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NEED
FOR SPEED
Peter
tunes up for crack at world slotcar record
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ABBM
Peter Mace and his super slotcars. Photo by Tim Slater.
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The
need for speed is what drives a sailor from FIMA/Perth to pursue
his rekindled passion for slotcar racing.
ABBM Peter Mace is a slotcar fanatic after his son Luke, 12, got
him interested in the sport two years ago. Before that he had not
touched a slotcar for 15 years.
Peter has about 20 slot cars with about half used for circuit racing,
with his faster cars clocking times of 2.4 seconds on a 46-metre
long track, and the other half used for a drag racing.
But his true love is drag racing and he has spent more than 30 hours
building the chassis of two of his dragsters from piano wire after
copying a plastic model to have a more robust structure that can
handle intense stresses at high speeds.
He spends as much time as he can at Xtreme Slotcars Raceway in Welshpool,
one of three tracks in the Perth metropolitan area.
Apart from the extreme speed the cars generate from tiny motors
costing about $600 for circuit cars and up to $1200 for dragsters,
Peter loves the technical challenge of getting the cars set up just
right.
“That’s where the drag racing has created a real fresh
interest because to run consistent times and to get a car to do
it all the time you’ve got to be consistent with everything
you do,” he said.
“Attention to detail is so critical it’s not funny; you
are dealing in thousandths of a second.”
Peter has got his sights set on creating a world record.
He will need to reach a time quicker than 0.425 seconds which equates
to a speed of about 127mph (204kph) down a 16.76-metre track.
So far his fastest drag time is 0.746 seconds at a speed of 68mph
(110kph).
He is looking at ordering a $2500 go-fast dragster package from
the US that will include car, motor, custom-made tyres and assorted
accessories for his world record attempt.
And while it is important to have the right gear, racers need to
be ‘in sync’ with their machines.
“You have to know how each car likes to be set up, you have
got to make it work for you but at the same time you have got to
give it what it needs,” he said.
The fastest dragster speed recorded at the Xtreme track is 0.553
seconds.
While Peter’s sights are firmly set on having a crack at the
world record, he is having a ball learning and sharing his knowledge
of slot car racing with his mates at Xtreme Slotcars.
Anyone wanting to find out more about the sport should call Peter
on 0412 253 469 or (08) 9553 2215.
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