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Click the
links below to learn even more about EAHORC:
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.
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Just a few of the 100s of pictures generated over the years: |


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