Scalextric creates Martin Brundle’s Ultimate 2015 Circuit

4 March 2014: Designed by Sky Sports F1® expert Martin Brundle, the Ultimate 2015 circuit brought to life by Scalextric, is the biggest layout the slot car track experts have ever created.

Commissioned by Sky Sports, the only place fans can watch all 20 Formula One™ weekends live, the impressive 9m by 9m track features parts from all 20 circuits on this season’s FIA Formula One World Championship™ calendar.

Scalextric’s magnificent track is made up of 177 pieces and is 45 metres long. It features the best corners, chicanes, and sections from the 2015 F1® calendar that fans can watch live on Sky Sports F1® throughout the season, including:

• Italy and the Ascari Chicane

• Monaco and the Casino Square

• Canada and the Wall of Champions

• Silverstone and the Copse

• Abu Dhabi and the Marina Complex

Martin Brundle, Sky Sports F1® expert and former racing driver, commented: “The team challenged me to design my dream circuit using sections from the 20 F1® races in 2015, all of which will be live on Sky Sports F1®. I immediately wanted a figure of ‘8’ like our beloved Suzuka, and could only dream of driving a series of corners such as scaling the mountain up to turn one in Austin before falling through the ‘Senna S’ of Brazil and towards Silverstone’s fearsome Copse corner. And that’s just a small section. Now amazingly, we’ve built a model and so I will revert to my childhood for many laps. It’s going to get competitive.”

Scalextric’s latest creation is a bespoke commission for Sky Sports. The track pieces making up the Ultimate 2015 Circuit will be available to buy from www.scalextric.com priced around £1,000. The slot car experts looked to their revolutionary ARC ONE design as the inspiration for the Ultimate 2015 circuit. A wireless slot car system it connects to a handheld smart device, such as a smartphone or tablet. Users download the free ARC app, then connect via Bluetooth to the new ARC powerbase, bringing the real and virtual worlds together for the ultimate in racing fun.

Before Lewis Hamilton begins his Formula 1® title defence on March 15, the Sky Sports F1® team, including Damon Hill, Martin Brundle, Anthony Davidson and Johnny Herbert will be going head to head on the ultimate 2015 race track. The track also includes miniature sized landmarks from the F1® calendar, such as the Monaco swimming pool, the Singapore Flyer, the Silverstone wing and more.

Further imagery and video content of the Ultimate 2015 Scalextric track is available upon request.

To see who comes out on top use #ultimateracetrack

Ends

Scalextric Stats:

• Out of how many single pieces is this track built? 177

• How many track parts, how many “accessory” ones? How many fixing clips are used?  
  All standard track pieces available in the Scalextric range. No clip required. No power-boost wires were used. Powered by one single 12v transformer.

• Weight and Length of the track? Size of it?
  45 metres running length.

• How much bigger is this track compared to those you’ve previously built?
  For indoor display tracks, about twice as big – but not as big as our three miles Guinness Book of Records track set at Brooklands!

• What was previously the biggest track?
  Our Silverstone Grand Prix layout has been our largest demonstration layout for the past 7 years.

• How long did it take from idea to build the actual track sitting in front of us (days)?
  Two weeks.

• How many people were working on it, how many hours?
  A Track Designer, two modellers and two layout builders. The builders have by far the hardest job of construction, landscaping, track laying and final detailing.

• Was the track built purely out of stock pieces or had parts to be modelled especially for the Brundle track?
  The track is standard so that anyone can make the track, no special pieces required. The buildings have been modelled to represent the original features.

• What was the most challenging part to construct?
  A short time-frame for a long track! ☺

• What is the most unusual part of the track compared to other Scalextric tracks?
  Sheer length. 350 electrical joints

For further information, samples and images please contact:

Abbie Ree, Louise Iles, Emma Arthur, Hornby Press Office, Norton & Company T:01608 812830 hornby@nortonandco.com