Welcome to 'Al-Arbuli'
slot car club!
We are a new and friendly little
club and our members range from 10 years old to pension age and
more! We are very informal and although we like a bit of
competition between ourselves, most of the time we are learning
from each other and trying hard not to crash!
We have a 53 foot routed MDF track
as pictured in the 'Gallery' which is a short and twisty track
and as it's wooden, there is no metal for those cars with
magnets (Which aid stability) so a little skill is required!
To keep costs as low as possible, we
race only 'Out of the box' cars by Scalextric, Ninco, Fly etc
which can cost only 35 euros brand new, any controller is
allowed from 9 euros upwards although most of the members have
bought better quality ones such as Parma, Slot-Wiz and Slot-It
We race three classes of cars,
Formula 1 type open wheel racers, Saloon cars such as the new
Renault Clio and GT class cars which arguably are the fastest
due to the wide wheel base and low centre of gravity.
In the future we will be increasing
the range of cars to include Production class cars which are
very fast, these cars cost more than the standard ones and begin
at around 45 euros upwards, most of the members have the odd one
or two production cars in their toolbox such as the JK Falcon
series with metal moving chassis and Angle-winder type motors,
these cars are good to hone your skills on!!
A new 100 foot + track is being
built right at this moment as the club is gradually expanding,
so very shortly it is hoped that our cars will be tested to
their maximum speed which can be 60 MPH+
We meet twice a week, Thursday night
at 7pm till 9.30pm and on a Saturday afternoon at 1pm till about
4.30pm. Please don't be shy, come along and have a look, we
don't bite! You will be made more than welcome.
To contact us;
Dick Cooper on
606 198 457
John Watts 950 461 602
Email:
admin@slotracer.org
Our forum is here
CLICK ME
When Dick Cooper first mentioned that he was
taking up slot car racing again, my initial reaction was 'What? Scalextric?
That's for kids surely...' I had several Scalextric sets when I was young
but due to having to spend time laying out the track and messing about with
the cars, and then the inevitable clearing up and putting away afterwards,
it was a hobby I soon lost interest in, although the actual racing was fun.
Anyway, Dick put a few adverts up about starting
the new club and I gave this page over to help him along a bit. Being
inquisitive, I asked if it would be alright if I came along one Thursday
evening to suss out the new track they had built and meet the guys, Dick
said no problem and the coffee would be on him
To begin with, the club met at Dick's house as
that was where the track was, but a piece of good fortune came along and the
club were offered the facilities of a brand new industrial unit to site the
track and to make the place a new home for the club, complete with a bar and
restaurant, under cover and out of the elements, what a stroke of luck! The
unit is easy to find as it is part of the new indoor market 'Al Arbuli', at
Arboleas behind the Meroil petrol station, easy parking and somewhere to eat
and drink too. The club meets every Thursday evening at 7pm till 9pm and on
Saturday afternoons from 1pm till 4pm.
My first impressions on entering were, what a
nice welcome! The lads there went out of their way to explain how the track
was built, the differences in the cars, the different types of controllers,
how much it would cost if I were to join and buy a set-up etc. I never
realised how far slot racing (As that's what it's called now) had come in
the years since I last had a go, awesome! Plus the fact that the hobby is
family orientated, anyone can join in from little kids to err....big kids
(Even those with beards)
Dick let me have a go with a few of his cars and
I was astounded at how fast and manoeuvrable they are nowadays, far superior
to what I remember. I didn't know, but a lot of modern cars are fitted with
magnets, to keep them on the track and not on the floor, but this feature is
of no use on a club track as the track is made from MDF and the metal rails
found on the plastic Scalextric track are replaced with copper tape, hence
no attraction for the magnets, so skill is required to keep the cars between
the slots.
I revisited the club on a Saturday afternoon,
this time the lads had rigged up a computer controlled lap counter which was
capable of recording all the times from the 4 lanes complete with names and
track colours, very clever! I also learned that lighter fuel is a necessity
if you intend racing, a few drops to the rear tyres soon has them soft and
gripping
I'm so interested in taking up this hobby, that
I've gone and bought a car, with another to follow very soon, and then a
third to complete the line-up! I just have to get a decent controller and
I'm away! The initial costs of starting up are very low compared to other
hobbies, basic Scalextric cars are around 35 euros new, a better than basic
controller is 26 euros and a tin of lighter fuel......? So in reality, 60
euros could see you whizzing round the track, unless of course you already
have an old Scalextric set hidden away?
All in all, slot car racing is competitive,
fairly cheap to start up but most of all FUN! I can well recommend the 'Al
Arbuli' Slot Racing Club here in Arboleas to visit, you might even get
hooked.. Watch out Lewis Hamilton!!
Nige
