Bertil Berggren's story about Ronny Hellquist and the Swedish Thingie continues here:
Ronny Hellquist himself is also quite a story.
Ronny and his dual-engined 'Flat-Iron' car is equally remembered among all of the old Swedish slot racers
from the past, as both Ronny and his car were in the very center of the Swedish slot car scene from the mid
1960s until the mid 1970s.
Why? Because Ronny was the Technical Director and head Rule Maker in the national Swedish Slot Racing
Association (Svenska Miniracingförbundet - SMRF) for ten years, up until the first World Championships in
Gothenburg 1978, where Joel Montague from the US became the first World Champion, on a specially designed
King track by craftsman Hasse Nilsson. Hasse after that made a name for himself as a trackbuilder in the
US.
Ronny Hellquist was known by his nickname 'Spader' in the swedish slot scene, (Spader meaning Spades as
in a deck of cards) acting as the head of technical inspections and examinations of track and cars on virtually
every race contest held in Sweden during this period, travelling from north to south, east to west as a representative
for the SMRF. He also had assignments outside of Sweden, in Scandinavia and continental Europa.
I had some insight in this, as my uncle was the Chairman and chief head of the SMRF during the same period,
though both I and my cousins dropped out of slot racing in the end of the 1960's due to growing school
demands and, not least, girls… ;-)
A couple more pictures here I found on a Swedish web site with memorablia from a distant past in
Swedish slot racing history: (Go-69 Slotracing)
Ronny 'Spader' Hellquist in the heydays, in action as a Technical Inspector at a race in 1969.
The text 'Besiktning' in the lower picture means 'Inspection' and the caption reads:
'In these pictures you see the constant technical inspector during the Swedish Championships,
Ronny 'Spader' Hellquist. All pictures in this story are from The Championships in 1969...
Spader rarely raced himself, and he is probably mostly known for his car with two motors' |
I promised you pictures of another of Ronny's creations, a very special car. This is it:
My uncle was a police officer, and this car was given to him by Ronny in 1975, on my uncles 50th birthday.
Signed by master craftsman 'Spader', it's all there: Dynamic guide, copper braids, tiny fronts, rear sponges.
But no motor, though I don't doubt Spader could have put one in if he'd really tried...
I inherited it from my aunt when my uncle died, and it's now resting in my bookshelf.
Now you know a little more about Ronny 'Spader' Hellquist and his part in Swedish slot racing history.
Best regards
Bertil Berggren