Early 80's Nats part 2

Early 1980's Nationals

Part 1

National Champions
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Lets look back at the British Champions of the early 80's. There were big changes at Nationals - 

Driver grading were introduced in 82, raising the number of competitors in each class from around 34 to 50 (as it is to this day). In this first year there were separate finals for premier and main grade drivers. From 83 the main grade drivers could run in both the overall and the main grade final, this continued through the 80's.

In 83 Group 12 motors became compulsory in Saloon.

Formula 32, a class for the novice driver, featured standard chassis and motors. This was abandoned in favor of Novice Saloon. 

Then there was a new track, replacing the ECRA A track that had nbeen used throughout the 70's.

The winners in those days were so often the Haydon pair of Ian Jensen and Pete Hore. At the 1983 Nats they managed a unique joint first in Sports/ GT !  How you may ask? They were fighting for the lead, over 5 laps clear of one C.Gooding (his day would come!), came to the esses side by side on lap 99 - the last corner before the finish and both deslotted! Neither one knocked the other out, so would be down to the marshal to decide who would be National Champion?  They were awarded joint first.

Ian Jensen  (left) and Pete Hore 

This was taken just after their unique tie for the Sports/GT title at Sunderland in 1983.  That Pete's winning car hot off the track.

1982 was the final year of unlimited motors in saloon. This meant that Sports/GT and Saloon cars were essentially identical apart from the body - indeed most people had bodies for both classes for each chassis.

 Ian Jensen's 1982 winning saloon.

The center section of the chassis is cut from spring steel sheet and the pans are brass. At 3 3/4 onz (about 107 gms) it might sound a little heavy by today's standards, but it was the lightest car in the final, some 30 gms lighter than George Kimber's 5th place car.

The motor is a Johnson 111 can with polymer bonded cobalt magnets and a 26 turns of 26  armature. The armatures were all "full length" - .500 inch stacks - twice as long as we use now.

Pete Hore's 1982 winning Sports/GT

Again the center section is spring steel sheet and the pans are brass. The tech chart again records the weight as 3 3/4 onz - everything else in the final was heavier.

The can is an InPHinity can - this was a folded can developed by Pete (hence the PH) and Dave Harvey. It provided stronger polymer cobalt magnets as the slightly bigger can allowed more magnet volume than the 111.  The arm was 26 turns of 26.

Grand Prix cars were quite different chassis - the rules required inline motors - but a major difference from today was that the rules didn't limit the class to 4 wheels - and about 80% of the field used 6 wheeled Tyrrells.  Below is Pete Hore's 82 winning car. This is a brass and piano wire chassis.  The screws in the middle between the wheels are adjusted to control the pan movement. The pans sit on top of the center section and the diagonal wires connect them to the pans in the side pods. The middle pair of wheels are also fixed to the pans (that was the conventional way of building a 6 wheeler).  At 4 onz (around 113 gm) this was a light car for it's day, particularly compared with Adrian Darling's second place car which weighed in at a massive 5 1/4 onz (about 150 gms). Pete's motor is a 111 can with the usual polymer cobalts and 40 turns of 28 armature.

 

Many thanks to John Goldsmith for the photos

Next Page - 80s Nats Part 2 .

Chris Frost 

27 Aug 2001

 

Copyright © 2001 British Slot Car Racing Association       All rights reserved

All the  photographs are copyright John Goldsmith 1982 - 1983.