In my first 2021 catalogue blog post, I took a quick look at some of the highlights \u2013 now I\u2019m going to dig much deeper through each of the categories and including some background from the Scalextric team. A big thank you to Martyn and Simon for taking time out to talk to me.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Formula4.jpg\")
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nAyrton Senna at Lotus<\/h4>\n
Who saw this coming? Scalextric have two brand new Ayrton Senna Lotus F1 cars in the 2021 catalogue \u2013 the black JPS 97T Renault he drove to his first win at the 1985 Portuguese GP and the 1987 Camel-sponsored 99T Honda from Senna\u2019s first Monaco win. To have both cars released in the same year is a real treat \u2013 these two cars are imprinted in our memories, both with Senna at the wheel and as classic Scalextric cars back in the day.<\/p>\n
Although Senna had a sensational debut season with Toleman in 1984 \u2013 I will never forget that<\/em> drive in the rain at Monaco \u2013 he really broke through in 1985 at Lotus with the 97T. This was the era of brutal 800 horsepower turbo engines, but Senna showed his magical touch in his second Lotus outing by winning in extremely wet conditions. Not only did he win, he\u2019d lapped the entire field \u2013 apart from the second place Ferrari, who he led by over a minute. Here was a very special driver.<\/p>\n Senna would win the Monaco Grand Prix a record six times \u2013 and in just ten attempts. He had to wait until 1987 to notch up his first victory in the principality \u2013 it was his first win of the season, the first for the 99T and its active suspension, plus the first win for Lotus with Honda engines and Camel sponsorship. Senna had inherited the lead from pole-sitter Nigel Mansell, but then dominated the race, even having time for pit stop to change tyres before finishing thirty-three seconds ahead of Nelson Piquet in second.<\/p>\n The Scalextric design team are giving these two models plenty of love and attention. The 97T is scheduled for a summer \/ early autumn release and the 99T is in the final quarter. At the moment we just have a 3D artist impression of the 97T and a photograph of the 99T. Both will have the F1 slim-can motor and magnatraction \u2013 the established set-up for Scalextric single-seaters. I am really looking forward to following the updates for these two cars. You can pre-order the JPS 97T here<\/a> and the Camel-sponsored 99T here<\/a>.<\/p>\n A release that will thrill most Scalextric enthusiasts is the 1976 British Grand Prix triple pack, which contains all three cars that finished on the podium \u2013 James Hunt\u2019s McLaren, Niki Lauda\u2019s 312T2 and Jody Scheckter\u2019s six-wheeler Tyrrell. That wasn\u2019t the official result, but it does make a fabulous collectors\u2019 edition, with two much sought-after re-releases \u2013 the M23 and the 312T2 \u2013 that will set you back much more second-hand than this triple pack costs brand new. The 312T2 mould was produced under license from Ferrari back in 2007. That license lapsed, but it looks like Scalextric can still use the original tooling if they drop the manufactures name. They have done the same with the \u201c412P\u201d in recent years.<\/p>\n The story of the 1976 British Grand Prix and the rivalry between Hunt and Lauda is given the Hollywood treatment in the movie Rush<\/em> \u2013 but it was a pretty dramatic day at Brands Hatch in any case… Hunt was taken out in a big first corner pile-up and the race was red-flagged. Somehow the McLaren team repaired the M23 for the restart and \u2013 under huge pressure from the crowd \u2013 officials allowed Hunt to take his place on the grid. Hunt’s Marlboro-sponsored car benefited from some mechanical issues on Lauda’s Ferrari to take a famous first home Grand Prix win \u2013 Scheckter joining them on the podium.<\/p>\n Then the fun started, with Hunt being disqualified because he hadn\u2019t completed the first lap. McLaren appealed and the result was decided in the courts \u2013 Lauda awarded the win, Scheckter up to second and John Watson third in the Penske. Lauda\u2019s near fatal crash in the next race in Germany \u2013 and his absence from two more rounds \u2013 led to the dramatic climax of the season at Fuji. If you haven\u2019t seen Rush<\/em>, I won\u2019t spoil the ending for you.<\/p>\n This is simply a wonderful Classic F1 triple pack \u2013 three iconic cars, three F1 world champions and all the drama of the race and of the 1976 season. It’s the only limited edition pack in the catalogue \u2013 only 1,500 units are available – and is scheduled for a first quarter release, so make sure you get your pre-order here<\/a>.<\/p>\n These two are cracking liveries on two very popular cars. Jim Clark dominated the 1962 British Grand Prix in this little Lotus 25. He took pole position, fastest lap and very comfortable second Grand Prix win. It would be the last British Grand Prix at Aintree, near Liverpool. When you get your Scalextric model, don\u2019t be surprised that it has an odd yellow front right wheel \u2013 the pictures of the race showing the yellow wheel have been confirmed by Classic Team Lotus. This is another first quarter release and can be pre-ordered here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arriving at the end of the year is the Tyrrell P34 that Ronnie Peterson raced to third place at the 1977 Belgian GP in Zolder. The blue and white First National City livery is one of my favourites on a Tyrrell. The tooling of the Scalextric car is the 1976 P34, not the 1977 P34B with the bulbous engine cover. However, this is authentic. The P34B proved a ponderous car \u2013 not helped by a lack of front tyre development by Goodyear. Tyrrell swapped back to try the older P34 mid-season and Peterson scored the team\u2019s best result of the year \u2013 the only time two Swedes have appeared together on a Grand Prix podium. Gunnar Nilsson won the race in a Lotus. You can pre-order the Tyrrell here<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to jump straight back to 2021 and some big news: Scalextric have signed a global deal to produce Formula E cars and sets. It is certainly a match made in electric car heaven. Both brands are family-orientated and it\u2019s easy to see why Scalextric would be attracted by Formula E\u2019s fun and innovative format, especially all the interactive, arcade-like elements. Using a racing-oriented evolution of the Spark Plug app, Scalextric are attempting to emulate the atmosphere and borrow some of the features of Formula E with an exciting new set.<\/p>\n First there\u2019s the cars<\/strong>. These are robust replicas of the 2019-20 and 2021 Formula E Spark Gen2 electric racers that fans will instantly recognise. The set has a gold DS Techeetah and a blue and black Jaguar \u2013 an eye-catching pair. Available separately will be DS Techeetah of 2019-20 champion Ant\u00f3nio F\u00e9lix da Costa, plus the 2021 Mahindra of Alexander Sims. All four are standard Scalextric analogue cars, fitted with the F1 slim-can motor and magnatraction. They are also Digital Plug Ready (DPR), taking the smaller C8516 F1 Digital Plug.<\/p>\n The Formula E World Championship Set<\/strong> is a standard Scalextric analogue set, but has two Spark Plug dongles rather than traditional hand controllers. Each dongle connects by Bluetooth to a compatible smart device (phone or tablet), which acts as a wireless controller via the Spark Plug app. So far everything is the same as the 2020 Batman vs Joker DC Comics Spark Plug set \u2013 or an analogue set upgraded with two Spark Plugs. The hardware is the same and the Formula E cars can be driven with traditional controllers, but that would be missing out on the new Formula E Spark Plug app gameplay.<\/p>\n The big Spark Plug evolution<\/strong> for 2021 is that a second app will be released with all the Formula E features. This can be used with any Spark Plug dongles on any track and with any cars. The new app allows two teams \u2013 of up to six people each \u2013 to participate in the race via the app. Each team has a driver, who chooses the driver option in the app to drive their car. Team members choose the team option and have their own collective and individual tasks to perform in the race \u2013 pit stops, strategy, fan boost and attack mode.<\/p>\n An average race lasts eight to nine minutes and is controlled by the app. Spark Plug knows how much throttle each driver uses and if the car is on the track or not. From this data, the app calculates \u2018distance\u2019 travelled, which is displayed in the form of \u2018checkpoint progress\u2019 on everyone\u2019s app screen. Drivers rely on their team to tell them the race situation and instruct them on strategy. Each team can have between 1 and 5 non-driving team mates, each with their own phone or tablet and with their own tasks…<\/p>\n Fans of Formula E will see how some familiar features have been changed or tweaked to add to the Scalextric gameplay. Also, pit stops aren\u2019t routine in a Formula E race any more, but in the Scalextric app, they play an exciting, collaborative part of the action.<\/p>\n I am a fan of the current Spark Plug app and am utterly delighted to see an alternative motorsport-themed version. I love how Spark Plug adds in arcade-style features to analogue racing \u2013 in a different and more interactive way than the ARC app and ARC Air. I can\u2019t wait to try it!<\/p>\n The Formula E set and individual cars are expected in the summer \/ early autumn and you can pre-order them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.jadlamracingmodels.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Formula1.jpg\")
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n1976 British Grand Prix Podium Pack<\/h4>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nTyrrell P34 and Lotus 25 Re-liveries<\/h4>\n
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nFormula E World Championship<\/h4>\n
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