The penultimate lap of the world's largest 'Scalextric' circuit

"When I was little, I always asked the Three Kings for a bicycle and a 'Scalextric'. I never got the bike or the 'Scalextric'. Over time I have taken revenge."

The one who remembers those pumpkins as if it were yesterday is

, passionate about 'Scalextric' circuits.

Decades later, he has the "world's largest circuit on a model": 227 meters long.

Although the gift never made it home, he did enjoy it in other homes.

"At eight or 10 years old, he was already playing with the ones his friends had," she explains.

And those games left the desire to have one idle.

It would not be until he was 18 years old, when he started

, when he acquired one of his own.

"With my first salary I bought a stereo and with my second a 'Scalextric'", remembers Palos.

The fans of Juan Carlos, graduated in Logistics and with 25 years of experience in an export company, had ups and downs.

Intense until the age of 18, the entry into the labor market, the family and other tastes made the assembly of the track intermittent.

But in 2015, a good friend with whom he shared a taste for the 'Scalextric' gave him

.

"He told me that he had cancer and was dying," he recalls emotionally.

That blow was a

to resume a project that had been in his head for a long time: building a track in his house.

It would be a last tribute to his friend.

His colleague passed away and he was unable to finish the layout that Juan Carlos installed in his house.

Detail of the circuit with one of the 300 cars that Juan Carlos has.EM

For several years, Palos assembled and disassembled that track in his garage, "only available in the months that were not too cold or too hot."

.

"I knew I wanted to do something big, but I didn't know how to monetize it," he explains.

The solution was to set up an "event center" that revolved around a track.

The result is VCM Slot, where he has built the largest 'Scalextric' circuit in the world on a model.

The figures are worthy of a miniature version of the 'Megaconstructions' program: a 99 m2 model on which there is a 227-meter circuit, more than 4 kilometers of cable, 350 lampposts with more than 2,000 LED diodes, 300 trees and more. of 3,000 assembly hours.

"Not counting manufacturing," he points out.

The fully analogue circuit does not lack detail: gardens, lampposts, stones, mountains made of nativity scene paper and even a small waterfall.

The layout has rally and speed parts, two suspension bridges, several tunnels and

.

"And you can get out of all of them," he adds.

All with the 1,002 routes that make it up.

"All recovered, almost 50 years old and sanded about 50 times each so that they remain in perfect condition," he explains.

Except for the tracks and the stones, the entire route is

, and assembled and manufactured by himself, a friend and his brother-in-law, for four and a half months.

First, the key parts, like the interchange, the subway, the podium or the bridges, and then the rest.

"Only the quadruple bridge cost us 600 hours of work", he underlines.

Part of the historical pieces of the museum.EM

A lot of effort that Juan Carlos has never cared about.

"I've always liked to play, but my passion was setting up and taking down the tracks," he explains.

"A bargain for friends," he says between laughs.

The public that comes to Getafe, where the circuit is located, is diverse.

"There are more adults than children, many to celebrate friends' birthdays," he enumerates.

What Juan Carlos likes the most is the

.

"There are people who get on their knees, jump, or give you goosebumps. That emotion is not paid for with a VISA," he adds proudly.

In addition to the playful part, Juan Carlos "wanted to give the project a little more scope."

Next to the circuit, there is a

where schools can discover experiments related to magnetism, electric motors or transmissions.

A controller and a 'Scalextric' car are the pieces with which he explains polarity, among other topics.

The didactic part has had the technical direction of Professor

, a graduate in Physical Sciences from the UAM.

"It is designed for students from 5th grade to 4th grade of ESO and is adapted to the country's educational curriculum," he adds.

One of the experiments that Juan Carlos explains to the children.EM

It also has a small museum with unique pieces, such as the first tin car with a motor, from 1956, or three Seat 600s manufactured by the Exin house in 1966.

The circuit, baptized with the initials of his wife Victoria Cortés Molina, opened its doors on March 1, 2020,

.

That put Juan Carlos's project, “thought for three or four years”, at a standstill for two years.

If nothing prevents it, it

, when he retires.

If he doesn't manage to transfer it,-"there are several offers"-it will close forever.

And those 3,000 hours of assembly will return to a box.

And they sure don't fit in his garage.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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• Getafe

• secondary education