OK, so how much will it cost me?

Club membership costs only £5 per year and we charge £2 for each evening that you actually race (only £1 for those under 16). How much entertainment can you get for £2 anywhere else?

Scalextric prices are well known, and you can get decent cars for under £20. See other web sites via search engines for detailed information about Scalextric cars and championships (sometimes called 'hard-body slot cars).

BSCRA racing is more expensive, but need not cost the Earth. We recommend that you start with a Production-class car. These are raced every Tuesday evening at Gainsborough and can be used in all of our other Tuesday races too. A new Prod car will cost about £60 but we often have used ones available from £20 to £30.

Obviously IF you want to move up in the sport it's just like anything else. You can spend money if you want to! If you can use basic tools such as a soldering iron you can save money too. In any case there's no use buying anything too expensive until you learn to drive. You'll only break it.

How far can you progress?

There are numerous championships for those who wish to race BSCRA cars at higher levels. About half of our racers take part in one or more of these; the rest are happy to race on club nights. If you do fancy travelling then lifts/car shares can often be arranged, either with Gainsborough or Pontefract members. The main racing series are:

Area Championships: Gainsborough members race in the North-East of England. Races are held at home, at Newcastle and at Pontefract. All BSCRA classes are raced - including Production.

British Slotracing League (BSL): A very popular series of races attracting high entries throughout the North. For Production cars only.

British Open Championship (BOC): A linked series of events held at club venues throughout the country, including Gainsborough. BSCRA classes, but not Production. This series is intended for the more expert racers.

'The Nationals': A single 3-day meeting held in May (in 2004 it's at Inverness). Qualifying is via either the Area championships or the BOC.