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Siberia Racing

Beware the Bear

Welcome to Siberia Racing's new home on the web. The original site was hosted as part of Comcast's personal web page feature. Unfortunately as a cost cutting move the feature was discontinued in late 2015. This forced a search for a hew hosting service. It took some time to find the right host and rebuild the site but here we are.

Siberia International Raceway

Siberia International Raceway (SIR) was constructed in 1975 and was the team's original track and the birthplace of MaDD Products. SIR is a four lane HO scale slot car track constructed of lock jointer and AFX track. The final incarnation of the track featured 14 challenging turns and a lap length of 50-feet. The track is mounted on a 4'-6" x 11' table. The track was rebuilt twice over its lifetime. The first rebuild, done in the late 70's expanded the table to the 11 foot length and added the first version of the M&M turns. In the 80's a homebuilt computerized lap counter system was added based on the Atari home computer. The second rebuild, done in the 90's reworked the exit to the back straight from a single forty-five degree turn to the combination turn shown below. Strangely enough this made the M&M complex faster than ever! This rebuild also extended the straights to and from the infield esses. The second rebuild also reworked the wiring to have taps at approximately two foot intervals. The Trakmate for DOS race management system was added in the late 90's replacing the homegrown race management program. During its 25 year history SIR hosted races in the Indiana, Michigan and Illinois HOPRA state championship circuits. Over the years Al Thurman, Rick De Rosa, Terry Hreno, Mark Rosenwinkle, Joel Pennington, Bob Dame, Rick Denig, Scott Terry, Jeff Wilson and a host of other top racers have tried, and failed, to tame SIR. After over twenty-five years of service SIR was retired. It may be gone but not forgotten. Click on one of the images below for more about SIR.

Crystal Rock Raceway

SIR was replaced by Crystal Rock Raceway (CRR) in 1999. CRR was the teams track from 2000 to 2010. It is a slightly longer but simpler, 46' long circuit made with Maxtrax semi-continuous rail track. CRR has proven a tough nut to crack. However, the track’s learning curve is much less steep than SIR’s. Unlike some tracks that are specifically designed to provide a significant advantage to the track owner and other “home track” racers, CRR was specifically designed to be easy to learn, tough to master and to not have a significant home track advantage. Tough design requirements but with timing and finesse sections the track has been described as easy to learn, tough to master as well as a super smooth addiction. CRR’s table is two feet longer than SIR and is built on a 4’-3' x 13' table. CRR uses both the Trakmate for Windows and the Slottrak race management system. Since its first race, CRR has hosted races on the NITRO, NART and MSRA circuits.

Siberia International Raceway II a.k.a. "The Bear"

After 10 years CRR has been replaced by a new fully routed track. The original track name returns and the new track is officially known as Siberia International Raceway II. SIR-II however, is otherwise and more familiarly known as "The Bear". "The Bear" is a fully routed track made by TKO. The Sintra plastic track surface is a custom color. The track has a 57 foot lap length and is constructed on three tables that join together. Like CRR the track section joints have been massaged and the joints are quiet and silent. Its a quick track. In its brief existence it has hosted two MSRA and one Great Lakes Slotcar Series (GLSS) series events. Unfortunately The Bear went into hibernation in 2014.. During its hibernation a voltmeter was added to the drivers control panel along with a new green "Start" pushbutton and some trick LED lighting.. Unfortunately "The Bear" did not come out of hibernation until 2018 when it was sold and moved to LenJet Raceway. At LenJet "The Bear" joins many other significant HO tracks in a marvelous display of HO technology.

Like CRR the new T.K.O. track was designed to run in both directions.

"The Bear" has a 57 foot lap length and the table has grown to 4' x 15'. This is two feet longer and six inches narrower than CRR. CRRs power supplies have been recycled to feed "The Bear". Two switching and two linear power supplies are hooked to a custom diode auctioneering circuit and provide power to a +2,660,000 Mfd filtering/capacitor bank that in turn feeds each lane's 40 Amp DC rated contactor. "The Bear" is equipped with both Trakmate and Slottrak race management systems. With the Slottrak system individual lane power control is available. Power can be changed from 12V to 19V and back in seconds at the touch of a switch. The 12V power supply is continuously rated at 20 Amps. The 19 VDC power supplies continuous power output theoretically is in excess of 30 Amps. With the addition of the capacitor bank, the current surge capacity is well in excess of 100 Amps. This awesome power is served to each lane via eight #14 AWG power taps. One power tap is located on each track section and no credit is taken for the steel keys that tie the eight track sections together. Each lane is wired for brakes, is independently reversible and protected by a 6-Amp magnetic DC circuit breaker. Unlike most breakers and fuses, magnetic type breakers do not have a thermal element and thus the breakers have no inherit time delay. The breakers will trip instantaneously in the event of a severe fault. An audible breaker trip alarm will sound if a breaker trips. Dual 19” monitors along with digital current and voltage meters at the race director’s (RD) desk allow the RD to monitor and control the action. Spectators can monitor the racers progress via two additional monitors. Since its first race, "The Bear" has hosted three races on the now defunct MSRA circuit and one race for the Great Lakes Slotcar Series. "The Bear" has proven to be a popular track with something for everyone. While the four lanes may not have an equal lap length they are amazingly close in laptimes and drivability. This is a benefit of the over/under layout. One admirer loved it so much they contacted me for the track file so they could have their own version of the track. I was happy to oblige.

While the track shares the basement with a workbench, pool table, dartboard, freezer, furnace and water heater the space is essentially dedicated to the track. Plenty of well lit pit space welcomes the racers. The room has accommodated up to 20 racers with room for more. Click on one of the images above for more information and a tour of "The Bear".

"Magic Raceway"

After retirement came downsizing and a relocation to Iowa to be closer to family. Unfortunately there was no room for "The Bear" in the new house. My T.K.O. now resides at LenJet raceway along with many other HO and 1/24th tracks. My new track is in the process of being built. Its working title is "Magic Raceway" Click here or on one of the images below for more information on "Magic Raceway"