October 26, 2023

‘I think Dario was racing European Championships before I was born’ – meet Serpent’s 1:8 Onroad young gun Andrea Catanzani

The last time the 1:8 Onroad World Championship was held in Japan it was Serpent who came away with the title thanks to Japanese driver Tadahiko Sahashi.  At the same time almost 10,000km away in Italy an 8-year-old was embarking on his journey into RC Racing.  Inspired by his father, one of the country’s top Rally Game drivers (the precursor to what we now know as 1:8 GT), this driver started to master his skills driven by view of his father, ‘for me he was the best and I wanted to be like him’.  Now a decade later, that up & coming talent is part of a small select factory Serpent team that will compete for the title at the 23rd running of IFMAR’s original World Championship at the Infinity International RC Speedway in Japan.  That driver is recently turned 18-year-old Andrea Catanzani, who earlier this month marked his arrival on the international stage with some stunning displays of outright speed and hunger for success at the 1:8 GT World Championship in Sydney.

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June 30, 2023

Catanzani Top Qualifier at 1:8 GT European C/ship

Andrea Catanzani is the Top Qualifier at the EFRA 1:8 GT European Championships In Croatia.  The Serpent/Gimar driver topped 2 of the 5 rounds of qualifying at Mini Autodrom Ayrton Senna circuit in Zagreb, with Xray’s of Martin Bayer his closest rival in the nitro class.  Attracting a field of 48 drivers in nitro,  qualifying didn’t start well for the Italian as he was only 15th fastest.  While Bayer took Q1 from defending champion Bernard-Alain Arnaldi, Capricorn’s Alessio Mazzeo topped Q2 from Catanzani before he found his form in Q3 & 4 to wrap up the overall TQ with one round to go.  Behind Bayer in P2, Natanaele Senesi took his Xray to third in the ranking ahead of Alex D’angelo and Arnaldi with Mazzeo 10th behind Buggy World Champion Davide Ongaro.  Also the European Championship for 1:8 GT Electric, 36 drivers registering results, Mazzeo is the Top Qualifier with three TQ runs compared to single TQ runs from Arnaldi (P2) and reigning champion Bayer (P3).

Image: Serpent [serpent.com]


March 10, 2023

Ongaro set for 1:8 GT Worlds with Gimar Engines

Best known for his offroad exploits, back to back 1:8 Buggy World Champion Davide Ongaro has announced a 1:8 GT only programme with Italian engine brand Gimar.  Ongaro is the star driver for Team Associated and Japanese engine manufacturer OS Engines in offroad and has added two 1:8 Buggy World titles to both brands illustrious history but is joining forces with Giovanni Crea’s Gimar engines for a GT campaign that includes both the European and World Championships.  A huge boost for the GT category which will run only its second ever World Championship later this year in Sydney, Australia, having Ongaro on the grid will be a massive profile raiser for the class.  Kicking off his onroad exploits next week at the Italian GT Nationals, his Gimar Venus engine will be fitted to the chassis of another Italian brand Genius Racing – this same engine & chassis combination used by France’s Alain Arnaldi to become the 2022 European GT Champion.  Like Ongaro, another driver best known for his Offroad achievements, Joern Nuemann is the reigning 1:8 GT World Champion.

Source: Gimar [rcgimar.com]


August 3, 2022

Gimar 1:8 GT tyre warmers

Italian company Gimar, specialists in GT class and former European champion of the category, introduce this new tyre warmer for 1:8th GT. Featuring a very small control unit with front-side warming belt connectors, the warmer takes up minimal pit space. Gimar is also the first brand that use the CUP warmer for the GT class that is more commonly used in 1:10 touring class. The tyre warmers can be powered by a DC power supply or a 3S LiPo battery pack and come in a Gimar branded carry case.

View more images here


May 15, 2022

Gimar Saturn 9 Evo .21 nitro on-road engine

Gimar have introduced their all-new Saturn 9 Evo .21 nitro on-road competition engine built from OS. The power plant utilises the new patented M.E.S. (multi exhaust system) sleeve, which has 9 ports with 4 exhaust booster ports and the special shape ensures maximised performance. The crankcase is specially machined from OS to work perfectly with the 4 booster ports sleeve and the crankcase has been hard black coated to increase hardness and stability. Also new is the DLC-coated crankshaft with triple tungsten balance weights and silicone insert. The updated design optimises internal mixture flow while the lightweight shaft improves agility. While the 3-needle carburettor allows for better idling and quicker returning to low RPM after throttling. The engine’s features are rounded out by a new combustion camber insert specially developed for the use with 16 percent nitro fuel. A 25 percent insert is available separately.

View more details & images here


July 14, 2020

Gimar SRX8GT clutch bell kit

Coming from 1/8th GT specialists Gimar is a new clutch bell kit designed for the Serpent SRX8GT. The clutch bell is machined from high-quality 7075 Ergal material and nickel-treated for best possible performance and durability. The clutch pinions were specially developed for shorter tracks as they are popular in China, with 16T and 17T 1st gear and 20T to 22T 2nd gear pinions being available. Included in the kit come four high-quality ball bearings and a bearing hub. The clutch is a direct fit with the SRX8GT’s standard clutch or the newly introduced adjustable #601163 clutch system. The pinions however work exclusively with the Gimar clutch bell. In addition the clutch bell and pinion combination can be used with other 0.8 module gear trains such as the ones of SWorkz, IGT8 or Hong Nor.

View the pinion gears here


June 5, 2019

Gimar short & super short 1/8th on-road manifolds

German Gimar distributor RCCar24.com has announced the release of new short and super short 1/8th on-road manifolds. The somewhat strange looking manifolds will improve top end power, however they are known for being quite noisy so they might be prohibited at tracks or events that run a noise restriction policy.

View more images here


August 13, 2018

Thilo Tödtmann teams up with JP GIMAR

JP GIMAR have officially announced the signing of German frontrunner Thilo Tödtmann to their team. The multi-time ENS podium finisher,
U.S. Nitro Worldcup winner, reigning FEMCA Champion and multiple European Championship finalist will be using the Italian brand’s nitro engines during his upcoming campaign that will include all major national and international races. Thilo has the following to say about the deal:

From my heart I would like to thank the Picco brothers for their cooperation over the past year and a half. I am looking forward to team up with with JP Gimar and Giovanni Crea in person. His dedication and most importantly his passion for racing is something that impressed me from the first day and I think we have a great future ahead of us.

Source: JP GIMAR [facebook.com]