Portugal in a Play Room

Prancing Horse (issue #107) - By Mo Moscovitz

The actual dimensions of the flat surface upon which the track and surrounding terrain are constructed are 12 by 32 feet. H.O. gauge slot cars are 1:64 scale (by wheel-base). Using that formula, they laid out a track that is 1.67 scale miles long. The track surface itself was widened, then carefully painted to give it the proper look. Even the white lines along the edges of the track are purposely imperfect just as they are in real life.

The first corner is a high speed 'S' turn as found at Estoril. This leads onto the approximately 28 foot long straightaway taken straight out of a photograph of the Nurburgring. The humps over the spectator tunnels which launched real cars in the past are perfectly capable of doing the same thing in scale, judicious use of the throttle is required. Turn 2, the Shell corner started out as a corner from Estoril, but was modified to more closely resemble the Molson corner at Le Mans. Turn 3, affectionately known as 'the terminator' is very challenging. Beginners spend lots of time trying to get around this one. It takes getting turn 2 right to be properly set up for '3' of course, it requires getting both of these right to get through turn 4!

In turn 5, the top of the hill, the car drops into a dished area after cresting a hill. Keeping the car on the track here can be a challenge as well. A short straight leads you into the Marlboro chicane, as found at several circuits including Monza. Upon entry to several of these turns, you will find meter boards showing braking distances - very authentic looking.

Another short burst leads you into the Fosters or stadium section, which gives the feel of Adelaide, Australia. This is the slowest section of the track and leads to a recreation of the famed 'Karrousel' from the Nurburgring. The racing line leads through the concrete drainage ditches at the bottom of the turn, just as on the real track. The infamous turn 14 is instant death to newcomers, according to Norm. The track then leads you under the Iceberg bridge, through another tricky section, to the final turn. This final turn is the tightest on the track, (Norm has a perverse sense of humor), and many a 'perfect' lap has been destroyed by it just inches from the start/finish line.

What's fast? Well, the track record, held by (surprise) Norm, is 11.24 seconds. This computes to an average of - gasp! - 534 scale MPH. That's right, these little 'Tyco 440' brand race cars, which cost about $15.00, are hitting close to 800 scale MPH down the straightaway It is no exaggeration to say that the level of concentration and hand-eye coordination necessary to go fast rivals that of driving a real car quickly It is absolutely imperative to lead the car around the track with your eyes as you feed in throttle using a pistol-grip controller.

While Norm is quick to point out that he has company in the 11 second range and several people have lapped in the 12s, the best your author has managed thus far is a 13.87. (Your photographer has lapped at 13.81.) Needless to say we both find as many excuses as we can to go visit Norm. "Hey Norm, as long as we're here, do you mind if we go run the track a little...?" End

Closing notes: The timing system was quite complex. The timer was wired underneath the track at the start/finish line, accurate to within 100th of a second. Each time a faster lap was recorded the timer sounded which of course sent everyone rushing over to the display screen. Although 11.24 is the record several laps have been recorded in the 11.2's. When the track was first created the lap times were in the mid 12's, gradually the times fell into the low 11's. The timing system could track races up to hundreds of laps long. No modified cars were allowed (although a few tried to sneak them in now and then) so as to try and keep things as fair for everyone as possible.

Electrical connections were wired underneath the track surface as well to insure a continous flow of electricity at several strategic places around the track. Due to the length of the track, a continous flow was a problem in the beginning.

A special thanks to Jason Boye who is the master. If you could think of an idea for the diorama, he could create it. - Norm Welch

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