European ‘B’ Vice Champion Eric Dankel from Germany has agreed a 2 year deal with Shepherd Micro Racing to drive their newly released Velox 1/8th scale chassis. Also a top runner in the German Championships, Eric leaves behind former Sponsor Mugen, but will continue with long term engine supplier Novarossi while for fuel and tires he will be using Runner Time and PMT.
Source: Twins Racing [twins-racing.de]
We got word from Shepherd Racing that newly signed team driver Daniele Ielasi won last weekend in Lucca, Italy in his first race with the Velox. With the Shepherd team, consisting of Robert Pietsch, Patrick Schäfer and Armin Weihert, in attendance to give support, Daniele quickly became comfortable with the car and could improve his lap times constantly. The race saw 50 drivers in attendance including 2 time European Champion Dario Balestri as well as Marco Vanni and Stefano Puccinelli and after Saturday’s practice session it was clear that the battle for the win would be between Dario and Daniele. After 3 qualifying rounds on Sunday morning, and with drivers battling with fuel consumption, it was Balestri that took the pole position just in front of Ielasi in 2nd. With changes to his muffler prior to the final Daniele immediately jumped into the lead in front of Balestri, Vanni and Puccinelli and up to the first pit stop the Velox racer could increase his lead at the front of the pack. By the middle of the final there was a gap of 8 seconds between the first 2 racers but 6 minutes before the end Dario had to stop with glowplug failure while Marco Vanni also had to retire because of gearbox problems. This left Daniele to cruise home in first, taking his first victory in his first outing with his new team.
Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]
Great news from our site sponsors Shepherd Racing in Germany who have announced that RC super star Daniele Ielasi has agreed a 2 year deal to race the company’s Velox. The 3-times Italian champion, 2-times European Champion and 3-times Vice-World Champion will participate at all major National and International 1/8th scale on-road races playing an important role for the race team and helping to promoting their products. Additionally he will be a constant part of the research and development team. With his vast experience in professional rc-car racing and with ideal practice and testing conditions in Italy he will assist Shepherd in improving the quality and performance of their products.
Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]
Shepherd Micro Racing have sent us further information on their soon to be released 1/8th scale circuit car, the Velox. Focusing on the car’s “Direct-V-Brake system” they tell us that they had to check many material combinations to find the very best result that they have now. To get durable braking without brake fading, or even complete loss of braking, they had to find the right material, which they did with a special hardware that resulted in great braking efficiency, durable braking, long life brake pads and simple maintanance. With this braking system you can brake hard, with maximum control, and because the brake doesn’t need any complicated adjustments, you can simply assemble the parts in the right place and the brake will work perfectly from the beginning.
Click here for more information… content
As we have published several times before, including an in depth report from the World Championships in Argentina, Shepherd Micro Racing will release their latest 1/8th scale, the Velox, very soon.
After an extensive test stage Shepherd are proud to offer a sophisticated and well-engineered product soon. It was always important for us to develop a model that suits both the hobby driver and the pure competition racer. The potential of this car has already been on both a national and international setting with a 3rd and a 4th place obtained by Robert Pietsch at this years Lostallo and Grenoble EFRA GPs. Also at the European Championship in Lostallo Robert just missed out on the final with an 11th place, while at the World Championship in Cordoba he also just missed the final, placing 15th overall due to being bumped from the track while in third position in his semi-final. The biggest success so far however has been the victory of Robert Pietsch and the 6th place of Patrick Schäfer at the 2007 German 1/8th scale National Championships.
Continue reading about the Velox… content
We first reported on the Robert Pietsch designed Shepherd Racing Velox 1/8th scale back in February when it was shown for the first time at the Nurnberg toy fair. We now have more detailed pictures of the car and an explanation, from the guys at Shepherd Racing, on how the cars innovative rear braking system works and below we have created a small diagram to show this function.
Click here to read about the Velox brake system… content
German manufacturer Shepherd are present at the toy fair and are showing off their new Velox 07 1/8th scale 4wd chassis (click image for bigger pic). From what we can see the rear end looks similar to the Speed that they currently have on the market, but the radio plate layout and front end looks completely new. This will be the first results of Shepherds hook up with Robert Pietsch that we announced 2 weeks ago.
UPDATE: Patrick Schäfer from Shepherd has been in touch and put us right on the whats new on the car, which is basically everything. Hit more to read the full list of changes… content
World Championship finalist and all round fast driver Robert Pietsch has left Mugen, a manufacturer he has raced with for many years, to work and race for Shepherd Racing. Shepherd racing took over the old Picco 1/8th scale car project a few years back and the car has only had minimum development since. Pietsch’s position at his new employer will involve designing and developing the car further as well as being its top team driver along with, son of Shepherd owner, Patrick Schäfer. We heard that issues over what engine Robert could run whilst racing last year for Mugen prompted his decision to move.
Image: RC Tech [rctech.net]
