Red RC » Sirio

May 12, 2007

Sirio 2007 Engine line-up

Sirio CL7R STI

Sirio might have been dropped by Kyosho in favour of CRF for team and kit supply but Sirio are still going strong and are still producing very competitive engines. We got hold of images of Sirios 2007 engine lineup from our sponsors, and official Sirio agents, The Border, and we have put them online to show you. A lot of the motors carry forward from last year with the exception of the CL7R STI (above) which is the latest and greatest version of their 3.5cc circuit motor, and the CL7B STI which is the latest top of the line 3.5cc buggy engine. The Border will have most of this line-up of motors in stock from next week onwards, so if you like what you see you can check them out there next week.

Click here to see the entire line-up… content

May 3, 2007

EXCLUSIVE – Kyosho to choose CRF as engine supplier

EXCLUSIVE - Kyosho to choose CRF as engine supplier

We have been reporting on the ongoing saga between Kyosho and Sirio for some time now and although some people dont want to believe its true, i can tell you that its happening folks. We have heard from a very reliable source in Japan that Kyosho are very close to completing a deal with Swiss company CRF to supply engines for their entire range of cars. The consequence of this deal is that Sirio, the Italian engine company who previously supplied Kyosho is out, which seems to tie in with what we have been reporting on Kyosho team drivers leaving Sirio as their engine supplier and, as it turns out, choosing CRF. Adrien Bertin left Sirio to work for Team Orion, focussing on the development of the CRF engines, Josh Cyrul is a long time CRF user and was the first Kyosho team driver to switch away from Sirio, Ilia van Gastel has been confirmed to be running CRF engines which only leaves Takaaki Shimo to confirm his position with CRF which we expect to happen at the Shizuoka Hobby show in Japan in 2 weeks time, along with the official announcement of the partnership.

March 28, 2007

Ilia van Gastel leaves Sirio?

Ilia van Gastel

To continue our long running look into the partnership breakdown between Kyosho and Sirio, we today heard a rumour, that backed up something we heard a while back, that multiple Belgian Champion and Euros podium finisher Ilia van Gastel has not re-signed to use Sirio engines. Van Gastel is of course a factory sponsored Kyosho racer and his abandoning Sirio as an engine partner is in keeping with the other Kyosho factory racers Collari, Bertin, Cyrul and Shimo who have all abandoned Sirio as their engine supplier in recent months.

So where does Van Gastel go from here? Should he choose Novarossi like 7 time World Champion Collari or choose the Team Orion CRF like Cyrul and Bertin or perhaps go for some other manufacturer? Who knows, but we’re sure to find out soon, as the new outdoor season is about to start up.

UPDATE: According to a number of e-mails from other top European racers that i have received and also the current entry list (PDF) from the 1/8th scale EFRA GP that will be held at the end of April, Ilia will race Team Orion CRF engines.

Image: JE Racing [jeracing.eu]

March 8, 2007

King and Lutz sign with Sirio and KO Propo

King and Lutz

We are going to run with the Kyosho press release as it tells you everything you need to know about whats going on this cool promo photo.

Kyosho America factory drivers Cody King and Ryan Lutz have signed with Sirio and KO Propo for the 2007 racing season. Both drivers will be running the new Sirio Evo III STI off-road engine in the buggy and truggy classes, and using the latest KO Propo EX-10 Helios C2 Limited Edition radio system. The power of the Sirio engine and precision of the KO Helios C2 means both drivers will have top-quality support equipment, virtually eliminating concerns about reliable control, consistent performance and maximum horsepower, which gives them more time find the fastest line around the racetrack. It’s World Champion hardware for the next generation of champions!

Source: Kyosho America [kyoshoamerica.com]

March 6, 2007

Takaaki Shimo leaves Sirio

We have heard whisperings that former Japanese National Champion and World Championship Vice Champion Takaaki Shimo has left Sirio engines with immediate effect, although we have yet to receive confirmation of his new engine supplier. Shimo as we all know is a top Kyosho racer and very close to the factory and with this latest move further confirms a split between the Japanese car manufacturer and the Italian engine manufacturer, no matter how much Star Motor wants to deny it. Shimo joins fellow Kyosho racers Bertin, Collari, Cyrul who have all left Sirio with Collari choosing Novarossi and Cyrul and Bertin going for the Team Orion CRF engines to power their cars. We have talked a lot about this matter in the past and believe that there is definitely a shift within Kyosho to move away from Sirio but until we receive some official confirmation from either party we cant say for sure.

February 12, 2007

Kyosho Sirio partnership still strong says Andrea Rossi

Kyosho Sirio happy

Last week we suggested that the partnership between Kyosho and Star Motor Engineering, makers of Sirio motors, may be on the rocks following constant rumours suggesting so and the fact that their 2 World Champions had stop running their motors. In an interview with Italian website Unoadieci, Andrea Rossi set the record straight and suggested that these rumours were aimed to cause damage to the companies reputation and the partnership between itself and Kyosho and cause doubt in the market. He says that the working partnership is as strong as ever and their team will remain the same for this season as it was last season with the exception of Adrien Bertin. He also took the opportunity to state that their competition engine development continues with the release of 4 new motors for on road and off road.

UPDATE: Just when you think everything is pleasant in Sirioville, RMV Deutschland, who are heavily involved with Kyosho Europe, have issued a statement on their site stating that as of last Sunday their contract to supply Sirio ran out and that they no longer wish to continue selling their products and will instead only concentrate on RB Products. See statement here (in German).

Source: Unoadieci [unoadieci.net]

February 7, 2007

Kyosho and Sirio partnership close to an end?

Kyosho and Sirio

We have been hearing this rumour for a while now and from a number of sources, the fact that the partnership between Kyosho and Star Motor Engineering, makers of Sirio, was strained and may even be coming to an end. Things started to be mentioned when World Champion Lamberto Collari didnt renew his contract with the Italian engine manufacturer and jumped ship to Novarossi, followed relatively closely by fellow World Champion Adrien Bertin who left his job at Sirio and moved to Team Orion in Switzerland. Rumour has it that Francesco Tironi, a Collari protegÃ©, has also left his position in the company but this hasnt been confirmed as yet. All the previously mentioned racers are heavily backed by Japanese manufacturer Kyosho and seems like too much of a coincidence to be not related to their engine and car sponsors relationship going sour.

Now i dont pretend to know why this could be happening but the shift could see Team Orion and their range of CRF Wasp motors taking over the supply of motors to the Japanese teams drivers with Bertin and fellow Kyosho team driver Josh Cyrul already running these motors and the unannounced news that another top European Kyosho racer, that we havent mentioned, will also jump from Sirio to Team Orion in the coming weeks. We will watch and see how this unfolds and update you when we hear more.

January 18, 2007

Sirio 21 BK Evo III STI

We first wrote about the Kanai edition Evo III STI engine from Sirio back in November when it was first shown to the public. Well the engine is due to be released at the end of February and we now know what changes have been made to the engine over the previous Kanai engine.

The EVO III line of engines feature a new crankcase to increase flow to the combustion chamber. Port timing and induction timing have been changed to increase torque and driveability. The result is an engine with tons of dirveable power and it’s easy to tune.

You can view some pictures and more details here.

Source: Kyosho America [kyoshoamerica.com]