Brands Hutch - www.brands.hutch.btinternet.co.uk
The one and only running Southend slot club. Run on a weekly basis and in its ninth successful year.
Built in my garage it once accommodated 9 people including 2 TV camera crew, but usually just its six members.
Made from Scalextric plexy track, all 26 metres of it never fails to run week in and week out. Pinned to MDF board and levelled run offs formed from rough side up hardboard it makes good racing. There are no feature track sections such as; chicanes, banked curves so racing is like the bigger clubs.
There are Scalextric, Airfix buildings and some I have made myself. All are illuminated. There are just under 400 spectators and rising.
Trees are of various sources including one member’s old cut up Christmas tree.
The backdrop was painted by me but is gradually being covered by various posters given by members.
It has full braking, working Scalextric pit stops, and amplified sounds. Pit stop times are determined by the computer and how long the driver wants to push his random computer determined tyre wear, gained on each lap. The start is randomly generated by the computer, which is never the same in succession. There are sounds for laps, when you enter and when to leave the pits once you have fulfilled your pit time, also for heavy tyre wear and when you’re approaching blow out percentages.
Even with all the scenery and spectators damage to cars is very rare and usually caused by the racer, not the trackside features. There are foam barriers, all of which are not obvious, on all danger points which mean airfoils are seldom broken.
All of these features make for different racing on every occasion what with drivers race stratagem and the fact that it’s more than a plank of wood with track pinned on it.
Brands Hutch also has its own web site with unique scratch built cars and
much more.
