What And How We Race

Despite being named Molesey Scalextric Club, we race 1:32 scale slot cars from many other popular manufacturers too. In fact, these days we focus more toward the race oriented brands such as NSR, Slot.it, Sideways and Scaleauto, primarily because these cars are usually built to finer tolerances and with better quality components than, say, a Scalextric car, and as a consequence provide a much more level playing field for enjoyable racing.

Our race classes

Our 2024 race classes are:

  • Formula 1 – NSR and Scaleauto
  • Sideways Group 5
  • Sideways GT3
  • Slot.it DTM
  • Club Cars – RevoSlot Toyota Supra

All except our Club Cars class are for cars provided and maintained by their owners. Our Club Cars class is a fleet of cars provided and maintained by the club.

Each year in November the club holds its AGM during which classes for the following year are agreed. Club members review the existing classes and vote upon which they wish to continue and which, if any, they wish to make changes to or replace. Sometimes we’ll bring back a class that has been raced before, occasionally we’ll start a new class if a particularly exciting new range of cars has hit the shops. We do, though, try hard to keep the cost of participation as low as possible, so entirely new classes are only introduced sparingly.

Our 2024 classes

Formula 1

NSR and Scaleauto generic single-seaters in the style of F1 cars raced between 1986 and 1997. Teams included:

  • AGS
  • Andrea-Moda
  • Arrows
  • Benetton
  • Brabham
  • Coloni
  • Dallara
  • EuroBrun
  • Ferrari
  • Footwork
  • Fondmetal
  • Jordan
  • Larrousse
  • Leyton House
  • Ligier
  • Lola
  • Lotus
  • March
  • McLaren
  • Minardi
  • Onyx
  • Osella
  • Pacific
  • Prost
  • Sauber
  • Simtek
  • Stewart
  • Tyrrell
  • Williams
  • Zakspeed
Rules

Sideways Group 5

Spectacular extensively modified production-based cars which raced between 1976 and 1982. The FIA’s Group 5 ‘Special Production Cars’ rules restricted the width of the car and required only the bonnet, roof, doors and boot lid to retain their original shape, so cars were built with standard body widths but wide wheel arch extensions.

  • BMW 320
  • BMW M1 Sauber
  • BMW M1 Schnitzer
  • Ferrari 512 BB LM
  • Ford Capri Mk III
  • Ford Escort Mk II
  • Ford Mustang
  • Lancia Beta Montecarlo
  • Lancia Stratos
  • Nissan Skyline
  • Porsche 935 K2
  • Porsche 935/77A
  • Porsche 935/78
  • Porsche 935/78-81
  • Toyota Celica LB Turbo
Rules

Sideways GT3

Racing versions of modern GT road cars.

  • Aston Martin Vantage
  • Bentley Continental
  • BMW M4
  • BMW M6
  • Ford GT
  • Lamborghini Huracán
  • Lexus RC F
  • McLaren 720S
Rules

Slot.it DTM

Touring cars which raced in the original DTM – Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (German Touring Car Championship) – held from 1984 to 1996, initially under FIA Group A rules and then from 1993 much more liberal FIA Class 1 Touring Cars rules.

In its later years the championship was dominated by Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz and Opel with high-tech cars featuring advanced electronic driver aids, 2.5 litre engines, carbon fibre chassis and four-wheel drive.

Rules

Club Cars

RevoSlot Toyota Supra GT2

Our simplest class and the perfect introduction for novices and those new to racing at a club. We provide the cars and controllers, all you need to do is turn up and drive. It doesn’t get easier than that!

Each of the track’s six lanes has a car and controller assigned to it which stay with that lane throughout the event. Every driver competes in six heats, driving in each lane once, so the only variable is the driver.

Our cars for 2024 are RevoSlot Toyota Supras and our controllers are TruSpeed’s BP II model, a simple-to-use electronic controller with user-adjustable brake and sensitivity controls.

If you’ve ever wondered about visiting a club, but have worried that you won’t have the right equipment or knowledge to be able to take part, worry no longer. We’ve done everything but the driving for you!

Join us

Our race formats

Our club-night races are usually run to one of two formats: a lap-based race where drivers cover a fixed number of laps, or a time-based race where drivers race for a fixed amount of time.

Drivers are divided into two groups, one of which races while the other marshals. Where possible, drivers are placed in a group with others of similar speed. This way everyone, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to enjoy close racing.

Our lap-based format sees each driver racing six heats, one heat in each lane. Heats are usually 15 laps, but occasionally this varies. The race result is determined by the total time each driver takes to complete all of his heats; quickest time wins.

Our time-based format sees each driver racing six heats, one heat in each lane. Heats are usually of between two and five minutes duration. The race result is determined by the total distance each driver covers over all six heats; greatest distance wins.

There are no bonuses for winning a heat, and no dropped scores, so even if you win one or more heats it’s no guarantee that you’ll win the race overall. A particularly bad performance in one heat can quickly drop you down the leaderboard, so consistency is key.

To help marshals re-slot crashed cars as quickly as possible, coloured adhesive ‘lane tape’ matching the colour of the car’s lane is stuck on a prominent part of the car’s bodywork; you can see it on the cars in the photo at the top of this page. To the purist this rather spoils the look of the car, but no better solution has been found by any club, anywhere, so that’s what we use!