GVSCC Targa Florio Proxy

[MikeyAutobahn]

Congratulations to Bob and Chris on their wins, and to everybody involved for making this one of...scratch that...THE most enjoyable proxy race I've ever witnessed from afar. This certainly does set a new standard for coverage of proxy racing, and should be considered a benchmark for other hosts to follow.

I think a lot of the success can be attributed to the level of detail in the reporting of races. You guys made it so easy to follow the action that it almost reached that level of professionalism that pro race reporting is about. The only thing missing was the live play-by-play coverage. :)

Each race was different enough to remain interesting, the tracks were second to none, and again, painstaking coverage with pictures, video and full explanations of each car's performance on each track proved to be the difference makers here. Added information about what was under the hood of each car as well as commentary from many of the car builders themselves during the event kinda made me felt like I was there.

Crucial points:

Video - I watched every minute of video that was posted about this race. Whether fly-on-the-wall video or more stylistic slo-mo race footage, it made it easy to follow and allowed me to understand what car was doing what. The slo-mo, in particular spots [tight corner shots and low-angles] helped show which cars were handling which tracks better. If I would have changed anything, I would have had more slo-mo coverage of each track. Luf really hit on something there, and once the right settings are achieved, slo-mo is going to be a great way to follow the cars. And then maybe a stationary "A" camera for overall track coverage, a little home editing...imagine having footage from two angles.

Identification - Putting the car number, name of the builder AND screenname together in the reporting made it a breeze to keep up with the competition. It's a small detail, but important if you want anybody but those in the room to remember who's who. I'd see Bob's Gulf 908-3 #48 running around the track and I KNEW that it was Bob's Gulf 908-3 #48. I didn't have to constantly backtrack to previous information, piece that together and then try to remember all of it in my head. It was all laid out in the reporting.

Another thing this did is to peak my interest in proxy racing. I admit that I haven't followed most proxy racing as closely prior to this, but that wasn't due to lack of trying. It was mostly due to the perceived locality of the reporting of the events due to the lack of information or overall sparse reporting. You know what I mean...."the cars got here. Took them for a few hot laps. #2, 44, 103 and 3 were all pretty fast. Steve's car has no power. We ate pizza." That's great and all, but dang, a proxy event is all about not being able to be there, but still participating. So it would only make sense that there would be a potential proxy audience for the event as well. You've got 20 of the nicest, hotly-tuned slot cars in your hands on a track you're proud of. You should be presenting it in a way that would make me wish I had a car in the race. That's what this proxy did. The whole time I thought about how cool it would be to have a car racing in the Targa Florio Proxy. Even if it came in dead last, I don't think that would matter. To participate is the cool part.

This was, without a doubt, a great representation of what is good about the hobby of slot cars. Whatever the perceived state of the industry is at the current time, this is proof that the hobby is flourishing. I can't wait 'til next year! :flags-canada:

[Fumey]

Wow! Great job! Really liked the pace of this proxy! Kinda like "binge watching", only better! Thanks to all and congrats to the podiumites! Definitely gonna give this one another go!

[oldslotracer]

I'd like to thank Keith for creating and organizing this proxy. I'd also like to thank all the club members that participated and I'd like to thank all the entrants. Great cars, good fun and we all appreciate the positive comments. Makes it all worthwhile. I look forward to next year.

[Audi1]

I have to say......while my driver is still picking the urethane bits out of his teeth and helping to remove the various dents and other-car colors from the sides and front of his machine.............that it is really cool, IMO, to have the two winners be cars that actually ran the Targa Florio together in 1970.



Chris' #20 in B-Class and Bob's #36 look-alike (#48) in A-Class.

Perhaps we'll see the #12 and #40 next year.................... :think:

Allan

[MikeyAutobahn]

What has two thumbs and just put a 908-3 on his holiday wish list?

:text-woo:

[Retro Racer 44]

Here is the last video of the Targa Florio Proxy, at least for this year, eh?



Thanks again to Luf for his filming and editing.

Cheers,

Keith

[Changing-Gearz]

[steeveew]

Congrats to the podium finishers in the last round.
Congrats to the podium finishers in the series( missed it by that much).
Thanks to Keith,and all the members of the GVSCC.
This was a FANTASTIC proxy,all the way around.
It would be an honor to get to do this again.



Thanks again,and happy holidays to all
Steve

[MikeyAutobahn]

[MikeyAutobahn]

[MikeyAutobahn]

[MikeyAutobahn]

[Retro Racer 44]

The proxy is all done, and it has been a big success. The prizes that were won as well as those done by draw have all been packed up with the cars and are awaiting my taking them to the post office.

Canada Post advertises that the 17th of December is the last day your parcels can be sure to arrive before Christmas, so this week will be absolutely hectic at the post offices. For this reason, I plan to mail the cars the following week, and depending on distance you should get them either between Christmas and New Year or the following week. I will be putting tracking on each parcel as well as insurance, and I will save the receipts in case a parcel does not arrive.

For those of you from outside Canada, I will mark customs forms in a similar way for the return, so hopefully you will not be charged at your end.

Have a great Holiday Season,

Keith

[Audi1]

Keith, you and your GVSCC club members really re-set the proxy bar in this series! :text-bravo: A great field of car, great tracks, great reporting (pics/videos/quails/results/etc.) and an event pace that I've never seen before in proxy racing. Thanks for all of that.............................and..........................................when did you say that the pre-registration opens for the 2016 event................?? :dance:

#12 please; B-Class..............

Allan

[Rleog]