NEWS
The news notes are taken from the weekly Club email.
They are relevant points of interest at the time of being published so note that they can be superceded.

2009/07/13
Q: Please explain the ruling on rear axle widths.
A: The rule exists to stop wheel hubs and tyres from protruding unrealistically outside of the body work of a slot car.

• The distance a wheel hub can protrude outside of the top edge of the wheel arch as viewed from above is amended to a zero tolerance.
  The rule has existed for since 1997 in the Viking rule book and was normally referred to as the 'allowance of 1mm either side of the car' rule - but this refers to the tyre only, not the wheel hub. For clarity, no amount of wheel hub can protrude beyond the top edge of the wheel arch.
• This rule applies to the HUB and NOT the TYRE. The tyre can protrude but must still fit the hub properly. The tyre protrusion will normally be in respect of its natural bulging - not extra tread on the track!
• In the case of slot cars produced AS STANDARD with the hub protruding outside the wheel arch then the driver should present the car to the committee for scrutineering and a decision will be made.
• It is worth noting that every time a hub is glued on to the axle, removed, glued back, removed and so on, the hubs moves further out because of the build up of glue inside the wheel hub boss that goes on to the axle shaft. This doesn't mean that a driver can mount the hub outside the confines of the wheel arch and plead that the build up of glue is prohibiting the ability to stay within the maximum width. It does mean you have to source new hubs. For this reason, the "hub flush with top of wheel arch" rule will be strictly applied.
  
  As with all the club rules, keeping the car standard along with a few 'club rules' to make a car handle better is encouraged rather than the rules being the maximum allowances a driver should build the car too.

2009/07/06
Q: How does the  Handicap system for the Viking Racers Cup support races work? 
A: We are using the Handicap system on the computer for ALL the Support race heats this month.
The Handicap is calculated from the BEST LAP TIMES you set during all the heats previously run during the month.
So, if you set fastest lap times you will receive a time penalty on the next weeks grid.
This brings up some interesting strategies you can try. For instance, you could go for a Best Lap time to gain the extra point but then you may crash - and/or win a point - but then you will get a heavier penalty next week. Another thought is to pace yourself during the race so that you don't get Best Lap but you get good results for the points table. Hmmm! I can hear you thinking already!
The Crash N Burn routine seems to be gaining favour. If anyone has thoughts about adopting this method for ALL Support races or Main races let me know.

2009/06/02
Q: Can I put oil on the tape? 
A: The club rules state that you can clean the tyres between heats - but only with tape. The intention of this rule is to stop people oiling the tyres between heats as well. This takes up an inordinate amount of time but, of course, can improve tyre grip. It is, therefore, possible to 'lace' the tape with a little oil and use the tape to clean the tyres between heats. Whilst this doesn't exactly fit within the spirit of the ruling it doesn't strictly break it either - and can be viewed as an ingenious work-around to try gain that little advantage. So, 'Well done!' if you thought of it. But I've blown the secret wide open now! Oil on Tape can still be used if you wish but the penalty for going too far and putting a car with 'wet' tyres on to the track, will now be adhered to rigidly. The penalty is zero points for the heat. 
The 'Oil on Tape' technique can't be banned because it would be impossible to prove under the scrutineering rules if the tape had been oiled. Therefore, the club rule of 'tyres must be dry when the car is brought to the grid' will be applied firmly. That is that the driver can place the car on the grid but the car's power will be stopped and the heat points forfeited if1/ the car is seen to have wet tyres when scrutineered (randomly, by request or otherwise) by a member of the committee, or2/ the car leaves a wet trail when it accelerates away from the grid.
 
As a matter of good housekeeping the driver should:
a/ ensure tyres are dry before placing the car anywhere on the track
b/ ensure there is no excess oil on the chassis that can be transferred to the tyres during tyre cleaning
c/ ensure there is no obvious excess oil on the tape
d/ ensure that you do not use any cloths to transfer oil to the tyres
e/ ensure that you do not use any liquids of any kind on the tyres between the heats 
The Race Controller's duty is to 'Black Flag' a car that has any sign of oil on the tyres that appears wet, or is wet to the touch, when the car is placed on the track. This also includes the Start period when the car pulls away from the grid. If the car leaves a wet mark at the grid then the penalty is applied. The penalty is zero points for that heat and the power for that car will be turned off on the appropriate lane so that the car can not race in that heat.

2009/05/04
Q: What classes can Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, Jaguar and Aston Martin cars race in?
A: Well, obviously, they are all sport cars. So, they run in a Sport (or Super Sport if tuned up).
This means that these cars are not eligible to run in any other class irrespective of the livery on the car or the number of passenger figures etc.
This club rule applies to the MAIN race of the evening, not the SUPPORT race.
Support races such as Classic Rally are more open. For instance a Porsche 911 in rally format can run in Classic Rally as well as Classic Sports.

2009/04/06
Q: The Peugeot 207 from Avant Slot. What classes can it race in?
Ans: Looking online at the official Peugeot website and autoblog.com (see two links below) the 207 S2000 is purely a rally car.
The versions issued by slot car maker Avant Slot are both modelled on the official Peugeot cars shown in the links.

Qa: OK, so the real cars are rally cars. What class of slot car are they?
Ans: The Viking rules state that if a rally car isn't in the official Rally WRC list on the Viking website rules 'Class Definitions' (see home page link on website) then it can run in the Circuit Racers class. The Peugeot 207 is in the Rally WRC class. 

Qb: OK, so, it runs in Rally WRC at Viking. Does it run in the standard or Super class? 
Ans: VSCC Championship Super class: see 'Build Specifications' on the website home page for a full explanation.
This page shows that all cars from Avant Slot, Fly Racer, Gom, HSRR, MB Slot, Ninco Pro race, NSR, Power Slot, ProSlot, Slot.It, SRT
are can only be used in the Super classes. These cars can not race in the standard class.

Here's some reference info for the Peugeot 207:
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/10/peugeot-reveals-new-207-super-2000-rally-car/ 
http://www.peugeot.co.uk/about-peugeot/sport/rally/the-peugeot-207-s2000/?campaignid=PPC_NCS&advertiserid=google&bannerid=peugeot_207_s2000 

2009/03/17
On the left hand menu click and read 'The Rules' section (and perhaps print a copy for reference at the club if you need it).

I've added 'Class Definitions', 'Build Specs', ' Cars vs. Class guide' and 'Car mods for standard class' rules pages. They are all about 1 page each, so not too much to digest. I hope they are clear to all. 

A general guide:
For newcomers to the club, the above probably seems a bit much to take in. Here's the general idea though:
You'll be able to race in two championships on Monday evening.
Each race will consist of racing for 10 or 15 laps on each of the 6 lanes of the circuit. So you'll get 12 races in an evening.
See the Calendar to see which championships are running in the month. 

What cars? 
The first race is for cars specified in the 'Cars vs. Class' guide. These cars can be slightly modified. If the class is also labelled as 'SUPER' then the cars can be modified even further.
The second race (Viking Club Cup) is for standard cars. These cars are not allowed to be modified at all with exception of removing the magnet (mandatory) and fitting better grip tyres. That's it.
You can bring your own cars or use the club own free-use cars.

2009/02/25
The biggest change though is on the home page of the website.
On the left hand menu you will see it is now a little different. What lays behind the links to 'The Rules' section is what I'd like everyone to read (and perhaps print a copy for reference at the club if you need it).

I've added 'Class Definitions', 'Build Specs', Cars vs. Class guide' and 'Car mods for standard class' rules pages. They are all about 1 page each, so not too much to digest. I hope they are clear to all.

Note that slot car manufacturers have been put in to either 'standard' or 'super' classes to make it easy for everyone to understand.
This has actually made the 'standard' and 'super' classes equally weighted in terms of numbers of cars you can race. So, 'Super' is no longer a class just for a few cars but a larger spread of cars to race.

The calendar page itself is now simpler and cleaner now that the other pages have been created.

2009/02/11
There has been much confusion over eligibility of cars vs classes. The following clearly defines these issues, I hope, so that club members can bring new cars to the club knowing clearly which class the car can be run in.

See the website 2009 calendar page http://www.ukslotcars.co.uk/viking/VsccRaceCalendar2009.htm for the complete details.

Starting from March 1st 2009, these are the car eligibility and specification rules.

Section 1 is Eligibility - what cars can race in what classes (F1, Rally WRC, Circuit or Sports).
Section 2 is Specification - what type of build of car runs in Super or Standard classes.

Section 1

CAR CLASSIFICATION

A slot car modelled on a real world Sports car can run in Sports class and no where else. 
A slot car modelled on a real world WRC rally car can run in Rally WRC class and no where else. This class has a specific list of WRC cars rallied since year 2000.
A slot car modelled on a real world F1 cars can run in F1 class and no where else.
All other slot cars can run in the Circuit class but they must essentially be a real world car derived from family car based vehicle.

======================================================================================
F1:
No change. Thankfully, obvious to all.
======================================================================================

Sports: (Standard Hard-top, Standard Open-top & Super)

Eligible cars: any car that is, what we commonly call, a sports car.
It does not include cars which could be used as normal family saloon cars.

This means:
a/ cars in the Sports class can't race in other classes.
b/ a real rally or circuit-racing car, raced in any class in the real world, can't compete in Sports slot class.
======================================================================================

Circuit: (Standard & Super) 

Eligible cars: any car that is derived from normal family saloon cars.

This means:
a/ cars in the Circuit class can't race in other classes.
b/ a real sports car, raced in any class in the real world, can't compete in Circuit slot class.
c/ a real rally car, raced in any class in the real world, can compete in Circuit slot class unless listed in the Rally class.
======================================================================================

Rally WRC: (Standard & Super)
The spirit of this class is 'off-road rally'. 

Eligible cars:

Citroen C2 and C4 WRC, Citroën Xsara T4 WRC
Ford Escort WRC, Ford Focus WRC
Hyundai Accent WRC 
Mitsubishi Lancer WRC
Peugeot 206 WRC, Peugeot 207 WRC, Peugeot 307 WRC 
Seat Cordoba WRC
Skoda Fabia WRC, Skoda Octavia WRC
Subaru Impreza WRC
Suzuki Swift Super WRC
Toyota Corolla WRC

Information : http://www.rallycars.com/Cars/wrc_history2000.html
(In your web browser, change the year number to look at alternative years)

This means:
a/ cars in the Rally class can't race in other classes.
b/ This class is for (real world) WRC rally cars from year 2000 to now, rallied in off-road specification.
c/ Means that the slot car must not use tyres wider than 10 mm.
d/ Slot rally cars not conforming to this specification can run in the Circuit class.
======================================================================================

Section 2

SPECIFICATION: 

Standard class:
The spirit of this class is to allow all main range cars from the main slot car manufacturers to race in a near to standard tune with standard low cost components - that is, without higher cost, higher quality components fitted to the car.

A standard class car must NOT have:
Motors with any magnetic downforce effect
High performance motors
Magnets
Metal Gears
Metal wheel hubs
Ball-race bearings
Ballast weights
Light-weight bodies
Light-weight chassis
Any components specified as allowable in the Super class
Tyres or hubs protruding outside of the car body work as viewed from above. A 1mm allowance may be made for cars whose hubs, it protruding outside of the bodywork, can not physically be moved inward. Fitting wider hubs than standard is not excused. Every effort should be made by the car owner to ensure that the car is rebuilt so that the wheel hubs and tyres remain inside the bodywork.
Sponge tyres.

Super class:
The spirit of this class is to allow any car eligible to the race class to race with tune-up components and with light-weight bodies.