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November 4, 2023

Balestri back on top of the World in Japan

Infinity’s Dario Balestri is back on top of the World after taking victory at the 1:8 Onroad World Championship in Japan. Having relinquished the title to Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata in the USA in 2019, after a forced 4-year-old wait, the Italian took the title back today and becomes one of the greats of the sport. Having often been referred to as the fastest onroad nitro driver in the World without a World Title before he finally got his breakthrough win in France in 2017, today’s win see him join legendary 9-time World Champion Lamberto Collari as the only other driver to hold the title more than once in the 23 editions of IFMAR’s original World Championship class. Unfortunately for Takahata after a brilliant Semi final win that put him 3rd on the grid, his title defence came to a very premature end in the final when his engine broke after just two and a half minutes. Having enjoyed a good stint as leader of the race, Capricorn’s Toni Gruber would finish 2nd just 7.5-seconds behind Balestri after the one hour of intense racing. Top Qualifier Simon Kurzbuch, who lead for the first 10-minutes until his first tyre stop, would complete the podium for Mugen in a dramatic end of race battle with Infinity’s Jesse Davis that led to a long delay in the prize presentations as it was reviewed by the officials. When the prize giving did get underway Takahata, who changed engine and finished the final, gave himself a better reason to remember his home World Championship by using the opportunity to propose to his girlfriend and she said yes.

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November 4, 2023

Takahata to defend World title from P3 in Japan

Mugen Seiki’s Shoki Takahata is to defend the 1:8 Onroad World Championship title he won in California four years ago from P3 on the grid in Japan after a near perfect Semi Final performance. Starting the second of the half hour encounters from P2 on the grid, the Japanese driver would win from the Capricorn pairing of pole sitter Toni Gruber and Dominic Greiner, the later having to start from the back of the grid after calling time in the warm-up to change engine. In the first of the Semi Finals, Jesse Davis executed a text book race to repeat his 2019 performance when he booked himself into his first World Championship final. Behind the Australian, Infinity team-mate Naoto Matsukura secured his place in the 1-hour final ahead of a delighted Francesco Tironi, the Italian having bumped up from the quarter finals. As the drivers with the fastest two race times outside of the Top 3 Semi Final finishers, 2013 World Champion Tadahiko Sahashi and 1:8 Onroad World Championship debutant Kouki Kato complete the 10 car line up that will compete for the 23rd IFMAR World Title here at Infinity International RC Speedway.

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November 4, 2023

Roche optional 1:12 alu servo horn

New from 1:12 brand Roche is this optional aluminium servo horn for the Xray servo saver for use in their recently released P12V and other brands of 1:12 chassis with a front mounting servo. It provides an extra 2mm space for steering linkage position to make more ackermann adjustment.

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November 3, 2023

Pro-Line SCX10 Twin I-Beam Pre-Runner Suspension Kit

Pro-Line has released a Twin I-Beam Pre-Runner Suspension kit to transform your SCX10 I/II into a 2WD Desert Truck. In the early days of offroad desert racing, I-Beam trucks became the standard suspension setup due to their uncompromised durability, easily attained long-travel, and overall simplicity. Now, you can capture that desert racing sprit using your SCX10 kit as a base to build a 1/10 scale pre-runner. The Twin I-Beam front suspension consists of two long “I-beam” arms that cross one another in an X-pattern. These arms control the lateral forces applied to the wheels, while radius arms reach backward toward the centre skid plate to stabilise each wheel in the fore-aft direction. This super scale conversion kit utilises the same geometry setup as 1:1 trucks with true swingset steering and centre-mount radius arms to optimise handling throughout the entire suspension travel. The kit includes everything you need to easily convert your rig and completely change the driving experience of your SCX10. Stainless steel links and steel pivot balls provide dependable endurance, while the new battery tray moves the battery to the rear of the vehicle for optimal weight bias and performance. The new front shock tower features holes for dual shock mounting, and the new rear trailing arms have 3 wheelbase options for added adjustability and versatility.

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November 3, 2023

Iris ONE Internal Shock Spring and Piston Set

Iris Racing has released an Internal Shock Spring and Piston Set for their range of 1:10 Electric Touring Car kits. Specially engineered for the Iris ONE, ONE0.5, and ONE.05 FWD, this kit enables a customisable spring setup to elevate your car’s performance and give enhanced control and adaptability. The set features a Spring stiffness curve allowing you to achieve a progressive effect thanks to four distinct springs available in two stiffness levels and two lengths of 3mm and 5mm, allowing for fine-tuned control. The springs are securely attached to the piston plate using a small screw, with the capacity to accommodate two springs on each piston plate. Ideal for high-grip tracks, the progressive spring rate is especially beneficial as the grip on the race track increases, ensuring a more stable and controlled ride. The kit includes all necessary components for both left and right shocks.

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November 2, 2023

Kurzbuch is Top Qualifier in Japan

Eight years on from TQ’ing in Brazil on en-route to becoming the 2015 World title, Mugen Seiki driver Simon Kurzbuch is again the Top Qualifier at the IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship. Four drivers, all World Champions, went into the sixth & final round of qualifying at the Infinity International RC Speedway in Japan with a chance of the overall TQ. Q1 winner Dario Balestri was the first driver to go by the wayside, his car coming to stop half way through the qualifier. Next it was Q2 pace setter Toni Gruber who came to a halt a minute later. That left just Kurzbuch and Shoki Takahata in the battle although the later wasn’t on a good run. All the while 17-year-old World Championship debutant Kouki Kato surprised them all snatching the TQ for the round ahead of Kurzbuch but with two TQ runs to go with his P2 it was the Swiss ace who goes into the history books as the Top Qualifier of the 23rd running of the sport’s original World Championship. With his TQ run, him being the fifth different driver to do so over the six rounds, Offroad racer Kato put his Infinity into the Super Pole. This was duly won by Dario Balestri who denied defending World Champion Takahata a direct spot in the final alongside Kurzbuch. First to go the Mugen driver ran a best lap of 13.633 which neither Kato or Toni Gruber could better but last to go Balestri needed just three laps to produce a 13.518 to win a feat he also achieved at the 1:10 World Championship in Thailand 12-months ago.

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November 2, 2023

VP Pro 1:8 Offroad Coloured Rims

VP-PRO has extended the range of colours in their 1:8 Buggy and Truggy rim range. Adding the option of pink, green and orange, the rims are made of high-quality plastic, lightweight, high rigidity which adds to better stability during turns and conforms to IFMAR standards.

Source: VP Pro [vp-racing.com]

November 2, 2023

Kurzbuch repeats in penultimate qualifier

Mugen Seiki’s Simon Kurzbuch has become the first driver to repeat a TQ run at the 1:8 Onroad World Championship as he made it two in a row in the penultimate round of qualifying in Japan. The Swiss driver managed the run perfectly as Infinity’s Naoto Matsukura pushed him for the TQ but on the last lap the Japanese driver once again ran out of fuel. This handed Dario Balestri the second fastest time, the Infinity driver just 3/10ths off. More than a second back, a big margin at these World Championships, Toni Gruber would complete the Top 3 just ahead of defending Champion Shoki Takahata with everything still to play for in the sixth & final round of qualifying at the Infinity International RC Speedway.

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