)
Mark 158
Matthew 153
Daryl 150
Neil 135
Brad 11

The Cars (in place order)
Joe - TQ James Mark Matthew Daryl - Concourse Neil Brad So that was it for the night excepting the final reckoning for the series and presentation of trophys.

James took out the CanAm series clearly with two good wins whilst I managed to just hold on to the F1 title by a point with a win and a 3rd to edge out Joe who had a win and a 4th..

Final positions for the two race series (I have only included the 5 participants who competed both races) was: - See you all at the final Retro race of the year on the Big Track on 10th December.

Thanks for your report Mark. I always look forward to your posts.
However, Daryl deservingly picked up the concourse double. CanAm and F1.
Gotta get my head around Red lane.
Looking forward to last BTR in a couple of weeks.
Neil

Hey Mark, just looking at the pics again. You built the first three CanAm Chassis?

neiljb wrote:Daryl deservingly picked up the concourse double. CanAm and F1.

Thanks Neil I have corrected my post.

neiljb wrote:Gotta get my head around Red lane.

Yeah it was my downfall for a while but perseverance has paid off as I did the fastest race times for CanAm (5.669) and F1 (5.882) in this race so hopfully I am OK now.
I find the secret is the way you go through the kink - if this is done right you are then set up for the loop and you then need to have courage and punch the loop once you hit it and all will be well - easier said than done though.

neiljb wrote:Hey Mark, just looking at the pics again. You built the first three CanAm Chassis?

Yes my inate modesty prevented me from mentioning this earlier but thanks for noticing
In fact James had two CanAm wins in the series with cars I built for him -

Flat Track Car
This was a custom 2 rail Warmack which I built for him and ultimately got going great with the addition of some brass rails to stiffen it up - this made it less bitey and cured a tendency to flip and pop from the slot. Big Track Car Build Details

I built two like this car for the King track and James obviously got the second - like my other King chassis it goes well here as well.

http://forum.ascra.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1248

He is a very good racer when he has the right equipment.