The English Association of HO Racing Clubs organises the National HO scale slot car championships.

Check out our extensive schedule page and make a date to come and join the best kept 'secret' in slot car racing!

PC timing with gap to leader - Extensive results tabulated after each race meetings - trophies for winners at every meeting - Regulated power supplies used, at least 1200mA - Routed track sections - 8 stage brakes and brakes enabler for three-wire controllers - widest range of allowed cars and classes in Europe - challenging courses with non-constant-radius turns - 2 races per year on the world's greatest permanent HO track in Kent - Sophisticated paired heats rotation - step-up finals

Some background

The English Association of HO Racing Clubs traces it's roots back April 2002 when a race meeting was held in Great Burstead near Billericay, in a hall sourced by Deane Walpole. That meeting, run by former Sutton H:O Racing Club coordinator Peter Baldock, was enjoyed by all attending, and saw the HO scene in the UK re-energized. A second meeting followed at Billericay, again run by Peter but this time utilizing the good size of the hall to full effect with a large track designed by Jim Kelly, who also hand crafted many of the corners, which was made from the (at the time) ubiquitous Tomy track sections, but also the Lupico Tomy-compatible 18'' curves. Following the two meetings EHORC (Essex HO Racing Club) was formed.

In December of 2002 Jim sourced the Norton (near Bury St. Edmunds) hall for the January '03 meet with location, large hall size (and therefore a very big track) and wide choice of chassis allowed again being the order of the day. The race meeting featured wins for Jim and multiple HORACE champion Tony Baldock, racing on a non-scale replica of the Indianapolis F1 track. At this stage EHORC became EAHORC (East Anglia HO Racing Club), and championships were drawn up featuring a much more incentive-based points system than the UK had seen up until then. This was the first of many innovations and racing-led changes.

In March 2005 our name was changed again to English Association of HO Clubs, to reflect to involvement of two venues running to the ''East Anglia'' rules and format. The EAHORC championship returned to Norton twice more that year, wins for Deane and Mick Kench featured, with fixtures between Billericay ones (where Mike Ovens was amongst the winners). Those two venues formed the backbone of the series until 2006 when a change of priorities saw all rounds take place in one cost-effective locale, when we introduced our now established multi-class racing format and the renowned Mussel Bay Club in Kings Lynn, Norfolk became the first club outside of the HO sphere to add racing for it to it's roster, hosting the five EAHORC races and their own club nights. Since that time new venues and clubs have been added, but always with one eye on costs. This has allowed EAHORC to evolve into its current role, and focus on infrastructure improvements.

From the early days, EAHORC and the groups it evolved from have stood for maximum choice. Previously there had not been a consistent means of racing a wide range of chassis types, and any such moves always resulted in controversy. With an inclusive philosophy front and centre, EAHORC was able to move past that, especially once the multi-class format became established. Nowadays, we race a diverse number of chassis, from £5 ebay finds to $70 US-sourced 'rockets' and everything between. More importantly, the racers are as eclectic as their cars, and this give our race meetings a unique feel. In Late 2006, EAHORC's drive to find new racers turned up Andy Whorton. Andy had raced at National level many years before as a Junior and was happy to be reunited with his former pastime. As an adult he has contributed much to improvements in the technology we have access too, as EAHORC continues to strive for the right balance of fun and 'proper racing'. People like Andy, Jim and the irrepressible John Ovens have really driven HO on in the UK. 2008 saw routed track being used at EAHORC meets for the first time, with sectional routed pieces making their debut in October 2009, alongside the stunning AFX champcars pictured below (example top row, middle).

As of today there are 10 clubs affiliated to us and we are actively looking to add to that in the coming years, as well as helping any and all slot car clubs and individuals to get more from HO scale. To this end we have, for example, put on displays using John Ovens' superb garage track and Andy Whorton's portable tracks as seen at the 2007 BSCRA ''Nats'' and at the 2011 UK Slot Festival. To get further insight into our roots, check out our timeline