The Worthing HO Racing website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (except where otherwise noted) 2012-24

Micro Home Micro Racing Race Format Tuning Centre

After four and half years, three championships, seventeen races and twenty-six different winners, the final curtain was about to fall on Micro Scalextric racing at the Barn. For the eighteenth and final race we had a fitting finale planned.

Over this last championship season we've built some great layouts based on real-life tracks - Spa, Monza, Le Mans, Brands Hatch and Watkins Glen. The sixth and last was Suzuka. At just under ninety feet long, it was comfortably the longest track for a Micro race and one of the longest we've ever built at the Barn. It looked superb.

Thanks to a bit of a publicity drive, we welcomed ten new racers to the Barn - David, Charlie, Joel, Theo, Levi, Ciaran, Ed, George, Jerry and Pauline. That meant we had a full grid of eight teams with three drivers each.

Segment One

The first fifteen minutes kicked off with 'CKR Racers' - Corey, Keith and Richard - setting a big score of 89 laps in yellow lane. Not far behind were Joe's cheekily-named team 'Mr Picklebum' scoring 87 on white. Those two trios were the pick of the first group of teams to go out, but were then completely eclipsed by Levi's 'Don't Drink & Drive' who set a humongous 99 laps in red. All the more impressive was that DD&D included two first-time racers, Levi and Pauline, ably assisted by championship leader John.

Filling out the mid-field were 'The Winning Team' in fourth, 'Don't Steal My Team Name' in fifth and the 'Legendary Legendaries' in sixth. Both the 'Undead Drivers' in seventh and the 'Road Rage Racers' in eighth had big problems with their cars, drivers or a bit of both. A few running repairs were carried out and we straight into the next round...

Segment Two

As everyone got to know the track, so the scores began to rise. 'CKR Racers' moved into first place with a 95 lap score in blue lane. A great score, but only the third best of this segment. Alex's 'Legendary Legendaries' beat them by a lap with a great run in red - Alex and Paul are certainly WHO legends, having both raced in the first Micro Scalextric team race, but Ciaran was racing for the first time. Beating everyone in this fifteen minutes were the awesome 'Road Rage Racers' - Charlie and Theo setting up Andy to break the 100 lap barrier just before the end and finishing on 104.30 laps for their run on red lane.

That only moved 'Road Rage Racers' up to sixth place. At the top were 'CKR Racers' with 'Don't Drink & Drive' dropping to second. 'Legendary Legendaries' moved to third, just ahead of 'The Winning Team' and 'Mr Picklebum'. Still in seventh were Oscar's 'Undead Drivers' with 'Don't Steal My Team Name' back in eighth after a poor run in blue.

Segment Three

Two teams lost a driver each before the start of the third fifteen-minute runs. Ed and George had dinner waiting for them at home and had to dash - vowing to return after a very agreeable first taste of racing at the Barn.

Back to the racing and 'CKR Racing' put in a magnificent performance on red lane to all but clinch the race win. Their 104.90 laps was best of the night so far. In the second group, 'Don't Steal My Team Name' - just Aiden and Duncan now - also did well on red with a 99 lap score, moving them back up the table. Behind them, five of the other six teams set scores in the mid-80 lap range. That left us with a very close battle for second place back - or, if 'CKR Racing' had big trouble in their last run, for the win...

The gap between 'Don't Drink & Drive' in second through to 'Road Rage Racers' in sixth was a mere eleven laps and 'The Winning Team' were just three further laps back in seventh. The final fifteen laps would be tense.

Segment Four

First things first, 'CKR Racing' had a trouble-free run in white lane. Indeed, they set the top score in all four lanes through the evening and were very deserved winners. With Corey, Keith and Richard smiling contentedly, the focus shifted to the big battle for the remaining places.

In the first group, 'Undead Drivers' finally hit their stride with Oscar, Neil and Mike putting in a great score of 91 laps in the tricky blue lane. Just behind them, 'Mr Picklebum' set a decent 90 laps in red lane and left Joe and Andrew on the edges of the seats and waiting to see how everyone else would do... They knew that 'Legendary Legendaries' hadn't beaten them, but Alex, Paul and Ciaran might just have done well enough for third, maybe?

The second group went off at quite a pace, 'The Winning Team' leading the way in red. The trio of Joel, David and Jerry were all racing at the Barn for the very first time, but they were showing huge commitment to climb up from seventh place. Behind them, it looked like 'Road Rage Racers' were on for a very good score in yellow lane - but then Charlie had serious car trouble on the final leg and lost a good five laps or more. That was the second car to bite the dust during the evening, it really was time they were put out to grass.

Coming up fast were 'Don't Steal My Team Name' on white lane. Having lost George at half way, Duncan and Aiden were sharing the driving and race control duties. They were running the race flawlessly and their driving came good at the end, their 96.80 lap score on white lane equal to the segment-winning score of 'The Winning Team' on red. So where on earth did that leave the final placings? Aiden and Duncan worked it out.

Results

In eight place were the 'Undead Drivers', killed off by a disastrous first fifteen minutes. Seven laps ahead in seventh were 'Road Rage Racers', fuming about that unlucky final five minutes. In sixth, four laps ups, were 'Don't Steal My Team Name' and they were just half a lap behind 'Legendary Legendaries' in fifth. Three laps up the road in fourth place - and just three laps behind third - were 'Don't Drink & Drive. The gap between second and third was just under a lap with 'Mr Picklebum' having just done enough for the runner-up spot - team captain Joe was absolutely delighted. However, for the all-newcomer 'The Winning Team' to finish third was a remarkable achievement for Joel, David and Jerry - certainly the performance of the evening.

Congratulations to our winners 'CKR Racing' for a very stylish name and for very fast and clinical drives in all four lanes. Each driver received a winner's medal and a copy of Slot Car Magazine - who have generously sponsored the championship after Scalextric dropped their support. Richard became the twenty-seventh different Micro Scalextric winner and it was his first ever WHO race winner's medal too.

The points from the race meant that John won the final Micro Scalextric championship, the only WHO title he hadn't won. Corey's race win gave him a superb runner-up spot and the top-junior racer title. John received the big cup and a little trophy to keep. Corey went home with a trophy and a very cool Micro Scalextric James Bond Aston Martin set. Andrew (for third place), plus Corey, Alex, Aaron, Oscar and Joe (top five juniors) are all owed a t-shirt each.

So that, as they say, was that. Not only the end of a great night at the Barn, but a magnificent send-off for the Micro Scalextric championship. It may be the end of an era for the series and retirement for the cars, but the popular format will live on in the guise of the AFX Endurance Championship, which starts with a team race next February.

A big thanks to everyone who came along and made it such a fun evening - most notably to Duncan and Aiden who ran race control so well. They have a job offer on the table for the AFX Championship, if they want it...

- Andy P