These tires might not be racing slicks, but the racing is sure slick

Everyone likes to watch a racecar speed around a corner at a break-neck pace, caroming nearly out of control, tires barely maintaining friction with the pavement. Add in a bit of ice and snow to reduce that friction to almost nothing, and the excitement increases. Builder Simon Pickard brings us a rally car in just that situation, seemingly mere seconds from sliding into a drift. I love the composition of the shot, with the beautiful movement implied by the curved road.

Snow Rally - Monaco

While the car is the MINI Cooper from Speed Champions set 75894 (be sure to check out our review), the setting for the vehicle is what sets this apart from the pack. The curvature of the road is the detail that catches the eye above all else, with the excellent tire tracks. Formed from tiles and plates arranged carefully, the path and the posing of the car give it all a profound sense of movement, especially with the 1×1 round plates kicked up by the skidding tires. My only quibble is that the front tires are still straight, when all of my highly technical race knowledge gleaned from watching Cars with my kids tells me that he should be turning left to go right…

1 comment on “These tires might not be racing slicks, but the racing is sure slick

  1. R

    The direction of steering angle can vastly differ depending on the road surface. On dry pavement one needs opposite lock to maintain a smooth drift. On snow and ice once a drift has been initiated turning the wheels straight can often keep the angle of the car consistent, otherwise the car can go into a spin (this is especially true with all-wheel-drive). The concept of drifting has been around since the beginning of auto racing, so the “drifting crowd” did not invent this tactic as some would have you believe. It’s rarely used anymore on circuits as it slows the car down throughout the corner and modern race cars have added downforce that prevent this from happening.

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