Round 6 of the EAHORC championship took place in Edmonton yesterday, with 15 drivers in attendance for the last round before the 84-day summer break.

There were wins for Martin Hill (F1 Premier Grade and Pro Modified), Clive Harland (Wizzard), Andy Whorton (Nascar) and John Ovens (Modified and F1 Main grade).

Scalextric have announced they will be released a Micro set themed around the new Brawn GP Formula 1 team. Click the image on the left  for details.

Walthers have at last released pictures of the Tony Stewart Life-Like twin pack, featuring the #14 cars in Office Depot and Old spice colours. The cars are due to be released in July.

Round 5 of the EAHORC championship took place at ''Edmo'' yesterday, with 14 drivers in attendance to race on a fast 82' track.

There were wins for Martin Hill (F1 Premier Grade and Pro Modified), Tony Ryder (F1 Main Grade and Wizzard), Marc Townsend (Nascar) and Tony Stacey (Modified).

Round 4 of the EAHORC championship took place at Pinewood yesterday, with a great attendance of 18, an HO track laid on top of their superb 1/32nd scale track to test everyone to the limit.

There were wins for Martin Hill (F1 Premier Grade and Pro Modified), Simon Scott (F1 Main Grade and Wizzard), Marc Townsend (Nascar) and Andy Whorton (Modified).

Slottech have released a new 'magnetless' chassis, The T2-Jet. Click the picture on the left to visit the relevant page at their website.

Round three of the EAHORC National Championship took place yesterday at Kings Lynn. 13 attended including newcomer Julian Allard.

There were wins for Jim Kelly (F1), Tony Stacey (F1 main grade), Martin Hill (Pro Modified), Andy Whorton (Modified), Marc Townsend (Nascar) and Ryan Betts (Wizzard).

Walthers have released low quality pictures of the 2009 Lowe's and Du Pont COT Nascars, and 4 others. Check out their website for individual versions. The Dewalt car is much improved, the Army and Alfac ones are new.

HO Racing Ahead (HORA) have a new website, check it out by clicking the logo on the right. Stock will also be brought to EAHORC and SCHORC race meets.

Walthers have announced a slew of new Life-Like cars and sets for release this spring and summer. Cars announced include:

#14 Old spice, #14 Office Depot, #5 Carquest/Kellogs, #99 Alfac, and #39 US Army, as well as the usual Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmy Johnson offerings.

The awesome start to the 2009 EAHORC season continued, with an excellent first meeting at the new South Cambridge club, SCHORC. 15 people rocked up to see Marc Townsend produce a top drawer win in F1 Premier grade, under immense pressure from reigning champion Martin Hill (Pro Modified winner).

There were also wins for Nigel Sykes (F1 main grade), Andy Whorton (Modified) and Peter Baldock (Nascar).

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1st February 2009

A new version of  the EAHORC chassis guide is now available. Click next to the logo on the left to download.

Scale Engineering have become the second company to release after-market parts for the A.F.X Mega-G, with these 'Got blue' self-lubricating bushings. Part # is 164-421 and the bushings cost USD 3.50 each.

This exclusive image shows the contents of the Mega-G pit kit, due out next month. If you would like to be included in the EAHORC group purchase of these kits email them here.

The 2009 EAHORC National season kicked off in style at DHORC, with the highest turnout ever recorded for a season opener.

Jim Kelly recorded his first F1 win in ages, and will be tough to beat this year. There were also wins for Roy Masters (F1 Main Grade), Martin Hill (Pro Modified), rookie Kevin Lye (Wizzard), Nick Sismey (Derby Spec AM) and Jamie Sismey (Derby Spec PM)

An additional Micro Scalextric set, G1055 ''Pro Rally'', has been announced. Cars are slated to be a works BP and Stobart Focus WRC pairing.

The first bodies released for the 1.5'' wheelbase version of the A.F.X Mega-G chassis should be 'revised' Porsche 962s with all-new (presumably) factual colour schemes, and using the same CLEARS body system as on the recent 2D and Cobra.

Mattel have released a new version of their Formula Global circuit set, containing two new Ferraris.

Pictures courtesy Kelly Pickell .

Word has reached us via MRE that Scalextric plan to release two new Micro sets next year, G1058 Need for Speed and G1059 Cars - The Movie.

Thanks to MRE for the heads up.

There are no pictures of the cars at the moment.

Australian Importer Toy Traders PTY have commissioned a new generic 'Nascar' in time for their domestic Christmas market, the 'Gasoline' stocker mounted on the Super G+ chassis.

Slottech have released a new chassis, the T3, with very long Polymer traction magnets. Click here and here for details of the chassis and the magnet options for it.

Today saw round 10 of the of 2008 EAHORC championship take place at Kings Lynn. Sound suppression materials and catch fencing were used for the first time. The attendance of 15 meant a new year average (also 15) record was set.

Wins for Martin Hill (F1 Premier Grade and Modified), Clive Harland (Wizzard), Ryan Betts (F1 Main grade), Alan Bullock (Open Wheel) and Kevin Golloghly (Nascar).

In line with their usual practice, Walthers Life-Like have announced they will be releasing updated versions of several of their COT Nascars. Those announced so far are Jeff Gordon, triple-champion Jimmie Johnson and both colour schemes of Dale Earnhardt Jnr. No images as yet, February is being mooted as the release month.

BSRT will be producing after market brush barrels and parts for the A.F.X Mega-G chassis. We presume these will be adjustable, unlike the stock item.

Also, A.F.X Racemaster will be releasing at tune-up kit for the chassis. Despite the name, the kit actually includes the most important spares:

shoes and shoe springs, rear axle, pinion, guide pin, bulkheads.

Yesterday saw round 9 of the of 2008 EAHORC championship take place at Edmonton. Clear barriers, Trackmate timing and routed track were all used for the first time and the meet was well attended.

Wins for Andy Whorton (F1 Premier Grade), Martin Hill (Wizzard), Dave Rouse (completing a hat-trick in Modified), Robin Cornwall (F1 Main grade) and Nigel Sykes (Sports GT).

AFX Racemasters are to produce an Audi R10 in 2009, and probably a Peugeot 908 as well. No word yet as to which chassis will be used (presumably the MG17) or whether or not lights will be fitted. Release date for the Audi is currently slated for October 2009.

Reports are emerging from the iHobby show that toy company Strombecker will be launching an HO line of products, based on the Marchon MR1 chassis and bodies. Scheduled release period is Q4, 2009.

More news as we get it.

Micro Scalextric have put together a set exclusively for Woolworths. ''Ultimate Velocity'' features the set only Peterson Racing Ferrari F430 and the previously released Scuderia Ecosse version and is currently retailing online for £30.00. Similarly, Argos have an exclusive 'Turbo Power' set for £40 with three cars.

AFX will be releasing two further Cobras with clear interiors before the year is out. These are likely to only be available in a (very large) set due out next month. There is also a Chaparral 2D to come as part of the CLEARS range.

EAHORC Member Tony Stacey has formed a new HO club, South Cambridge HO Racing Club (SCHORC). The club will begin hosting EAHORC National races from February next year, and have a superb venue within the local BMW/Mini dealership. Meanwhile, DHORC have recently agreed to host round 1 next January. Round 3 will hopefully be at MBR, now that multiple EAHORC Champion Martin Hill and current Modified Champion Dave Rouse have taken over the HO section of the club.

Jadlam , amongst others, are now stocking the Micro Scalextric G1042 Ferrari GT set, containing two F430s, for £32.

Takara Tomy have released a new range of 1/87th scale cars and track. The ''Owner's'' cars appear to have the same look and performance as the original T-Jets but more details will emerge in due course.

The homepage for the new range can be viewed here.

Round 8 of  the 2008 EAHORC championship took place at DHORC's club house in Derby Yesterday. There were wins for Martin Hill (F1 Premier Grade), Nick Sismey (Open wheel), Dave Rouse (Modified & F1 Main grade), Andy Whorton (Wizzard) and Alan Bullock (Nascar).

BSRT have changed the specification of their 901 G3/G3R ''Roller''. It now comes with compressed molded polymer magnets as opposed to C8 Ceramics. Cost is still just over £17, US racers are finding the gauss readings are 100-200 points up on the ceramics.

The Micro Scalextric Ferrari F430 is now on sale, Jadlam are selling them for £8 at their store and on ebay, Part # G0277.

Thank You to Nigel Sykes for the tip off.

After a gap of 10 weeks, EAHORC racing resumed in style with the HO Grand Prix at Pinewood. Martin Hill won F1 and Wizzard again, Roy Masters won his third Nascar A final on the trot, Dave Rouse won Modified (also recording the fastest lap and highest score of the day). Deane Walpole won F1 main grade and is now promoted to Premier grade.

BSRT will be making hop-up parts for the A.F.X Mega-G chassis. No details as yet but our guess would be shoes and guide pins to begin with and then other items to follow. Adjustable brushes would be a racers favourite.

Ebay is now awash with the latest release from Autoworld, namely Xtraction Ultra-G release 6 featuring:

Dodge Viper GTSR in Blue, Dodge Viper GTSR in Red with Silver Stripes
C5R Chevy Corvette in Yellow, C5R Chevy Corvette in Silver
Jeep CJ-5 in Green, Jeep CJ-5 in Black
'77 Pontiac Trans Am in White with Blue Bird, '77 Pontiac Trans Am in Red
Dodge Charger SRT8 in Black, Dodge Charger SRT8 in Silver
'57 Chevy Nomad in Red/White Starburst, '57 Chevy Nomad in Yellow/Orange Starburst

For £50 it is possible to buy all 12 bodies fitted to ''freewheeling'' chassis. Click thumbnail on left for larger image of this item.

A.F.X Racemasters have released the first images of their Champcar body in it's production material. Note the wishbones and Bridgestone lettered tyres. There will be a few more graphic changes for the final version

Click on the image to see a larger version.

A.F.X Racemasters are to release a new transformer this Autumn. The ''Tri-power pack'' will have a fixed amperage of 1A, and three voltage settings of 8V, 12V and 22V.

More details when we have them.

Updated 17th July: The units will be regulated and filtered.

WHP are considering bringing out an injection-moulded 'hard' body for their range of chassis. With the rival chassis from Slottech and BSRT already able to run such bodies with modification, this is a major boost for EAHORC's Modified class where such chassis are starting to become a force.

The picture right shows a hard body pinned to a WHP Storm by Martin Hill.

Scalextric are to release a new Micro set, G1049 ''Bash N Crash'', featuring two unique versions of the Nissan 350Z with 'Pioneer' and 'Alpine' sponsorship similar to the already released 1/32nd cars.

To see a larger version of the Alpine car click the thumbnail of the orange car on the right. The set will cost £40 and only be available from Argos.

Innovative Hobby Supply have released another set of ''Jel-Claws'' for HO via their eBay store. The ST 2050s sell for $8 per 10 and have an outside diameter similar to Supertires .434s.

DHORC have an excellent new webpage, content will be added through the coming months, including video of the world famous 24hr races.

A.F.X Racemasters have released to us pictures of the new #13 Daytona Cobra, which features clear glass. Expect a September release for this and the 2 new GT40s (also part of the ''CLEAR' range).

Walthers have added pictures of the new Life-Like COT Nascars to their site. Click here to see them all (pages 2 and 3).

Round 6 of the EAHORC championship too place today in Edmonton. A lower turnout (11) but still at lot of fun. There were wins for Martin Hill in F1 Premier grade (Tyco), Andy Whorton in Wizzard (P3E) and Roy Masters in Nascar (Life-Like T). Deane Walpole won both Modified (G3R Neo) and F1 main grade (Tyco) and is now on the cusp on stepping up to F1 Premier grade.

100ths markers were used for the first time and were a success.

The is the prototype of the eagerly-awaited Ferrari F430 from Micro Scalextric. Note the styled wheels, which will hopefully make it on to the production version. Click on image to see larger version.

A.F.X Racemasters have announced that their Turbo chassis will be phased out. It should however continue to be seen in budget sets and maybe the odd individual car as AFX have many chassis to hand. The SG+ and SRT will continue alongside the new Mega-G MG17 and MG15.

Wizzard have this week announced an Extreme version of their Storm chassis, with Neo magnets. It is not yet clear if the armature has been upgraded to haul the stronger magnets around. Watch this space!

Click picture to see a larger version.

Autoworld have released this picture of the next batch of T-Jets, due for released in July/Aug. A very eclectic release this time around!

A new version of  the EAHORC chassis guide is now available. Click the logo on the left to download.

Round 5 of the EAHORC Championship took place yesterday on the superb ''AFX Raceway'' portable track belonging to HOSS. The venue was Vodafone's stunning world HQ in Newbury.

Congratulations to winners Martin Hill, Matthew Siddall, Deane Walpole, Roy Masters and Will Stemman.

A.F.X Racemasters have released images of the 2008 Champcars. Bear in mind these are only rough, sit higher than the final version and are resin cast. Click the picture to see the rest of the AFX Photo album.

The Bourdais and Power cars are likely to be set-only.

Toy R Us in America now has both of the Speed Racer sets from Mattel listed for sale and here are the four cars.

Round four of the EAHORC National took place today. Attendance was good (17) and there were wins for Martin Hill, John Ovens and Pinewood's Steve Hills. The website will be updated by midweek.

A.F.X Racemasters have released pictures of the next two GT40s, Known as ''CLEARS'' This image is of a prototype, including a crude interior which will be much improved on the final version. Chassis will be the SRT. Check out the AFX Photo album to see more images.

5th April 2008

Autoworld and Mattel have both announced Speed Racer sets. The Mattel set (cars shown on left) is already available for pre-order, seemingly released with zero fanfare as per their normal practice, and the cars work out at £6.30 each! No release date for the AW set (shown right) as yet, but some sites list September.

Dash Motorsports have announced an upgrade can motor for two of their future chassis, which features N45 Neodymium magnets and bearings at both ends. This image is of the prototype.

A.F.X Racemasters have released the first pictures of their new Mega-G or MG17 chassis, which will be used in conjunction with the Panoz Champcar body, and features very low sides and a 1.7'' wheelbase. A second version with a more conventional wheelbase of 1.5'' (MG15?) will also be released.

26th March 2008

A.F.X Racemasters have announced that plain white Champcars will be available in the new Panoz body style, and at the same time as the main releases.

The EAHORC forum has moved to SlotForum (Hosted by IPS) as of today. Hopefully this move will result in both more posting and higher visibility for EAHORC and HO in general, as SlotForum is an extremely busy and popular board. So get posting people!

17th March 2008

Autoworld have announced more sets, and another new pancake chassis. Like the Ultra-G this is a remake but with additional traction magnets. You can view details of the new items (no pictures as yet) here and Motorcitytoyz.com should have all the pictures on their site soon, having today posted some at the Hobbytalk Forum.

Round 3 of the EAHORC championship is now history, congrats to A final winners Martin Hill (F1 and Wizzard), Dave Rouse (F1 main grade) and Jamie Kelly (Modified). The website should be updated fully by the 18th.

13th March 2008

Member club HOSS have recently purchased a nifty device that has the potential to quickly measure the distance around a layout. If it works LHORC will follow suit. It should make the position of tenths markers much quicker and more accurate. 100ths anyone?

Pictures posted on a US Forum by Jeff from Motorcitytoyz.com of the final version of the Autoworld Super III chassis confirm it has 4 wheelbases! For those of you that have ordered these chassis through EAHORC the latest is they will leave the USA on Thursday. Update: There are indications that the axles are wider than 34mm so please correct this before using in an EAHORC race. For 2008 You can use any other rear axle & crown in Nascar as well as Modified class.

2nd March 2008

Just had communication from the BSCRA chairman Rob Lees that indicates we will be able, if we so wish, to have access to tables for the May race. This will give us the option to extend AFX Raceway along past the windows.

We can confirm that round 8 of the EAHORC championship at Pinewood will take place on the monster (160') 1/24th scale layout, providing we have enough track pieces! The race takes place on Aug 10th and promises to be an awesome meeting so put that date in your diary.

25th February 2008

Latest word with the Round 2 / Autoworld Super III cars is they will reach US retailers on March 1st. Hopefully those of you that have placed an order will be able to run them at Swindon, or worst case scenario pick them up at that meet. There’s many a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip, as they say, and dates of AW releases do have a habit of slipping so watch the space. Please remember to run the Stockcars in Nascar class you will need to carry out a repaint. All the cars are of course Modified class legal as they come, pending no part of the car being wider than the usual 34mm, although I still think a repaint of the Stockcars would be a good thing.

Eagled-eyed racers would have noticed that the Tomy timers were mains powered at Today's meeting. Whilst this is a minor change, it looks to be well worth the effort (thanks to Andy Whorton for carrying out the work) as it removes the worry of batteries failing. By the time of the next race there should be further improvements to the timers, with an IR bridge replacing the troublesome white bases. The bridge was due to make it's debut today, but this was postponed following teething troubles on red lane. Once the system is fully tested it should add another improvement to meetings, no more problems with cars getting airborne, clipping the bases or tripping each other's reed switches. Fingers crossed.

EAHORC will continue to asses PC based timing systems. So far these have many good and bad points, and it may be that one won't be adopted unless a bespoke programme capable of running a whole meet, with step ups, classes and dropped scores factored in, can be purchased or designed. We will also be assessing the Generation II timers due from AFX at the end of the year.