4orceracing

Jimmy. Agree, this is a great format and should encourage more drivers to compete. At least if you have a car failure, you have 4 classes to compete with, making the trip much more enjoyable.

Bugger Brett!!! Sorry mate! Had 2 sitting there, always have 2 controllers just in case...

I'm going to throw a cat amongst the pigeons... I use a Tru-Speed MTII and I race both 1:24 (Scaleauto, Plafit, GT3 & LMP) and 1:32 plastic, mainly non-magnetic but have used very successfully on magnetic too. I tend to run at the front end of both fields so the controller doesn't favour 1 or the other. The brakes work on a hit and release system and the more you wind the brakes on the longer it hold them. It has a dynamic choke which allows a delay in full power for tracks that are over grippy or slippery. The sensitivity is done by preprogrammed bell curves and suits cars from 1:32 NC1 to 1:24 LMP. I imported them for the new guys starting at BVR and have sold about 10, they all appear very happy with them. For a retail price of about $275, they take some beating.

What a great weekend in Melbourne (excel the weather...hehehe...). Met some new friends and was great time to catchup with my existing slot car buddies. Soooo pleased with our results on a very challenging track. Jan prepares an awesome car and feel very privileged to be asked to drive them with him. To Pete & Deb, thank you very much for putting on the weekend and looking forward to 2018. Thanks... Mark

Thanks Guys I'll be very careful not to hijack this thread! Yes the Race Coordinator program is fine. Kim is developing hardware to run at Redcliffe but I have been told the Track Mate hardware is very good. Cam, can you possibly email me where I may be able to source the hardware? I can't let the guys down a 3rd time, they are very good about it but... Thanks Mark

The track looks fantastic. Soooo pleased you went with the Johnson timing system!!! I have Garry's system on my 1:24 track and, due to it being 3 lane and Garry's system only going down to 4, Race Coordinator on the 1:32 track. Garry's system is rock solid but I've have had to cancel 2x 1:32 meets so far due to timing crashes once racing starts. Not happy!!! I'm now waiting on Axeman to help put a solid interface together for Race Coordinator. The Arduino setup is a nightmare. Your track is a credit to you!!! I hope you have plenty to share it with.

Last night saw the start of some fantastic changes happening at BVR. We had a great turnout with 12 very keen racers ready to test their car setup and driving skills on the 1:24 Garry Johnson designed Bonogin Valley Raceway. As we always try to do, we ran 4 classes on the night, each with 4x3 minute heats making 48 minutes, minimum, of competitive racing available to all drivers. Add to this the 90 minutes of test and tune, prior to racing, and everyone leaves BVR with their fill of fun. The first class run on the night was the very popular Scaleauto GT. BVR has chosen to adopt a no body modification policy which sees all body styles with the ability to win. Audi R8’s, Dodge Vipers, Porsche 997’s and Mercedes SLS all featured in the top half of the field so the concept does work. By not allowing modification to the body, BVR is racing as the cars manufacturer intended them to be raced, therefor ensuring a degree of parity. Ashley (Viper) was the victor after a hard fought 12 minutes of racing, finishing just .26 (1.8 secs) ahead of myself with my old faithful Porsche. This week saw the return of Jan after a couple of months off with business commitments. It didn’t take Jan long to make his presence felt with a strong run in his Porsche to 3rd place. The second class run was the Slotworx Aussie V8’s, and after a couple of weeks of less that happy results, Bruce was the winner this week with his Volvo replica. Again, Bruce showed last night that having outright speed is not necessarily a guarantee of victory. Whilst the times of the Volvo were very commendable, it was the consistency of the driving and attention to detail in car preparation that won through. Ashley, with his Red Bull Holden replica was second and the replica team car of Grant was a solid third. The competitive nature of the class is very apparent when the top 5 cars are all covered by 2 laps (14 secs) after 12 minutes. Modern GT was event 3 on the program and the results a carbon copy of the Aussie V8 race with the 3 placegetters being Bruce, Ash and Grant, and in that order. The drivers put sooo much attention to detail into their cars in this class. The adrenalin was still pumping after the Bathurst 12hr and it was great to see. Some cars have specialist resin bodies, some “off the shelf” Scaleauto bodies, some with lights and some with liveries that you need sunglasses to see. It’s a specialist class run at BVR but a great class to be a part of. To help the newcomers, they are allowed to run their Scaleauto GT’s to help get laps until such times as a MGT can be bought / built. The last class on the night was LMP and my favourite of all the classes run at BVR. I will endeavour to put together an article on the class to give more specifics but for now you’ll just have to trust me THEY’RE AWESOME!!! Ash showed us a clean set of heels this week but Jan was showing that, once he gets back into the swing of things, he will be a major threat again with a very well driven second. Still working on the handling of my new car I managed to scrape a satisfying 3rd but watch out guys, my old faithfull Audi R15 turned some rather impressive laps after racing last night, actually quicker than any car during the race. To quote Ash, the warhorse isn’t ready to retire just yet… As mentioned earlier, next week will see the start of a new era at BVR with the new Chequered Flag Friday. Wednesday’s will be held free for monthly race meetings at both EE.au and Birkdale whilst creating a weekly chance for enthusiasts to come racing and share my facility. If the thought of building and then racing model cars is enticing, send me a message and I would be very pleased to help get you started…

Race Report – 01.02.17 Last Wednesday night saw BVR host the night that it dedicates to the history of motor racing, where the 2 rotating classes run are Historics / CanAm and Lexan Grp C. The Historics / CanAm class takes in the golden age of motorsport through the Le Mans period of the 60’s and the Canadian American (CanAm) series of the 70’s. It includes many of the big banger cars from Le Mans like the legendary Porsche 917, Ford’s GT40 and Ferrari’s 512’s and 312’s. Add to that Lola’s, the giant killing McLarens and Australia’s own Matich SR3, to name a few, that all competed in the CanAm series. Group C covered the Le Mans period from 1982 to where the last car raced in 1994. Cars like the Mazda 787, Toyota’s 84C & 88C, Sauber Mercedes, Jaguar’s XJR-8 & 9, Lancia’s LC2 and the very successful Porsches 956 & 962. Some of these cars were able to reach speeds of 400kph on the very enticing Mulsanne Straight, impressive to this day. Each of these classes are very affordable in the world of 1:24 slot car racing with both using lexan bodies, very tough when impacted. Most guys take much pride in their creations putting fantastic detail into the building. The Historic class run a Plafit chassis, and is a national class run at the Australian Plafit Championships annually. The Group C cars run any commercially available chassis that does not have a motor box. Essentially, the front can be articulated but not the rear. $200 can see you with each of these classes and competitive. As with most nights, and the reason why I recommend this as a first buy class, the first class we ran was our Scaleauto GT. Unlike the Bathurst 12hr, the top step of the podium was filled by Ash and his very competitive Dodge Viper. Just like the 12hr, second on the podium, just .4 of a lap back, was a Porsche, with the mug at the controls being me. The 3rd spot and for the second podium in 2 weeks was Paul McCarthy (Beatle) with his Dodge Viper. Just over 2 laps (14 seconds after 12 minutes) covered the first 5 cars. Next we ran the Aussie V8’s. Grant and his immaculate Red Bull Holden replica was the winner. Point 4 of a lap further back was another Red Bull Holden replica with Ash on the trigger. My SVG SP Tools FORD, took out the final spot so technically a sweep to RB again… Hehehe… Thirdly we ran the Historics with Bruce winning by just over a lap from Ash and Gerald in third. If anyone has ever driven a flexi slot car before, these are as close to the handling of those as we get. Very nimble and quick (NOT to quote the add ) Lastly, we raced the Grp C. These we ran over 5 minute heats and produced some very fast a close racing. Ash took to spoils this week with his Mazda 787, next was Grant with his very well presented Lancia LC2 with yours truly filling the final step on the podium with my VERY well-travelled and previously very successful Toyota 84C. This week we will do it all again with the details listed in the “EVENT” created on this page. Feel free to drop me a message to find out more as to how you or / and a friend can get involved.

Thanks Cam. Your trusted Aussie V8's are always a big hit and form a part of our racing every week. All the new guys have committed to buying them immediately. Looking forward to seeing some of Ian M's great looking Porsche 919 LMP's forming a part of our grid's too. This coming Wednesday we're running: Scaleauto GT Aussie V8's Historic Lexan Group C All great classes too.

Each week at BVR we’re seeing new faces and it’s looking very bright for the future of slot car racing on the Gold Coast. This past Wednesday was no exception with Peter, John and Glynn all joining our group of avid racers… WELCOME!!! As usual, we raced 4 classes on the night and with Thursday being a public holiday, everyone, even with 11 drivers, was well and truly was raced out by the end of the night. The first class we raced was Scaleauto GT. Take the time to look through the posts on the BVR Facebook page as each of these classes are described for the guys and gals looking to race with us in future. As usual, this class was raced over 12 minutes, 3 minutes on each of the 4 BVR lanes. This class produces some exciting close racing and this week we had the first 4 places covered by just 2 laps (14 seconds). I can tell you, that gets the heart racing!!! Ash, the guru of Scaleauto, won this week just 1 lap ahead of me (yay!)… In third, and his first podium at BVR was Beatle… Paul McCarthy (easy to see where the Beatle name comes from!!!) Paul, this will be the first of many… The second class was Aussie V8’s and Brucey (Volvo replica) was the winner here and shows why his fellow racers turn to him for advice on car setup. Grant, with his beautiful replica of the Red Bull Holden, took a very credible second but hard on his hammer, just .01 of a lap behind, was Paul Stokell (Volvo). Paul, I think your name coming up in the podium list will be a regular thing from now on!!! Seems you’re bloody good at driving ANY type of car 1:1 and any scale! The flagship of hard bodied GT slot car racing is Modern GT. These cars are very quick with articulated front and rear suspension. Bruce (McLaren, no pun intended), whilst not the quickest this week, drove a very well thought out race claiming the honours of the top spot on the podium. Ash (Viper) drove a very well calculated race finishing just .23 of a lap behind with Gerald and his awesome Ford GT just .88 of a lap behind. Both Ash and Gerald can be seen racing toe to toe in a video on the BVR Facebook page. This class produced a very close finish with all 3 placegetters just 1.01 lap (6.5 secs) separating them. Our last class raced is the flagship of classes run at BVR, LMP. These cars are very similar in design to the Modern GT but run lexan bodied replicas of the modern Le Mans Prototype cars. Currently Ash’s car is the class of the field and showed a very clean set of heels (3 laps – approx. 18 seconds) after 20 minutes of racing. I managed to jag second with Bruce breathing down my neck just .35 (approx. 2.1 secs) of a lap behind. After 20 MINUTES, that is very close racing!!! If you’ve ever thought of racing slot cars or just curious, feel free to message me. We race both 1:24 and 1:32 so cater for most interests.

BVR will be starting 2017 with a Test, Tune, Try (TTT) evening. Bonogin is situated on the Gold Coast, QLD with the house being approx 15 minutes south west of Mudgeeraba. Date: 04/01/17 Time: 18:00 - 22:00 Cost: $0 but a small donation to help maintain the tracks would be welcome Both the 1:32 track (3 Lane) and the 1:24 track (4 Lane) is available for running on. The 1:32 is not yet timed but that will be ready by the time we start the season racing. BVR specialises in scale racing. not really having the facility to race flexi or wing cars. To give everyone the best chance of track time, numbers will be limited so message me if you would like to come and see what we have to offer.

Hi Al Yup, many of the 1:1 guys are keen to race pretty much anything and have great natural reflexes. I've known Paul for quite a while and when I found out he's been collecting 1:32 cars for a while, asked him along. I reckon slot car trophies will go along side all the Australian and Pan Pacific GT and open wheeler trophies he's won...

Last Wednesday saw the last race meet for 2016 for BVR. For something different we ran a 2 hour enduro with 2-3 person teams racing Scaleauto GT’s to the current national rules. It was great to see some of the guys who, through work commitments, struggled to race through the year make an appearance and we managed to get 5 quite evenly matched teams. The format was half hour on each lane (x4) with every driver having to drive every lane. The teams of 3 had the time divided into 3x 10 minutes and 2x 15 minutes for the teams of 2. The night started with practice from 6:00pm to 6:45pm then scrutineering till 7:00pm. My wife, Leisa, had been busy in the kitchen the night before and had planned some Christmas treats for the special occasion. Racing started at 7:25pm with the first of 5 legs showing the track was running slightly slower than normal but consistently, which was great for all drivers. After the first leg, Ashley and Paul S (Dodge Viper) showed that they had good pace, and despite Paul not having raced for long, he showed the ability to adapt to any form racing. Very much in the race also was Grant & Scud (Stephen) (BMW Z4). Leg 2 had Dean and Paul M race for the first time, with them having the bye in the first race. Dean proved that a well put together Z4 is capable of mixing with the Viper. He and Paul M drove extremely well proving to be the team to beat. Leg 3 was much as leg 2 with Dean and Paul M neck and neck with Ashley and Paul S. Leg 4 things started to unravel for Dean & Paul M with their car being involved in an incident that saw it hit the floor. The impact was such that it loosened the pinion and they started to lose drive seeing them lose laps to try and fix it. Bruce and Gerald (Dodge Viper), in the meantime, took advantage of the situation to make their way into 3rd place and then to second. The final leg was quite exciting with Wayne, Jamie and I (Dodge Viper), keep nipping at the heels of the guys in front to eventually steal 2nd from Bruce and Gerald in the last 10 minutes. Grant and Scud had unfortunate luck through the night often seeming to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The car had very good pace but the luck just wasn’t on their side despite both driving very well. All had a great time and that’s what it’s all about. The racing is very always very competitive but if we didn’t have fun we wouldn’t do it. The final results were: 1st Ashley & Paul Stokell 2nd Jamie, Wayne & Mark 3rd Bruce & Gerald 4th Grant & Scud 5th Dean & Paul McCarthy With only 29 laps (approx. 3.5mins) covering 1st to 3rd, 4 laps (approx. 28 seconds) covering 2nd and 3rd, after 2 hours the racing was close and fun. Had Grant/Scud and Dean/Paul M not had car issues the results could have been very much different. Leisa and I would like to wish everyone who both races at BVR, and follow our posts, a very Merry Christmas and a safe 2017. Anyone wishing to come and find out more information about racing scale slot cars on the Gold Coast feel free to message me to arrange a time to catch up. Once we can establish a date between the 3 tracks to resume racing in 2017 I will make a post with the details. Stocky…….

My LMP's got the lights ready to go...

Funny, 2nd place was an original Red Roo 1 chassis as well, out of the box, no mods. They just work so beautifully...