Just an observation

[chappy]

Well put Dave, so many aspects to this hobby , that it follows the old saying about something for everyone. And particularly timely about supporting the people that keep our hobby going.
Bob

[HomeRacingWorld]

Yes, a very vast variety to say the least.

I enjoyed bringing out some older cars and running them.

[SLOTTING SINCE 1963]

Well said Dave !!!!
Yes its all about FUN!!!!
Richard

[Retro Racer 44]

Well said Dave.

I have been back in the hobby nearly five years, and I have seen the hobby changing in that short a time. RTR cars are getting better. RTR cars are being produced by more companies. Sure some have fallen away but others are still filling their places. The availability of tuning and scratch building parts is improving all the time.

When I joined my club, there was a rule that the cars had to be stock, with only weight and tire changes allowed. Now we reward scratch builders with Constructors' points. The increase in proxy series has influenced this also, as proxies usually encourage scratch building, and in the case of SLOP, even track building.

RTR cars are still scale iterations of 1:1 cars with a variety of liveries, but many are now fully capable of running no-mag on a wood track right out of the box, or with just a change of rear tires. A club-mate of mine took an MRslotcar.ca McLaren to the track with only a tire change and basic bench tuning, and immediately turned laps within a tenth of a second of the track record.

It is true that there has been a demise of LHSs and designated commercial raceways. Economics are changing, store space is expensive, and online retailing is here to stay. I agree, however that we should support our LHS as long as we can, and help them to survive.

Meanwhile, we have a great hobby, and forums like this allow us to connect with people around the world in a way that never happened before.

Cheers,

Keith

[dreinecke]

Dave is totally correct - the depth and breadth of what we raced was crazy. Seeing 1/24th stuff on the oval at the same time as a 1/32 DTM car was pretty funny.

Point being that no matter what you run, this is the best hobby in the world and whatever you do to enjoy it - well, that's perfect.