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December 20, 2013

On the Grapevine – Omaha

Where did that year go?? Last weekend I made my final trip of the 2013 season travelling to a rather nippy Omaha, Nebraska, for the Finals of the five round JConcepts Indoor National Series. Our second year to cover the series, I have to say I always look forward to joining Jason Ruona and his crew for these events as after a long day at the track the ‘craic’ (Irish word for fun/enjoyment) on the trip to & from the track and during dinner is always good. Not just a successful designer of RC products, Jason is also an excellent story teller with a great memory for funny moments from years gone by. Add in anecdote’s from the straight talking Ryan Maifield, Dustin Evans, Team Associated team-manager Brent Thielke and the odd one liner from new 4WD World Champion Steven Hartson and you always end up having a very entertaining night of conversation.

Continue reading On the Grapevine here

December 18, 2013

Anti-Social Media

Social Media is one of those things that has transformed the world in the last few years. It’s now easier than ever to interact with people around the globe and provide instant access for your views or thoughts. I think it’s fair to say that it has taken the RC industry a little time to catch up with the rest of the world in adopting the likes of Facebook and Twitter as key news sources. But, it does appear that many companies and drivers are jumping on board and using those outlets to promote products, events, results and, crucially interact with fans.

Continue reading Oli’s column here

December 9, 2013

Horizon Hobby to be Acquired by Investor Group

Horizon Hobby Inc, parent company to many well known RC car related brands such as as TLR, Losi, Spektrum, Nitrotane etc. have announced that its board of directors has signed a definitive agreement under which the company would be sold to an investor group led by Joe Ambrose, Horizon’s Chief Executive Officer. The investment group includes Armory Capital, LLC and Mill City Capital L.P., two investors that have deep experience with management-led acquisitions. Financial terms were not released.

Read the complete announcement here

December 5, 2013

2014 Driver Market – Who goes where

2014 Driver Market - Who goes where

With the annual driver market ‘Silly Season’ about to kick off, we decided to set out what we know and what we’ve heard, mixing a bit of fact with rumour regarding the top drivers in Offroad and Onroad. One thing we have heard is that deals are harder to come by this season and that most drivers will be better off holding on to their current deal if they can in what is a tough market with very few big name moves. We will update this section as we get more information along with confirmations from the teams and drivers. UPDATED January 8th

Find out who is going where

December 3, 2013

Teamwork

‘Teamwork’ – it’s a pretty simple word, and one we’ve probably all come across in our working lives in appraisals, performance reviews or job interviews. The idea that if a group of people work towards the same goal in an effective or efficient way, the objectives can be achieved quicker, easier or in a better way.

Continue reading Oli’s column here

November 19, 2013

Lower Cost, Better Future?

A common topic of conversation around the RC World does seem to be, sadly, the lack of young blood coming into our sport. There’s certainly many reasons why that is the case – the competition from today’s games consoles, social media, the seemingly never-ending class structure we now seem to have…

Continue reading Oli’s column here

November 5, 2013

History Lessons

Through the past few months, one thing in the RC community that I’ve noticed is the emergence of ‘historical’ photos and anecdotes. There really seems to be a buzz at the moment in looking back to old times and finding pictures and results from classic RC meetings. It seems to have sparked those people who were racing RC cars back in the times before transponders to start digging through their attic or garage to find their treasure troves of photographs back from the first meetings they entered, or the first major event they attended (or, in some cases, even won!).

Continue reading Oli’s column here

October 25, 2013

On the Grapevine – Poznan

Grapevine Poznan

After the 10-hour plus flights involved in my previous two trips to the 1:10 Offroad and 1:8 Onroad World Championships, getting to the destination of my fifth consecutive weekend on the road was a far less bum numbing experience. Taking a short flight from Dublin to Berlin, where I hooked up with my partner in crime for the weekend Ricky Acciari, a three hour drive had us at our destination. Hard to believe a full 12-months had passed, I was back in Poznan, Poland, for the opening round of the third season of the Euro Offroad Series. While the majority of my working weekend’s are spent at venues where racers easily out number spectators, thanks to a small in size but big in his vision Polish man, that is not the case when Niko Triandafilidis puts on a race.

Continue reading On the Grapevine here