New Car: Thunderslot Lola T70 MKIII - Brands Hatch 1969

 Yay! Another Thunderslot car! I've been kinda combing and digging, looking for more Thunderslot cars, as my normal seller seems to be not carrying them so much anymore. I found another place that carries them, which is also where I picked up the GT40, and here it is, the Lola T70 MKIII:

The Lola T70 from Thunderslot is already an awesome car. Very smooth and fast, and feels like it's very planted. This car will fall right in line with all the others. With the Tech - Speed logo over the back of the car, this one....what? Oh, that. Well, from the looks of it, the car hit a can of blue paint on the track somewhere. I'm sure that's not what it is, and there's probably an easy explanation as to why the curious design decision. I'm going to do a deep dive here in a bit, so it's likely I'll replace this whole section with facts once I come across them.

The paint doesn't go completely over the front, and kind of slops over into the rally stripe and number on the front. I will say, I have absolutely NOTHING against this car whatsoever. I think the blue is really cool and makes the car look like it has worked hard. I'm sure the explanation is there somewhere. My guess: At some point during the race they had front end damage and replaced part of the front end bodywork. One of the reasons I think that isn't so much the blue paint as it is the curious black strips that look like they're holding the hood of the car together. I'll try to get a pic of that angle and show it here.

A rare car-facing-the-other-way photo here.

So stoked to have another Thunderslot car. They make such absolutely solid runners. I've found a few more outlets where I can get them, so I'm sure I'll have more again soon. 

Both the Lola and the GT40 will be given race-ready tuneups tomorrow. I still have about a dozen or so cars to check before the field is ready to race. I'll try to finish as many cars as I can tomorrow so we can move onto the track.

New Car: NSR GT40 Scuderia Filipinetti - 24h Le Mans 1966

 One of two cars I got today:

Before this guy showed up, I had three GT40 race cars, all from Slot.it. I remember one time thinking that if I got a GT40 from another brand, things could quickly sour on whoever is the slowest. I don't think that way anymore since I've gotten a couple of them up to contention. I'm going to be doing a comparison feature on them coming up. 

Looks great, sits low, and has a great paint job. 

This car has very rapidly sold out from most retailers. There will likely be more in the series. 

This and the other car I got today will both be getting tuned for the upcoming series. 

Preseason Tuning Day Two

 I want to be able to get all the cars going from the outset. No dud starters. Everybody gets an equal chance, whether they need a lot of work, little or none. Here are some of the cars.

Some cars needed as little as a once-over and they were on their way. The black Elva is one of those cars.

The black Elva is the car to beat, by my estimation. It took the last two races it was in by a good margin and was never really challenged. I didn't need to do anything to the car to prepare it for racing. It's ready to go. 

On the right track, the 908 is going to dominate. And I have a lot of them, each one just as deadly as the last. The Tibidabo is one of the only 908s that aren't part of a team. Perfect spoiler car. This one should cause all kinds of consternation in the pit garages.

Do NOT ignore the Matra. Let me tell you...the Matra is the best pure racing slot car that Slot.it makes. I'll die on that hill. It's the truth. Long wheelbase, short ends, low slung...it has it all. I've got this thing keeping up with the Thunderslot cars, which is saying something. Does it have enough to win? We'll have to wait and see. 

Unlucky Strike

First it was tire rub. A lot of it. Then something electrical started malfunctioning. Not sure what it is. I've traced both leads the whole way and found nothing out of the ordinary. I'm starting to think one of the wires might be in the process of breaking. So there may be a period when this car underperforms. I might go so far as to say that if any car was to DNF, it would likely be this one. 

Wanted to check the beer car and make sure it was up to spec. Pretty much all of the Revoslots are ready to go. I'm not sure what make/model is going to do the best, so we'll have to wait and see. The BMW is already dang fast. and so are the Escorts. The Alfa Guilia will do well on a more forgiving track, but it might struggle against the BMW in the curves. Throw the Datsun in there and there's practically a whole field. 

I have a couple more cars coming in the next day or two. Those will both get immediate work to be eligible for the races. Believe me, it'll be worth waiting for them. 

Preseason Tuning Day One

 Took advantage of a little time off today to work on nine of the most recently purchased cars, as well as a couple of other older ones. I wanted to get them all up to racing spec for the start of the season. I'd like them all to have an even chance, so getting them setup and running right is important. 

One of three Ferrari 512M race cars from Slot.it that I have.

Since I was going to be tuning the other two 512s, I wanted to make sure I did each car justice, so I brought out the #16 and gave it what I gave the others. I'm glad I did it, because it probably would have been a lesser performer than the other two if I hadn't. I ran all the cars I worked on today through the tire truer, including the #16 Ferrari, and got them all in race shape.

On the NSR front I tuned the Hippie Car and the P68, and did a going over of the Lucky Strike 917, as it had been having some intermittent power issues. Still not sure about that one. I might have a faulty wire in there. Connections are good otherwise. 

Overall the NSR cars are ready. The 917/10 cars all have those meaty slicks on the back, so tuning them up was a breeze. They're going to be really fast cars.

The 917/10 might just be the car to beat.

I still think these are going to be really competitive. I used to think the 908 body style was the best, being so blunt on the nose and tail, but the more I run this, the better the car feels. It's like an even more aggressive 908. 

I tuned the Datsun 510 up the other day, so I'm all set on the Revoslot cars now. They're all tuned and ready for racing. Curious to see how the GT cars are going to fare against the Classics. 

Team Sunoco is going to come FLYING off the line.

I considered giving the Sunoco Ferrari a different chassis/body float setup than the #16 Ferrari, kind of like I used to do with the three GT40's back in the old days, but decided against it. I figure that, instead of potentially crippling a car for the sake of experimentation, I'd instead go for what I know and tune it to the best of its abilities. 

It is exciting to have new cars in the competition. There are a lot of cars to choose from now. With all that I had before and the addition of the Ferraris, the Porsche 917/10s and the P68, not to mention all the GT cars and their varieties, it makes for great racing. I can name a dozen cars off the top of my head that would all have potential to win a race. I should put odds on the field. Maybe I'll do that in another post.

Killer shark or bloated whale? We'll find out soon.

The tires on the P68 seem incredibly soft. Abnormally soft. They're even soft compared to other tires on other NSR cars. The trued up like a breeze. 

The Ferraris getting ready for a trim and a truing.

Don't know what I'd do without my tire truer. Once you get enough cars to where you're spending more time messing with your tires than you are racing, you need one of these. I've overhauled all my cars now and it improved lap times all the way across the board. Much smoother rides out of all of them. A tire truer is a must-have.

Race Team Introductions [part 2]: The Rest

 Now that the two big teams have been introduced, let's look at the smaller teams. 

Team Rothmans

The Rothmans Team has a pretty decent collection of quality NSR Porsches. The 908 is a previous winner, the 917 has had its struggles, and the P68 is unproven. It should be an interesting team to watch. 

Even if I have three cars from the same manufacturer, they'll perform and handle differently from each other. When you run cars without magnets, handling characteristics play much more into a car's ability to finish well. The Rothmans Team has one car that is a guaranteed threat, and that's the 908. Most all of my NSR 908s are threats. It often is going to come down to their teammate's ability to score points. 

__________

Tergal Team

Another definite sleeper team. I know the 908 is fast and has won before, and the Ferrari is coming from a really good place. I feel this team should not be overlooked.

The Tergal Team is interesting because it has the same issue the Rothmans Team has, just less chances to get it right with only a two-car team. It also has an NSR 908 with a Slot.it Ferrari as teammates. On my track Slot.it cars tend to mostly lap a few tenths lower than NSR cars. Mostly. And since the Ferraris are such nice cars and fast runners, they should be okay in that respect. 

__________

The Jägermeister Team

The Jägermeister Team is very curious, while although both cars are fast, this is the only team with a Revoslot car in it. The 917/10 can haul the mail, and so can the Escort, but it's hard to say how they'll do together. The colors don't match perfectly, either, and that bugs me a little.

I was hoping to have another combination like this, and I might fudge things a little to make another one. Since this is only one of two teams running a car in each class, I don't know what's going to happen. It's going to depend on how the Escort does. I've been planning on running a Classics class and a GT class, but I was going to use a wait-and-see approach. So far the Revoslot cars are proving competitive with the other brands. That's going to make this a make-or-break race team. 

__________

The Hippy Team

Although they're not racing for a sponsor, they are racing with the similar "hippy" livery. For kicks, and to include the Carrera in the mix, I am forming this hippy racing team. The 917 will do just fine. It's the 918 that I'm worried about.

To be honest, I really don't expect much of anything from this team. I'm sure the 917 will run effectively, and likely be competitive. But the 918 is not going to do as well, and will likely not beat most of the field, which will effect their team points. It's actually a threat to come in dead last, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to score points that low. This puts more pressure on the #35 to carry the team's weight, since the best they'll be able to do is half the points most other teams will be putting up.

__________

Chaparral Team

Another case of "when the manufacturer is the brand." Beautiful cars, but I have low expectations for them. 

I take that back. The #66 should do okay, but the 65 is always a little behind. They're mostly going to be pack runners, maybe the occasional top-10 finish out of the #66, but I don't think much more than that. 

The way I'm going to handle tuning the cars between races is primarily deal with the cars that perform poorly or can't keep up. As I continue to focus on the slower cars, tuning them will bring the entire field closer together. And since I can get most of the cars within a couple tenths of each other, I can close that gap and make everything way more competitive. Besides, the best performing race cars aren't the ones that need the work. The guys in back will need help to get to the next level. 

__________

L&M Team

These two are just a few tweaks from being super competitive.

Nothing saying these cars can't do it, although so far they're not as fast as the other 917/10s I have. Not sure why that is. 

I do have some cars that haven't gone through much more than a lube and tire treatment. Those cars will be worked on prior to races starting, almost like a preseason. I'd like to get the unfinished cars in competitive condition. 

__________

The Shell Team

When I first saw this matchup, I didn't think it was going to work. After thinking about it a bit more, I think it's going to be pretty great. The GT40 is one of my fastest cars, and the Ferrari is a previous winner.

This one is a curious entry for a few reasons: the Revoslot Ferrari. Since I have two classes of cars, there is one other place where the Ferrari fits, and that's in the Garage 56 class. Cars in that class won't be eligible for championship points, but they will be able to carry those points over into Team points. Garage 56 cars include anything that won't fit into the two main classes. Each Garage 56 car will still have a non-competitive point total applied to them based on their finishing position for reference.

EDIT: I was doing a little research on a couple of cars I had, and noticed one thing about one of them. Turns out the Matra ran on the Shell team back then, so this car will be added to the Shell team here:

This changes the makeup of this team significantly. The Matra is brutally fast. I know, it has a big Shell sticker on the side, but lots of cars have that without Shell being the primary sponsor. They were in this case, however. Anyhow, with two of my most competitive Slot.it cars on the same race team, that turns this into an insta-contender, and lets the Ferrari become the secret weapon. 

__________

Canon Team

The Canon Team won't be eligible for racing points, but will instead run in the "Garage 56" class, reserved for those racers who do not fit in the category of Classic or GT. If my F1 collection were to start growing, for some reason, then I would run the class separately. I might still do that. They're fun cars.

Nope, I'm not going to do that. They're going to run in Garage 56 like anyone else. There's no point in creating another class unless I have at least a half dozen of those class' cars in the first place. And since they're the only two F1 cars, they'll be treated as demos throughout the event, with no individual or team scoring [since their team exists only in Garage 56], except the reference total.

Well there it is. There are still a lot of journeyman cars that can spoil it for anybody and everybody. And once I've decided on the points program, then we'll know how much flexibility some of these teams have. 

Since I have 51 cars now, I want to have a points cutoff, probably to make a Top 25. The rest would receive no points. That'll force the pack to run faster. Either that or I'll award points all the way down to the last 10 cars, but I'd rather not. I'll have to think about it. 

Race Team Introductions [part 1]: Gulf and Sunoco

 Now that I have enough race teams to make the racing interesting, I thought I'd introduce them, focusing first on two of the strongest groups on the list, the Gulf Team and Team Sunoco. 

An all-NSR field for the Gulf Team.

It should come as no surprise that I would have a well-stocked Gulf Team, since I'll never get over how good the livery looks. And that they're all NSR cars makes them quite competitive. It should be a good team to race for and against. 

HOW MY SCORING WORKS

It could be done with a single race, but it's more intended to be done with a series. But either way is possible. 

Team scoring is carried over from the individual points the cars got in the race. For example, if the 908 Porsche #1 comes in 4th and gets 16 points, those points are carried over to the Team score. 

A "Team" is a minimum of two cars sharing the livery or primary sponsor. The maximum eligible cars scoring for any Team would be two, no matter how many cars are on the Team. Teams with more than two cars would have an advantage of being able to field more competitors, which would offer better points opportunities. But to keep the competition even, only the two fastest cars a team has for a race would be eligible to transfer their points over. 

The rest of the field of cars that are not Team eligible run as lone entries. There are plenty of lone entries that can win any race, and they would certainly act as spoilers for any competitive team.

Team Sunoco - A smorgasbord of manufacturers. [I just noticed that the T70 seems to be on the verge of losing a wheel insert.]

With Team Sunoco, the question here becomes, can a team made up of three different manufacturers outrun a team made up of one? Team Sunoco consists of an NSR Porsche 908, a McLaren M6A and a Lola T70 [both from Thunderslot], and a Slot.it Ferrari 512M. There are all kinds of questions this lineup provides. I know the two Thunderslot cars are fast AF, and it's certain that the 908 is fast, and the Ferrari is right up there with them all with a few tweaks. It could very well turn into a manufacturer's war at the very top between the Sunoco Thunderslot cars and the NSR Gulf cars. I might be running a manufacturer's championship as well, but it will be informal. I don't think the outcome of that would be as interesting as having various manufacturers working with each other to win. 

Once a championship series starts, any new car will be added to a team if eligible, regardless of when in the season it joins. So while they may not come out with a high overall points total for the championship, they could step in and contribute to Team points right away. If the addition of a new car forms a new race Team, they will have to start from when they were first a team. No aggregate or retroactive scoring for any cars that might have started the series as a solo entry and suddenly find themselves on a Team. 

I'll be doing an introduction to the smaller teams coming up. There are just as many potential surprises there as there are in these two teams. I fully expect the Sponsor Championship to be a good one. 

New Car: Slot.it Ferrari 512M - Le Mans 24h 1971

 Number three in what I think is the best series car from Slot.it:

Awesome Ferrari? Check. Yellow? CHECK!!

Slot.it, you have absolutely nailed this car. Holy crap is it great! The Ferrari 512M is just such a good looking race car to start, and it's perfect! Holy crap. I know it's not an NSR car, but it races like one, practically right out of the box. Each of the three 512Ms are so incredibly dialed-in from the start that doing any chassis or body adjustments just lends more opportunity to select what type of handling you like. 

Just the thought of Porsches and Ferraris challenging for the win makes it all worth it. The Ferrari fits in perfectly with the rest of the Classics field, and it might be a bit better. I honestly don't know how to explain why it's so fast and handles so well aside from the standard stuff, but it's clearly a faster race car than many of the other Slot.it cars I have. It'll be interesting how the three cars compete. I know the #16 is very fast and well handling, and the Sunoco car is just as good. I have high expectations for this race car.

Sidebar Updates and Stuff

 Last night I was taking pictures for a much needed sidebar update, and I was uploading the shots this morning when I remembered that I should probably wait as I have another car coming. Cool thing is the upcoming car is going to make a new race team here. Not saying who yet, but it wouldn't be too hard to guess. HINT: it has nothing to do with this car...

A little dark in the fore for my liking.

Meanwhile, started setting up the Datsun:

For the curious, this car fits in perfectly with the rest of the GT class from Revoslot. They're fantastic race cars and an extremely competitive class. Any one of them could win at any time, and I like that. 

21k motor on an adjustable mount.

The car is sitting a little high in the front, so I'll be loosening the chassis to help bring that down.

Split fronts. Still runs great.