New Kids on the Block

The second significant newcomer to the market comes from a country renowned for its engineering excellence. Situated around 80km north east of Stuttgart, the birth place of Porsche, you will find German r/c manufacturer Shepherd Micro Racing. Originally founded by Werner Schaefer in 1997 as a model shop, it was through its dealings with Italian company Picco, for whom they were German distributors, that Shepherd Micro Racing as we know it today was born. In 2004 under the guidance of Patrick Schaefer, son of Werner, they took over production of the Picco Speed 1:8 onroad chassis as Alberto Picco turned his attentions solely to the manufacturing of engines. Producing a modifed version of the Speed it was not until 2007 that Shepherd penned their first self designed creation, the Velox, a car that has been hugely successful both on the track and in the shops.

Employing 6 full and 3 part time staff, the company has grown to having some 20 distributors who represent the brand in 30 countries and Shepherd is keen to expand the business hence their entry into the potentially much larger 1:10 market. Chief designer Schaefer says a 1:10 car is the logical step as the two racing classes are quite related and introducing another car should ensure the long term future of the company.

One set back for Shepherd was the loss of Robert Pietsch to Mugen at the end of last season. Many attributed the success of the 1:8 scale Velox to the input of the talented young German driver who was also heavily involved in the early concepts for the Velox V10. According to Schaefer the latest prototype has little left in common with the original concept that Pietsch worked on and that current World Champion Daniele Ielasi has brought some really good new ideas to the project. Having the World Champion on board is a huge coup for Shepherd not only from a technical point of view but also in terms of having this popular figure to draw attention to their first entry into 1:10 market.

Supporting Schaefer in bringing the new car to fruition is his own race mechanic Alex Scholl. A full time member of staff at Shepherd Micro Racing, Scholl has a lot of experience with touring cars and Schaefer feels they compliment one another. Already 500 hours have gone into the planning & design of the V10 which we are being told will be completely different to any of the existing cars on the market.

Unlike Motonica, Shepherd have not yet track tested their new car but soon after the upcoming Nuremberg Toy Fair the first prototypes will be put through their paces by Ielasi and other top names. Schaefer said it is important for them to introduce the V10 only when it has been extensively tested and they are satisfied with the quality and performance. Only then will they start full production of the new car which they plan in much higher quantities than the 1:8 Velox. This is not a bad approach to take given that you only get one chance to make a first impression and having successfully achieved this with the Velox it is clear Shepherd Micro Racing wants to repeat this in the 1:10 market place.

Unfortunately both Motonica and Shepherd are talking about release dates sometime in the middle of the season when Serpent, the company that created the first ever 200mm competition car back in 1999, are also planning to release an all new car to replace their aging 720. While the wait will be frustrating for those keen to get their hands on something new for the 2009 season, one can only be excited about the prospects of no less than eight manufacturers battling it out for European Championship honours in Italy in July. Who said we would have little to look forward to in 2009.

Text by Oisin O’Briain

Categories - Industry, Motonica, Products, Shepherd