SuperRad Competition Bodyshells has doubled its offering of 1:28 GT Bodies with the addition of the SR-50 SuperKTX. The Ohio based company say their latest body delivers crisp rotation while maintaining exceptional high‑speed stability. Offered in Lite polycarbonate complete with rear wing it also includes window masks and a decal sheet for finishing.
Sparko’s Noha Ben Mohamed has won the second round of the French National 1:8 Nitro Buggy Championship which was hosted by the TTRC 90 club in Bermont in the northeast of the country. Ben Mohamed would top all three qualifying rounds to secure the overall TQ with Tekno driver Theo Lemaire securing second followed by Sworkz Jordan Lot and the Team Associated of defending Champion Clement Boda. Winning the faster of the two Semi finals Ben Mohamed would start on pole with Remy Bermudez winning the other Semi to start second. Racing the 45-minute final on a demanding track that would caught out a number of drivers, Ben Mohamed would have an intense battle with Round 1 Boda with the pair separated by just 2/10ths of a second at the line. Coming through from 8th on the grid Xray’s Rayan Medjoubi completed the podium ahead of Lot and Mugen Seiki’s Hugo Tavernon.
Image: Noha Ben Mohamed [Facebook]
Kyle Branson has won the opening round of the BRCA British Touring Car Nationals. The first of the 5 championship rounds was stages at the Cotswold track where in practice reigning champion Elliott Harper would break the track record with his prototype Schumacher, Branson also managing to break 21 laps. In qualifying it was Branson who was fastest but only marginally over Harper. Topping 3 of the 4 rounds, Branson posted a 21/5:07.13 compared to Harpers 21/5:07.49. Behind Peter Eagles and Chris Grainger completed the Modified class Top 4. In the finals, the British Championship running double A-Mains, Branson won the first by 2.5-seconds from Harper with Grainger moving up to third. A2 would see Harper go for a gap but unfortunately spin out after side-by-side contact. Setting the fastest lap of the harper would manage to finish second just behind the winner with Eagles in third but overall it was the veteran Grainger who competed the podium. Round 2 of the championship will take drivers to Stafford on May 25th.
Image: Schumacher [Facebook]
Italian engine manufacturer Picco has announced the addition of the brand new SIX to its line-up of .21 1:8 Offroad engines. Based on the experience of the P3 and keeping a clear buggy philosophy it offers strong low-end power, good acceleration, easy tuning, and solid drivability. The new 6-port sleeve improves drivability, making the engine smoother, more consistent, and easier to control in all conditions. Power delivery is then more linear, helping the driver stay in control while still keeping enough punch for jumps and corner exits. A lighter, modern cooling head improves balance and helps maintain stable temperatures over long runs. The result is a simple, predictable engine that is easy to set up and reliable. The Picco SIX is built to deliver usable performance, lap after lap. Positioning in the Picco range. The SIX is a strong addition to the Picco range, sitting alongside the DIX. Both engines are designed for different needs on track. The DIX is the high-end performance model, focused on maximum power and top-level potential. The SIX focuses more on usability and efficiency. It keeps the Picco performance DNA, but delivers it in a more controllable, easier-to-use and more consistent way over a full run. Where the DIX pushes maximum performance, the SIX focuses on accessibility, consistency, and control. Both engines share the same DNA, but the SIX is aimed at drivers who want confidence and performance they can fully exploit.
Infinity’s Dario Balestri has won the annual Italian ‘Campionato Costruttori’ which was this year staged at the MyCandy Arena in the north of the country. In qualifying it was new Max Power engines signing Carmine Raiola who took the TQ with a dominant run topping all four rounds. Behind it was Balestri who claimed second on the grid ahead of Jonathan Gandin, Francesci Tironi, Lamberto Collari, and Silvio Hächler. In the 45-minute final however Riola’s form in qualifying wouldn’t continue as he retired 30-minutes into the encounter joining Collari and British visit Alex Thurston as retirees. At the front, putting in the only 13-second lap of the race, it was 2-time World Champion Balestri who took the win by 11-seconds over the Xray of teenager Filippo Domanin. Swiss driver Silvio Hächler would complete the podium for ARC half a lap ahead of Gandin. In the 1:8 GT Nitro Class, it was Genius Racing’s Leonardo Valente who took the TQ ahead of the Sworkz of Austrian Tobias Sutrich but with Valente’s race lasting just 5-minutes it was third place qualifier Adam Izsay who took the win for Xray by a lap over Sutrich.
Image: Infinity [Facebook]
Young Kyosho star Phi-Long Nguyen has completed the double on his Asian Buggy Championships debut adding the main Nitro Buggy win to his eBuggy victory from earlier in the day in Malaysia. Starting from second on the grid behind Top Qualifier Pekko Iivonen, the American would benefit from the Mayako driver running out of fuel as the second round of fuel stops approached during the 45-minute encounter. Having built up a 12-second advantage over Nguyen and the rest of the 15 car field, a flame out during Nguyen’s first fuel stop adding to the Finn’s advantage, it looked like it was finally going to Iivonen’s big day. A driver who has looked like he has progressed a step up in his driving every time he took the impressive LAP Paradise RC Raceway track here at the second round of the ABC, unfortunately it wasn’t going to be a case of third time lucky. His third appearance in the Team Cayote/VP-Pro backed championship, having raced in the Philippines and Australia last season, he would run out of fuel just before the loop meaning he lost an entire lap on the field. This gave Nguyen, who on taking the win was quick to state his rival was the faster driver in the final despite posting the fastest lap himself, a comfortable lead that he could manage and would never relinquish. 9-seconds back at the finish, Sworkz’s Caleb Noble backed up his win of the season opener in New Zealand with a second place while fellow Aussie Jayden Edmunds completed the podium. Dropping back to fifth after his flame out, a clearly disappointed Iivonen would only be rewarded with a P4 for his otherwise impressive showing with Jared Ment and Ken NG completing the Top 6 on what has been a hugely successful debut visit to a track whose elevation has been a huge hit with racers.
Kyosho’s Phi-Long Nguyen has taken the eBuggy win at Round 2 of the Asian Buggy Championships in Malaysia, the American seeing off an intense challenge from Mayako’s Pekko Iivonen in the deciding third A-Main at LAP Paradise RC Raceway. With Iivonen having won yesterday’s opening A-Main ahead of the Top Qualifier, this morning Nguyen would manage to keep his MP11e out front despite the Finn being all over his rear wing in A2 and even getting a look once or twice down the inside but just never quite able to see it through. With 1 minute 20 seconds on the clock of the 8-minute encounter, Iivonen would attempt a long jump but it would go wrong and he would land off the track. Rejoining the track without the need for a marshal, Iivonen’s next lap would be the fastest of the final but as he made another push he would crash again on his final lap, allowing Nguyen to win by over 6-seconds. With the stage set for an A3 shootout, the contenders didn’t disappoint with the crowd producing many “Oohs and ahhs” over the race as Iivonen tried to put a pass on the Asian Buggy Championship debutant. Despite his rival, who again set the fastest lap of the race, getting his noise alongside a number of times it was not enough to unsettle the teenager who put in a super cool headed drive. The pressure on Nguyen would finally lift on the last lap as Iivonen, who showed incredible patients behind the leader, tried to out jump the leader but the landing didn’t work. Crossing the line with a 4-second advantage the overall win was Nguyen’s. Backing up his P3 in the days earlier encounter with another third in A3 meant it was Australian Jayden Edmunds who completed the podium ahead of 3rd place qualifier Caleb Noble.
Australian Tekno driver Liam Jones has won a high attrition rate Nitro Truggy A-Main at Round 2 of the Asian Buggy Championships in Malaysia. The championship’s first visit to the country and the impressive LAP Paradise RC Raceway, which located just an hour across the border from Singapore, it was expected that the half hour final would be just a formality for Top Qualifier Caleb Noble. The Sworkz driver dominated the opening round of the Team Cayote/VP-Pro backed championship last month in New Zealand, and no one would have bet against the Aussie going back to back here in Johor Bahru. Starting on pole ahead of the Sparko of Ken NG, Noble quickly established a lead but as the race approached half way distance the 19-year-old suffered a diff failure, his race was done. This promoted NG to the lead with Jones, who qualified P4, running in second. However he too would hit mechanical problems, losing rear drive after just a few laps out in front – something he said may have been the result of his truggy taking a heavy hit to the rear early on in the final. With Noble down in pit lane cheering on his compatriot, along with Jones’ elated father, the Melbourne driver would stay out front to take the win ahead by 2/3 of a lap over fellow Aussie Jayden Edmunds. Chinese Kyosho driver Francis Guan completed the podium while with only 2WD NG managed to finish down in P6.
