[Mike_Powell]

Having taken the Donington Historic Festival off track, I thought I'd open a threat devoted to the pleasures of the indoor racing of our youth.

Sorry Coppice, but your Scalextric Porsche wouldn't have stood a chance. It was a very soft surface and you'd be in and out of the pits every lap to remove the fluff from the pick up.

Ah, the simple joys of running a Formula Libre race on that ever changing track, accompanied by the shrill vocalisation of an engine at full speed, excessive tyre squealing and always with at least one dramatic incident per lap. The sprint through the railway tunnel, the chicane through the table legs and the ever looming danger of being sideswiped by the cat's paw.

For several races, Captain Scarlet's Spectrum Patrol Vehicle was dominant, then came the turn of the red, blue, green and yellow single seaters, the E type and several Hot Wheels specials, before the arrival of electric vehicles (a Lima Deltic and Hornby King George VI ) took over the track surface.

I still blame those formative years on my love of motor sport.