December 23, 2025

Morganti joins Ielasi Tuned

Ielasi Tuned has announced that US Onroad Nitro racer Diego Morganti has joined its team line-up for 2026.  The son of veteran 1:8 Onroad racer and IGT8 owner Paolo, Morganti was the winner of 2025 KO Propo Grand Prix in 1:8 Onroad and also made his IFMAR World Championship debut this year when he travelled to Chile for 1:8 GT.  Qualifying P7, issues in his Semi Final would end his strong showing.  Set to use the Italian engine tuners Pista Team Edition engines, Morganti’s first major race officially representing the brand will be the 2026 Winternats in Florida.  On the announcement the 21-year-old said, ‘I am thrilled and very grateful about joining the Ielasi Tuned Family!  Thank you so much to Daniele and Sabrina for the opportunity.  I am looking forward to hitting the track soon.’

Source: Ielasi Tuned [ielasituned.com]


December 22, 2025

Shepherd VE9 EC 1:8 Electric Onroad Chassis

After extensive design and testing, Shepherd Micro Racing introduces the new VE9 EC Limited Edition 1:8 Electric Onroad Chassis.  After proven results, including 2nd place at the Electric Euro Cup 2025 and finishing runner-up in 2025 BRCA 1:8 Electric National Championships, the British owner brand is doing a Limited Edition run of 50 cars, coming early 2026.  Under designer Craig Fisher, the focus points have been on simplicity of build, along with allowing optional tuning for the dedicated racer.  New features include 2-belts rather than 3 which is designed to be more efficient with instant responsiveness.  The 5mm carbon chassis includes a changeable LiPo tray allowing the use of standard or shorty LiPo batteries.  A new integrated motor bulkhead and main layshaft single unit improves drive train smoothness.

View additional VE9 EC fetaures & images here


December 22, 2025

Mikimodel F1 Universal Interchangeable Front Wings

New from Mikimodel comes these 3D printed Universal Interchangeable Front Wings for all F1 models.  After a major effort in developing the most appropriate and suitable materials, the Italian company have developed new front wings with the most difficult thing being to find the most suitable material that was resistant, but not rigid enough to break under impact, but at the same time rigid enough not to lose its aerodynamic characteristics.  The wings consist of a fixed part, the basis for all the others, and a replaceable part, the actual wing.  So far, they have developed two models, the ‘Alfa’ and the ‘BETA’.  Simply unscrew one wing, without even removing the bodywork, and you’re done.  The two wings are different from each other to provide different aerodynamic characteristics and adapt as best as possible to different tracks.

View more images here


December 22, 2025

Weiss joins RC Maker for racing return

Former European Championship Top Qualifier & Vice Champion Steve Weiss is returning to competitive Electric Touring Car racing with Australian manufacturer RC Maker announcing the signing of the German driver.  After almost nine years away from active competition, Weiss will support RC Maker as a Technical Advisor, assisting the team at all major races. With his deep knowledge of car setup, car development, and race strategy, he will play a key role in helping the team grow stronger and move forward.  On the announcement Weiss said, ‘I am very proud to be part of this young and talented team. I first met Ryan in 2008 at the IFMAR World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand, and now, 18 years later, we are working together again.  Even though I stopped my active racing career in 2016, my passion for the sport never stopped.  I have followed RC Maker from the beginning, starting with the release of the SP1. I am really impressed by the design, the performance on track, and how fast the brand has grown in such a short time. Being part of this journey means a lot to me, and I am proud to work together with RC Maker.  I am fully motivated, ready for this challenge, and excited about what’s coming next.’

Source: RC Maker [rcmaker.com.au]


December 22, 2025

Team Associated RC10B84 Classic Kit

Team Associated is rounding out 2025 with another ‘Classic’ kit release, this time with a Classic take on the their latest RC10B84 1:10 4WD Buggy.  With the B84 platform released in June of this year, it quickly added to the US manufacturer’s IFMAR World Champion tally when Marcus Kaerup took the 1:10 4WD World Championship win in Sydney, Australia, in October.  Releasing the ‘Classis’, a low run collector’s piece, the buggy get’s RC10 Classic gold finish aluminium parts and chassis, as well as all white premium composite plastics.  Accepting pre-orders, the RC10B84 Classic is available in as a standard or Dirt kit and is due to ship late December.

View more images here


December 19, 2025

Inside the factory – A visit to Hobbywing HQ

I have always enjoyed hearing people’s stories on how they ended doing what they do for a living.  Getting the opportunity to visit the Hobbywing factory after covering one of China’s international races, on that trip to Shenzhen I would get to met Jack Zhang, the man who founded what has become one of the leading electronic manufacturers in our racing world.  As I would learn from the visit, Hobbywing is a whole lot more than the company we all know for making the motors and ESC that allow us to go racing.  Its impressive growth to a company with over 1,000 employees all grew out of an RC enthusiast’s need for a product to allow him enjoy his hobby.  While getting to see the production lines off which come all the XeRun ESC and motors, that would complete a clean sweep of all four electric IFMAR World Championship titles on offer in 2025, it was actually the behind the scenes work, research & developing, and testing that makes these products that was the real highlight of visiting not one but two locations that make the final products roll off the production line.  While Salton Dong is the global public face of Hobbywing, travelling to major races providing technical support to team drivers and customers, there wouldn’t be Hobbywing if it wasn’t for Jack finding himself in a predicament in his own passion for RC Helicopters.  And it was a chance introduction to Salton on an RC forum that would prove pivotal to the brand becoming the force they are today in RC racing.  The expertise since helping them to expand into markets you might be surprised to learn of.

Continue reading here


December 19, 2025

Mikimodel MS2.0 Front and Rear Upper Decks

Adding further to its range of aftermarket parts for Yokomo’s MS2.0 Electric Touring Car, Italy’s Mikimodel has released these new front and rear upper decks.  They have worked to develop a specific product for the front and a specific product for the rear, with the goal of providing the greatest possible traction while making the front end easier to manage.  The “T”-shaped deck is dedicated to the front and its unique shape provides excellent entry into the wheelbase, providing excellent handling, making the car extremely easy to drive.  The rear upper deck, on the other hand, is much stiffer, providing excellent traction and driving stability.

View rear upper deck here


December 19, 2025

Serpent SRX8GTE R 1:8 Electric GT

Following the release of its SRX8GT R 1:8 GT Nitro Car ahead of the IFMAR 1:8 GT World Championships in Chile, Serpent has now released the R version of the electric SRX8GTE.  The R is the culmination of contributions from World Championship Top Qualifier Andrea Catanzani and his father, Roberto.   Serpent has designed a new flat chassis based on the new IFMAR/EFRA rules and to enhance the flex characteristics, the new chassis is 4mm thick in most areas and is designed without side dams. It offers the ideal flex for a race car that is both fast and easy to handle.  To still have the advantage of the kickup suspension Serpent designed a special front adaptor to keep the same front bulkheads and c-hubs.  They have saved 53 grams (adaptor included) on the previous chassis.  An optional carbon chassis with distinct flex characteristics will be available to enhance performance on specific tracks.  This save 61 grams on the aluminium chassis with the adaptor included.  Perhaps the most significant advancement of the R platform comes from the revised geometry. In addition to adjustments in the roll centre roll centre migration, and camber change, the narrower track width stands out as the most noticeable modification.  Another key aspect is the altered relationship between wheel and shock movement.  Specific to the Electric chassis Serpent has updated the Split centre diff design and improved the motor mount. With the existing slide system and 1 screw holding already being a great staple, we kept that the same.  However, the motor mount’s shape has been also changed to accept the new split diff and has been lightened in the process to reduce weight.

View more images here


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