Adelaide Model Raceway Adelaide Grand Prix Nov 5,6,7 2004

Transcription

1 Adelaide Model Raceway Adelaide Grand Prix Nov 5,6, Race Report by Wade Farrell For a small group of loyal followers, the Adelaide Grand Prix represents the big race of the year. It is a time when all people obsessed by 1/24 vintage and scratchbuilt slot cars gather for an indulgent weekend. It s a slot car woodstock (as the AMR track owner, Bill Hollingsworth puts it). This is the 8th year it has been running and has quite a following. Races are spread over Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday day, with a post race concert by the local band Speedcar. Friday and Saturday nights are usually late as well which contributes to the endurance aspect to the weekend. The AMR grand prix weekend is primarily for vintage cars. There are 8 classes in total, 5 of which are meant to be original cars from the 60 s. The other 3 classes allow for any chassis. Class Stocker FX/FJ Holdens Russkit Cox Cox Iso-fulcrim Tamiya 60 s GP 50 s GP Comments Scratchbuilt or original pre-70 s stock cars Scratchbuilt clear body cars Original russkit sidewinder sports cars Original fixed gearing Cox sports cars Original Cox Iso-fulcrim cars (La Cucaracha) Original Tamiya Sports Cars Original 60 s GP Slot Cars Scratchbuilt 50 s GP Cars, China motor, control tyres This report is primarily from my own experience of the weekend and it is not aimed to be an unbiased and conclusive race report. So it was with great anticipation that I attended this year. Last year was my first year which was a great thrill. My background has been in 1/32 racing in various forms and only recently being getting into the big cars. With the 1/32 scratchbuilding club (Nostalgia Raceways run by John Bacon) ceasing operation early in 2004 due to lack of numbers I decided to concentrate my efforts into 1/2. After scratchbuilding 1/32 for some years, building/restoring in 1/24 is quite a revelation given the larger number of kits and parts, coupled with the potential for greater detail and of course the greater freedom of when mating the body to chassis. Oh and of course, racing 1/24 cars is quite a different experience. The extra weight/size gives a more realistic feel, not to mention greater potential for damage. This year we had the following participants: Competitor Bill Hollingsworth John Clift Origin SA SA Michael Davies Kym Vogelesang Jason Burke SA SA SA Wade Farrell SA Steve Kerr SA Alan Collet SA Comments Owner of the track for the last 10 years. Been in the hobby for 40 years. Co-founder of the track. Dutifully performs a lot of the maintenance for the track. Innovative slot car builder. One of the top drivers of AMR. Builds and races fast cars. AMR Regular who nearly has a new car to run each week. From WA where he competed in flexi etc racing. Recent to vintage racing. Author of this article. Recent to 1/24 racing but has been in hobby since Avid scratchbuilder. Recent to slot cars but is totally obsessed by them. Races (1/32 & 1/24) where ever he can. AMR Regular. Quiet, unassuming individual and a good fast driver.

2 John Ward SA Bob Crawford SA Gedley Croughan Vic Jim I Jim III Steve Corneille Evan Henry Colin Terry Phil Vic Vic Vic Vic WA WA WA QLD Also builds very nice brass chassis. A long time standing slot car racer/builder. Attends AMR about once a month. Been in the hobby for approx 50 years (yes 50!). Owner of Sunset bodies. Doesn t race at AMR regularly but joined us for this race meet. Owner of Melbourne Model Raceway. Makes a number of trips over from Melbourne during the year. Long standing member of the Victorian scene. Another very active member from Victoria. Builds some very nice cars Another member obsessed by slot cars and the lure of Ebay. Only entered into the Friday night races Racer from WA. Builds some very nice cars Owner of Checkered Flag Raceway in WA Racer from WA. Also builds some very nice cars Racer from QLD. Produces repro parts for Tamiya, Cox etc. Friday Night Stocker Race First race was Stock Cars. With 19 cars entered, we were divided into 3 heats, 20 lap brackets, with each person racing once on each lane maximum laps for the race is 160. The top 3 finishers of each heat were entered into the final. Note you cannot compare the number of laps between heats as the race time varies given the race duration is dependent on the fastest driver in each heat. Each bracket is stopped when one car reaches 20 laps, with the cars staying in their positions but moved to the next lane in the sequence. Results from the heats are as follows: Heat 1 Michael Wade Bob Kym Colin Ged Heat 2 Jason Jim I John C Henry Phil Evan Heat 3 Steve K Alan Terry Jim III Steve C Ian Bill

3 Collection of all the Stockers that ran (with a few ring ins) From the heats it was clear that Michael and Steve K were the ones to beat. Both were running the best stocker chassis MJK produces (the sturdy heavy one) and were very smooth cars. During the final race, Steve K had a body mount break from an accident. This was repaired in between brackets but the car s handling was affected which meant he lost a few laps on Michael. Concours was selected by Bob Crawford from the 9 cars in the final. It was won by Terry from WA who had a nicely prepared Ford Galaxie (sits a little low for my liking by still a very nice car). Bob s car was well presented as well but he did the diplomatic thing by not considering it. Final Car Pontiac GTO Michael Dodge Superbee Steve K Ford Galaxie Terry Dodge Coronet Wade Ford Galaxie Alan Ford Galaxie Jason Plymouth Roadrunner Bob Chev Belair Jim I Mercury Marauder John C Concours D Elegance Terry th 9th

4 Stocker Final (order: Michael, Wade, Bob, Jason, JimI, John, Steve K, Alan, Terry(at the back)) FX/FJ Race Second race was FJ/FX Holdens, using Sunset clear bodies, with any chassis underneath. Same format with 3 heats and then a final. The FJ s are usually good fun due to the large array of liveries, resulting in quite a spectacle with 8 big bodied cars running on the track. Each of the 3 heats had one driver a clear winner, but it was evident from most people that my car was basically shit-hot. During the final I pretty much cruised to victory. In the end I was a little embarrassed as I think anyone in the room could have won with my car, although Alan was second by only 2 laps which showed that I didn t have it completely my own way. Alan is the sort of driver that goes under the radar but laps very quick, consistent laps. Next year we are going back to much tighter rules for the FJ s which I think is a good thing. My car, which used an inline MJK chassis and super 16D, doesn t quite fit the spirit of the FJs. Concours was won by Henry from WA, which was clearly the best looking car of the field.

5 The Collection of FX and FJ s, again a few ring-ins were included for the photo Heat 1 Wade Michael Ged Kym Bob Colin Heat 2 Jason John C Henry Jim I Evan Phil

6 Heat 3 Steve K Alan Jim III Terry Steve C Ian Bill Final 153 Wade 151 Alan 148 Jim III 147 Michael 146 Ged 146 Steve K 142 John C 137 Jason 137 Henry Concours D Elegance Henry 8th 9th Final FX/FJ Race (order : Wade, Michael, Ged, Jason, JohnC, Henry, Steve K, Alan, Jim III)

7 Saturday Night Russkit Race There was some confusion regarding the Russkit race as originally it was to include cox iso-fulcrim cars which in most cases are much faster. In the end, each were run as separate races which pleased everyone. I ran with Kym as my car was not competitive. Kym prepared a very quick car which in the end won by only 1 lap from John W. John had a very nice and completely original Chaparral 2. Final Kym & Wade John W Jim III Jason & Steve K Henry Bob Colin Terry th Russkit Race (Grid Order : Bob, John W, Jim III, Jason & Steve K, Colin, Kym & Wade, Terry, Henry)

8 Cox Race The Cox Race was the main event for the Saturday night. It is structured as a teams race, with a maximum of 8 teams. The 2hr enduro was run as 125 lap brackets with everyone deciding to only swap drivers in between brackets. Cars were restricted to the standard fixed gear cox chassis, thus we had a mix of Lotus 40 s, Ford GT40 s and Chaparrals, but unfortunately no Cheetah s (they are getting harder to come by). Since most people wanted to run their own cars it was decided that teams could run multiple cars. Strangely enough it was the three teams that ran single cars that took out the top 3 placings. If you look at the starting grid photo, 2 of the teams had multiple cars but decided to stick with the one car. Their choice was probably based upon performance. The race itself wasn t without incident. Half way through it was clear that one of the cars to beat was Ged and Michael s Chaparral. However on the to last heat, a marshalling incident meant their car stopped working. They accepted a loaner while the car was fixed (a wire needed resoldering) but the damage had been done. That and the fact they finished the race on the slower lanes meant that Steve C & Jim III went from 16 laps down after 5 brackets to be 19 laps ahead of Ged and Michael by the end of the race. Jason and Steve K performed well for a reasonably close. Jason was extremely relieved at doing well given such a tough race, although admitted they had perhaps lost about 5 laps from deslotting near the dead-strip of the lapcounter, or was it 6 laps? Missed laps are just one of those bad luck race incidents at AMR. Final Steve C & Jim III Jason & Steve K Ged & Michael Kym & Wade John W & Bill John C & Phil Henry, Colin & Terry Jim I & Bob Concours D Elegance Henry(from Memory) Car Lotus 40 Lotus 40 Chaparral 2 GT40 & Lotus 40 Lotus 40 Lotus 40 & Chaparral 2 GT40 & Lotus 40 GT th

9 Cox Race (Grid : Steve C & Jim III, Jason & Steve K, Henry & Terry & Colin, Ged & Michael, John W & Bill, Kym & Wade, Jim I & Bob, John C & Phil)

10 Cox Iso-Fulcrim After some delay in deciding whether the Cox Iso-fulcrim (La Cucaracha s) race would run, it was decided a short race would suffice given the reduced numbers. Eight brackets of 10 laps were run with Kym taking honours just ahead of Steve (lucky given Steve K was driving one of Kym s cars). Kym ended up taking out both Russkit and Cox Iso races showing he likes building and racing the fast stuff. Hopefully next year will result in a larger field. Sorry no photos as I was busy chatting away during this race. Final Kym Steve K Jim III Jason Phil Colin Sunday Day Tamiya Race The Tamiya race must be considered a favourite amongst many of the drivers. It is a race where the drivers really respect their cars and the other cars on the track (or at least meant to) given the market value of the cars. As a result there is usually less carnage on the track, giving the marshals a rest and a chance to watch what is usually an exciting race. There are only 8 cars allowed on the grid and thus is a teams race. Although we probably had more than 8 cars available, it worked out reasonably well with only 8 people putting their hand up for their car to be on the grid. This year the 8 car owners were given the chance to select their co-drivers in an adhoc order. A bit like the team selection at a school lunch-time football match and would you know it, I was the last to be picked. To add salt into the wound, Henry, who had the honour of the assistance of my driving would not allow me to drive the car. Luckily I did have my half-complete Lola T-70 available and it was in ok running form, so we drove our own individual cars. On to the race, and after the first few brackets it was clear that the Lotus of Jim III/Michael s and King Cobra of Steve C/Steve K were vying for top honours, with the King Cobra of Phil/John W not far behind. After 5 brackets, 1 lap separated the top two but a marshalling incident in the bracket resulted in the King Cobra of Steve C/Steve K being cracked at the front as they hit a car being incorrectly placed on the track. So much for less carnage in the Tamiya race. This also resulted in the front wheels being bent out of alignment and they fell back to overall. So it was the Lotus of Jim III/Michael which took honours, winning 6 out of the 8 brackets and only dropping 3 laps in the other 2 brackets. Phil & John W did well to place their King Cobra in second place.

11 Tamiya Sports Car Race (Grid : Phil/JohnW,SteveC/SteveK,JimIII/Michael, Colin/JohnC,Terry/Bill, Henry/Wade, Kym/Jason,JimI/Ged) Final Jim III & Michael Phil & John W Steve C & Steve K Kym & Jason Colin & John C Henry & Wade Terry & Bill Jim I & Ged Car Lotus 40 King Cobra De Tomaso King Cobra De Tomaso Lotus 40 King Cobra De Tomaso Lotus 40 & Lola T70 King Cobra De Tomaso Lotus th

12 Tasman Cup (60 s GP Race) The 60 s GP cars are very well suited to the big flowing corners of the AMR track. They are great fun to drive if you ve got good power and the right amount of track. The class is restricted by the need to have a vintage hard body coupled with a vintage chassis and vintage motor. They are not required to be of the same manufacturer so many hybrids existed, e.g. cox bodies with dynamic or russkit chassis. The nicest car in the field was Jim 3 s very rare Revell Lotus 38, fully restored by himself to a very high standard (It came in the restored vintage concours class at the recent Melbourne Model Raceway meet, note Jim also took out as well with a beautiful Cox Lotus 40). My car was a 62 revell body with dynamic chassis. I was quite pleased with it prior to the race, being able to keep up to the other guys during practice (hmm maybe..). I thought it was quick and quite stable to drive although that changed during the race. For some reason it didn t drive as well as it did the night before and I was off the pace. In heat 1, Kym blitzed the field with 158 laps from a possible 160. In heat 2, it was a much closer race with Steve C and Alan finishing both on the lead lap. The final proved to be a very close race indeed with only 3 laps separating the top 6 placings. In the end it was John C taking honours over Kym and Michael by 1 lap. John C was the 9th qualifier so it begs to question what was he doing in his heat? During the final, when I was the 9th driver of the bracket and had to stand out, I actually noticed how quick John was driving. I imagine John was quite pleased in taking out the 60 s GP with an original Cox Ferrari beating the quick 26D cars of Kym, Michael and SteveC. Heat Kym 152 Michael 148 Wade 147 Ian 141 Ged 140 Bob 140 Terry 135 8th Colin 115 9th Henry Heat 2 Steve C Alan Jason John W John C Jim I Jim III Phil Steve K th 9th

13 Final Car Cox Ferrari John C Cox BRM + Dynamic (26D) Kym Cox BRM + Russkit (26D) Michael Nichimo BRM + Dynamic (26D) Steve C Midori Ferrari Alan Cooper + Dynamic (16D) Jason Revell BRM + Dynamic (16D) Wade Russkit Cooper John W STP Turbine Ian Concours D Elegance Kym th 9th 60 s GP (Grid Order : Kym, Michael, Wade, Ian, Steve C, Alan, Jason, John W)

14 Adelaide GP (50 s GP Race) At AMR, the 50 s GP Race is declared as the Adelaide GP and considered the big race. The race has quite a history, being run since 1996, although it was 60's lexan bodied cars that were used early on. The 50's cars are difficult cars to drive and the challenge is to set one up that is easy to drive but still fast enough to win. I think some of the guys prefer and concentrate on the other races given the nature of the cars. Previous winners include John Ward (2003) and Michael (2002, 2001). So with 18 cars entered we got the heats under way. In my heat, it was myself and Michael vying for the lead. With the heat being a tough race I knew the final would be very tough. My car was quick to drive as I had geared it to accelerate out of corners well however it made the car sensitive and a little stressful to drive. In heat 2, it was John C taking honours with Jim III, John W and Jason not far behind. On to the final and from the first number of brackets it was clear that Michael and I were going head to head for the win. As far as I could tell we were within 1 lap of each other for the duration of the race. Come the last bracket, Bill mentioned that the 2 lead cars were on the same lap which meant that I was ahead of Michael by about 2/3 lap. This meant my task was to keep ahead of Michael for the next 20 laps. After 2 small moments where I lost some speed (once when the car was on 2 wheels going through a corner) and the fact that Michael was slightly faster given the lane assignments (and maybe he was just driving quicker), I managed to stay ahead with the final distance being 3 feet. This compares to last year where John W won it from Michael by 6 feet. John W took out, only 1 lap ahead of Jason. The concours was taken out by the same top 3 winners in the same order, which is strange especially given that Bob deliberated for quite some time over the first 2 places which seemed to mirror the race. Final Wade Michael John W Jason John C Jim III Kym Steve K Alan C Heat 1 Wade Michael Kym Alan Ged Colin Henry Bob Terry th 9th Heat 2 John C Jim III John W Jason Steve K Steve C Jim I Phil th Car Talbot Lago Talbot Lago Alfa Romeo 158 Alfa Romeo 158 Indy Racer Mercedes Talbot Lago Alfa Romeo 158 Aussie Special th 9th

15 Concours D Elegance Wade Michael John W 50 s GP Final (Grid Order: Michael, Wade, John C, John W, Alan, Kym, Jim III, Jason) Summary Overall the weekend was a great success although the marshalling situation got a little messy at times. All races were won by the locals except for two main teams races; the Cox Enduro and the Tamiya race. Given that the Victorians are big on vintage slot cars it is not surprising that they took out those events, having prepared quick cars. In all it was local track knowledge which probably made the difference. For those who don t know, the secret to winning races at AMR is first to keep from deslotting as much as possible whilst still keeping good pace. Bit of an obvious statement, however in most cases it is quite difficult to get ahead of your opponents by pushing hard given the track design is quite simple. Each time you come off you lose approximately 1 lap (often much more if the deslot involves other cars) given the track is difficult to marshal. One lap penalty is quite difficult to make up. The second secret is to do your best on the slow lanes as this is where you can make a difference by concentrating and maximising your speed. You will nearly always lose laps to other drivers on the slow lanes but the aim is to minimise the loss. Having said all this, winning is definitely not the aim for the weekend although we all like to do well. Like any good slot car racing scene, the primary goal is the social side whilst also having a blast in participating.

16 The fact that there are 20 odd individuals who are obsessed by the same hobby, come together from 5 states across Australia, makes for a great weekend. Everyone has an opinion of how things should be run. Here s my spin on a small list of possible improvements: When it comes to the teams races I would like to see a little more organisation to attempt to keep 8 cars on the grid and not mix up cars which moves away from the spirit of the teams/endurance races. To do this, teams could be formed prior and between themselves agree who runs which cars. The main problem with this is you will probably be teamed with the same person for the weekend. This is ok if your team member is a fast driver who will look after your car but not all drivers will live up to these expectations. Secondly there is a slight issue with respect to what motors you can run. Some people were running modern motors in their vintage cars, others went to town improving their vintage motors or just ran nice 26Ds, others put modern arms in vintage cans etc. Should we allow super 16Ds in vintage cars like Russkits? Marshalling an 8-lane track is very difficult but more attention needs to be made to improve the level of marshalling. General Photos Stocker Heat (From left to right : Michael, Alan, SteveC, Jim III, Phil, Henry, Colin, Mystery Man, Evan, Jason, JohnC)

17 Stocker Action Terry s Ford Galaxie is leading Steve K s Dodge Superbee into the final corner

18 Action during the Tamiya Race. Looks like Phil was pushing the limits on lane 8.

19 Post-race Collection of Tamiyas.

20 Bob Crawford performs his concours duties for the 60 s GP final as JohnW, Jason, Alan and SteveC wait patiently

21 Bob selecting the top 3 concours cars before the Adelaide GP Final (From left to right : John C, Michael, Evan, Bob, Terry, Lou, Ron, Colin, Phil)

22 Adelaide GP Podium finishers