What sort of club is HBMRC? 

One which offers a positive environment & social outlet for a wide variety of ages and levels of finance. We have a good mix of members from ages 8 to well . . . "senior".

  What kind of racing is offered?

We began official club racing 15th February 2007 with a mix of "standard" (unmodified) Scalextric, Ninco, Fly, SCX etc slot cars divided into rough groups of equal power and handling performace. As the club develops, the interests of members will drive the development of different classes. Initial interest has been for "classics" such as older sports cars, American "muscle cars", V8 Supercars, LeMans and Japanese GT/Enduro cars, BMW Minis and Ford GT40 cars as possible specific classes of racing in the future.

  What make of car would I be able to use?

Any kind of 1/32^nd  scale plastic hard-bodied car from various makers, as approved under club rules. Note that we are "homologating" classes gradually, check our RULES page to see which classes we currently race on formal club nights. There are also practice sessions which give time for people to run cars other than those in our formal race classes.

Cars may have the motor, wheels, tyres and bushes glued in place to prevent slippage, and the tyres may be "trued" (run on sandpaper to make them round). That's about it. See club racing rules for more detail.

  Can I use a modified car on the track?

Sure, you're welcome to run non-standard cars for "fun" during practice nights, quite a few members are, the experiments are part of our learning curve, since many of us are more familiar with metal chassis hand built cars from 30 or more years ago. Note we cannot allow metal chassis cars on the track, as we need to avoid possible shorting out of the track rails.

  Will you ever move to a routed wooden track and/or National/International classes of metal chassis cars?

That will be determined by the level of future interest, not to mention practical skills, time and finance of club members.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT IF I GET INVOLVED?

It's all about…

Going into a cupboard and fishing out all your old Scalextric cars, searching for some bargain good runners in the pages of Trade Me, or even treating yourself to an occasional new motor from your favourite model shop

Deciding which cars from your stable to race at the next event

A bit of TLC, maybe some lubrication, new braids, tyres and some track testing

Getting out and meeting like-minded gents and ladies in a friendly environment every couple of weeks or so

The interest in seeing what cars everyone else has brought along this time, what will I be up against?

The struggle for speed and grip in the magnet-less classes

The worry of whether you stand a cat in hell's chance as the lights go green

The relief as the race favourite crashes out leaving you with a clear path to glory

The anxiety of being in a close battle with other drivers but knowing not to push it, because your car is at its limit of speed and adhesion

The satisfaction of being in a close battle with other drivers but knowing that you have something in reserve and can easily pull away

The sheer annoyance of making a stupid error through lack of concentration or being taken out of the race through someone else's accident

The elation of winning, or at least getting the best race position you could have hoped for in the circumstances

Sportsmanlike competition and good humour

Waiting for the official results to be published to see how you did

Trying to learn from your mistakes and hoping to improve your car, your driving (or both!) next time!

So if you have been daunted by other slot car clubs' complex rules and specifications for motors, ballast, gearing, size of chassis, wheels, tyres, magnets, lights, etc. - don't worry - we don't have any of that.

We'd rather be racing than scrutineering everyone's cars! Some people take this stuff far too seriously. Just bring a standard car and race it!

Thanks to Martin for this insight which we have reproduced.