2003 Marconi Foundation Proxy Races

Class A (Sports racing cars, no traction magnets)

The race

A very disputed class, with entries down from the precedent years but nonetheless a very competitive field. After 3 years trying hard from his native Holland, Matthieu Visser had the cars to win both the race and the overall finish. His scratch-built Lola T63B Can-Am, complete with high wing, finished two laps clear of his McLaren M6B in Jo Bonnier colors. The reason why the M6 did not win is because one rear wheel fell off, and would not stay on. So we drove it on 3 wheels and it still managed to make it!  Its concours points mixed with its handicap and proper ground clearance edged it in first overall, and deservedly so. Third in the race was Jim Cunningham's very conventional EJ Hobbies-framed Strombecker Ferrari 330 P2, a sweet machine to drive indeed. Jim's Lola ended 4th in the race, but narrower cars had more mechanical grip and were faster. Fifth was one of two Al Penrose machines, a Mercedes 300SL with a superb chassis (first in chassis concours points) but betrayed by its unfinished body. In sixth was Al's Cheetah. This car had an odd problem as it refused to register any laps on the white lane. We counted them and added them anyway, as the car looked like it could actually be right up front. It was sweet and fast. But not fast enough... In seventh came the stock Anni-Mini Porsche 550, its Ninco NC1 motor clearly overwhelmed by the faster machines, most of them with some form of FK-style motor. In 8th was without a doubt the fastest car there, but it ran on sponge tires, a major mistake for a car that should have rather easily won. This was the same Ford J-car used by Philippe de Lespinay at the 2002 "Bordeaux Vintage Meet II" in France. Grasping for grip, it was fast in a straight line but dead in the corners. Last was Marc Dodinots' superb Slot Classics Mercedes 300SL. As the Anni-Mini car, its motor was slow, but worse: it chewed its brand new Slot.It gears, and DNF'ed. Our feeling is that Marc may have failed to changed the pinion on the stock motor, and the gears just did not mesh properly. Unfortunately, it is also one of only two cars that suffered some damage. When the gear gave up the ghost, the car was a sitting duck and got hit, causing it to roll and some damage was sustained by the top windshield.

The Concours d'Elegance

Matthieu Visser used a Maxi-Models kit for his concours-winning McLaren M6B. It features a complete cockpit detail including all the sheet alloy as in the real car. Its laser cut steel chassis was Matthieu's first but was efficient. Well painted, well detailed, it was unanimously picked by the Concours judges. Second place was given to Jim Cunningham's Lola T163, a previous Marconi winning entry. The car was modified for 2003 but was not as competitive as it had been on the new Buena Park Raceway splendid Carrera layout. Third place was Al Penrose's Mercedes 300SL that gathered most of its points in the chassis department. The machined brass unit had a Pittman DC196 and a self-aligning steering that worked just dandy. Beautiful work and the judges were no fools. Jack Marteville's little Porsche 550 was fourth, just a pretty little car. In fifth came Jim Cunningham's Ferrari 330P2, a well-finiehed and nice car, followed by Matt Visser's Lola and Kathryn Walwick's Ford. The Dodinot Mercedes did not gather too many points because the judges felt that Marc put no effort into it (it was indeed a stock RTR) and so was not deserving. Sounds unfair to me...and after consultation it was corrected. A new impromptu judging was performed by two of the world's greatest pro-racers; "John" Tore Anderson, the only person ever to win a major open-class race in now five decades, and Bryan Warmack, Mr. Concours Extraordinaire, the former Team Riggen captain. Justice was rendered and allowed Marc's 300SL to climb to seventh.

Matthieu Visser's McLaren M6A was as perfect as one would want for an actual working 1/32 scale car. Besides, it was FAST and very reliable to a fault, even after it lost a rear wheel! Soldiering on three, it achieved a second-place finish and handily won the Concours. Its chassis was a laser-cut angle-winder with a Professor Motor mill, not the fastest by all means but the most consistent. The whole car was finely detailed, far from the rough previous attempts submitted by Matt. A sure winner, and it was. It suffered absolutely no racing damage during its race to the overall win. It also cleared the .125" ground clearance with room to spare.

Class A results

Final Placings

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