A British slot car racing champion is planning to establish a club in Dumfries.
Retired holiday park manager Ant Hawkes, 71, wants to hear from anyone interested in taking part in the hobby.
And he is holding a free introductory event to launch the Dumfries Slot Car Club at the start of next month.
Ant regularly travels to Dunfermline to compete but wanted to take part in events a little closer to home.
He has managed to secure space for his racing track at the YMCA on Lochside Road, where the new club will be based.
Ant, who has been racing slot cars since 1968, said: “Most established slot car racers are middle aged or older but there are quite a lot of young people getting involved now.
“The adrenaline really does flow during a race and it’s good fun.
“My plan is to invite people along to the YMCA to make an event of it as a launch.”
He added: “The purpose of the club is to provide a safe and friendly environment for model car racing enthusiasts of all ages – 10-plus but all under 16s must be accompanied by an adult – and abilities.
“Slot cars are what is often known as Scalextric although there are many other makes available and our Monday evening racing will be for British Slot Car Racing Association (BSCRA) cars which differ from Scalextric in many ways, such as the amount of work that goes into building them and the speed they travel.
“On Thursday evenings we plan to hold our ‘hard-body’ club night, which is basically for Scalextric-type cars - from various manufacturers such as Slot.it, NSR, ScaleAuto and SCX as well as Scalextric themselves.”
The club will provide all the equipment needed to take part free of charge initially.
Ant, who won two national titles last year, will host a round of the British Slot Racing League at the new club on Saturday, May 27.
Anyone interested in getting involved can contact Ant by phone on 07767 412121 or email anthawkes@aol.com
