April 17, 2024

2024 Philippine Masters – Preview

Having established itself as Asia’s biggest annual 1:8 Offroad race, the Philippine Masters takes place this weekend in Manila with the 12th edition of the famed race also counting as the second round of the ambitious 4-round Asian Buggy Championships.   Almost 200 entries from 16 countries will battle in out in the capital for top honours in Nitro & Electric Buggy and Nitro Truggy with Team Associated’s 2023 winner Davide Ongaro leading the entry.  The back to back 1:8 Offroad World Champion returns to the Philippine Masters for a fourth time but with his schedule means he’ll arrive just in time for the final seeding round and will have a little bit of catching up to do on his rivals.  After a superb opening round to the Asian Buggy Championships at Counties RC in New Zealand, the best of Asia and Australasia, are joined by drivers from around the world including American Ryan Lutz, the Kyosho driver having taken the win at the season opener in February.  This will be Lutz’s first time to attend the Philippine Masters with Sworkz’ Jorn Neumann, Sparko’s Ryan Pavadis and Team Associated’s Alex Bernadzik also rookies of the Circulo Verde track.  Legend of the sport and former winner of the race Atsushi Hara makes a hugely popular return as does 2023 podium finisher Christian Wolhuter with both drivers running Sworkz buggies.  Others expected to feature over the weekend include Tekno’s Jackson Beale, together with the finds of ABC Round 1, Kiwi duo Logan Toia and Jayden Jamieson.

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April 16, 2024

RC Upgrade RC8B4 Bumpskid Protector

Following on from their Shock Tower Protector, RC Upgrade has also introduced a Bumpskid Protector for the Team Associated’s RC8B4 1:8 buggy.  Made from high-quality polyurethane, this versatile accessory serves a dual purpose. As a Front Bumper the Bumpskid shields your chassis and front arm mount from the rigors of intense jumps and rough landings. Its flexible composition ensures it absorbs impact energy, preventing damage to critical components. As an integrated 3mm Skid Plate it is positioned strategically to acs as a robust barrier between your chassis and the ground. Its reinforced construction safeguards against razor blade wear, ensuring longevity and performance.

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April 16, 2024

Hobbywing MAX8 G2S 1:8 Brushless ESC

New from Hobbywing is the EzRun MAX8 G2S ESC intended for 1:8 Onroad, Short Course and Monster truck use.  Based on the MAX8 G2 ESC, the brand new G2S ESC is equipped with optimised hardware design application such as intelligent freewheeling technology.  The stability and reliability of the ESC has been further improved and the ESC has a built-in Bluetooth module.  This allows you to connect to the mobile APP directly without plugging any device.  It is simple and convenient to perform parameter settings, data reading, firmware upgrades and other operations.

View Specs & more images here


April 15, 2024

Team Associated RC10 Classic 40th Anniversary Kit

With 2024 marking the 40th anniversary of the RC10, Team Associated are proud to offer this special limited edition 40th Anniversary kit.  On December 5, 1984, the All-American-designed Team Associated RC10 was introduced to the RC world.  Being the first to take home the gold in both the ROAR National and IFMAR 2WD World Championships, the RC10 secured its place as a legend in RC car history.  Staying true to the original, this anniversary kit features the same race car technology introduced in the 80s.  It’s that innovation that has kept Team Associated on top of the RC car racing world for the past 40 years.

View Limited Edition chassis features & more images here


April 15, 2024

Moto-Obscura XX4 12mm Aluminium Axle Stubs

New from vintage racing accessories brand Moto-Obscura are these Aluminium 12mm Axle Stubs for the Team Losi XX4 4WD Buggy which won World Championship titles in 1999 and 2002.    The 12mm front Axle stubs are the newest addition to Moto-Obscura’s track tested line of accessories for the Losi XX4. They allow you to run modern 12mm hex 4WD wheels with the stock universal joint driveshafts.  If you are running MIP CVDs or LCD driveshafts, they also offer 12mm hex adapters.  The axle stubs are machined from 7075-T6 aluminium alloy and feature a 10-32 thread just like the stock axles and comes as a set of two axle stubs.

Source: Moto-Obscura [moto-obscura.com]


April 15, 2024

Cragg & Hall win at British Championship opener

Chasing his 28th British National Championship title, reigning BRCA 1:10 2WD Offoad Champion Neil Cragg made the perfect start to his quest with victory at the season opener held at Robin Hood Raceway.  In 4WD it was reigning Champion and Team Associated team-mate Tommy Hall who took the win for the perfect start to the 6 round championship.  In 2WD qualifying it was Schumacher’s Josh Holdsworth who secured the TQ from Hall, both drivers topping 2 round each, while behind Cragg secured P3 on the grid ahead of Schumacher’s Lee Martin.  While Holdsworth took A1 from Cragg, the rest of his day didn’t fair well and he ended up 5th overall.  A2 saw a win for Cragg while Hall led them home in A3 but with a 1st & P2 it was Cragg with the overall win from Martin with a pair of second places while Hall’s win and P4 from A1 saw him complete the podium.  Switching to 4WD, it was former European Champion Hall who secured the TQ from Martin, both drivers posting two TQ runs each with Cragg again lining up P3 ahead of Ben Smith.  Despite Martin’s best efforts in A1, Hall took the first two encounters to wrap up the win with Martin get the A3 win to finish runner-up ahead of Cragg.

Image: Schumacher [racing-cars.com] 


April 15, 2024

Ment & Bakla win NSW State Titles

Boasting one of the largest entries for a state titles event in Australia, the 1:10 Offroad NSW State titles took place over the weekend at 2025 IFMAR Offroad World Championship host track Hills Off Road RC Car Club where Team Associated’s Jarod Ment (2WD) and Xray’s Ari Bakla (4WD) took the two big titles up for grabs.  A low/med grip level track using molasses to bind the surface to maintain consistency throughout the day whilst reducing the need for water/blowing of the track, the State Titles attracted in excess of 220 entries with 60+ Mod drivers spread over the 3 day event.  In Saturday’s 4WD action it was Bakla who secured the TQ ahead of the Q1 topping Team Associated of Lachlan Donnelly after he took the remaining 3 of the four rounds as Ment completed the Top 3. In the triple finals Bakla maintained that form to secure the title in A2 with the rest of the podium order ending up the same as how they qualified.  Switching to 2WD on Sunday, qualifying saw three different drivers TQ a round but with his Q4 it was again Bakla on pole followed by Donnelly and Ment.  In the finals however A1 would Donnelly force a pass in the final 30-second to snatch the win from the Top Qualifier.  A2 would see the Top 2 again go at it but contact would drop them both down the order with Ment taking late win.  With all on the line in A3, Bakla would make some early mistakes dropping down the field and releasing the 3 young talents of Donnelly, Ment and Jordan Isergin.  With just over a minute remaining Ment would pull off one of the best passes of the weekend finding a line up the inside after the doubles. Donnelly would hassle Ment for the position right until the final lap where a small mistake would allow Jordan Isergin to take second.  The result gave Ment the title ahead of Donnelly and Bakla.

Source: Mitch on the Mic [Facebook]


April 15, 2024

JConcepts Razor polycarbonate 1:8 wing

JConcepts has released its latest technically advanced alternative 2-piece wing for 1:8 racing with its new untrimmed polycarbonate Razor.  The Razor polycarbonate wing features a brand-new design mimicking the injection molded Razor as closely as possible.  Incorporating a multi-height layout which allows the wing to sit in a lower stance and the center section allows the included center divider to be added as another tuning option.  The wing is extremely light weight, formed in 1mm polycarbonate, and includes a centre divider together on the same part.  The wing is refined with taller side-dams, and taller rear gurney with trim lines and dimples finished on the part.  Angular sections blend nicely into the high-performance shape giving a location for that initial step and transition to the wing’s gurney position.  At the base of the wing rests the “fangs” that have become so popular on the 1:10 off-road carpet | turf | dirt wing.  Since the wing has a lowered section in the centre, some 1:8 buggies may have interfering geometry which will need to be trimmed or cut to allow the wing to drop down on the wing mounts.

View wing mounted here