January 18, 2009

Team Orion to get Star Motor treatment

According to a reliable source in the U.S., it is believed that Kyosho and Team Orion have begun working with Star Motor Engineering, the Italian engine plant that makes Sirio, to produce their newest range of engines under the Team Orion label. Following the recent departure from the company by Andrea Rossi, it is understood that former employee and current Team Orion engine man Adrien Bertin moved in to take over production, essentially continuing on the work he did 2 years previously when he worked at the company. Kyosho, who had a strong relationship with Sirio in the past, had that relationship come to an end regarding supply of motors to their race team in mid 2007, but the distribution of engines by the Japanese company had continued in certain markets. The CRF engines, which use their patented special crankshaft, will continue to be made by Picco in Italy. It is also understood that the Sirio brand name will no longer exist following this deal. We expect an official announcement in or around the Nuremberg toy fair at the beginning of February.

UPDATE: Andrea Rossi has confirmed to us that Star Motor Engineering will produce the new line up of Team Orion engines, but he also assured us that despite continued ‘rumours’, both he and Sirio are staying put. Good news.

January 12, 2009

Xray Column – At the end of the Worlds

The 25th and 26th installment in the Xray column from Xray owner and chief designer Juraj Hudy is now online. In this months column, Juraj talks about the development of their touring car platform as well as their recent trip to Thailand for the on road Worlds.

At the last minute we decided to participate at the 1/12 Worlds which meant we needed to push development and production to the limit. The final pre-production car was tested at our factory tracks as well as at private sessions in Bangkok just before the Worlds. After the final design changes and final tuning of small details, we produced the team kits some of which were shipped directly to the drivers but due the time pressure some of the drivers got their first car at the Worlds.

Read the full column here.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

January 7, 2009

X-Factory appoints new Team Manager

X-Factory have announced the appointment of Paul Sinclair to the position of Race Team Manager. Already the Chief Engineer, Paul will now handle both positions. “So much of our engineering work comes through the Team that it makes sense to do both those positions,” said Paul. “I’m in daily contact with most of the drivers already, and of course we discuss competition-related things as well as new designs, so this really won’t be much additional work.” Company President Chazz said, “Sales of the X-60, released in December, have been spectacular, taking all my time, and now we’re working hard to bring the X-6 Squared onto the market. X Factory sales have taken off in the past year, and I’ve got so much to do that I often am unable to handle Team-related issues on a timely basis. I’m so happy that Paul is relieving me of those responsibilities. Our race Team is in capable hands and will be much better served.”

Source: X-Factory [xfactoryrc.com]

December 16, 2008

Xray Column – In Between the Worlds

The 24th installment in the Xray column from Xray owner and chief designer Juraj Hudy is now online. In this months column, Juraj talks about his trip to the 1/8th scale World Championships in Charlotte NC.

My realistic expectation was to get 1 car into the final and if we had good racing luck we might even have good chances of getting onto the podium. But at the same time I was realistic and knew that no matter how good your drivers were or how great your cars were, there were dozens of other factors out of your control which could and would influence the result; no matter how well prepared and good you are, you still need good luck.

Read the full column here.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

December 12, 2008

GRP Gandini NOT sold to Chinese investor

According to Italian newspaper ‘Il Sole 24 Ore’, engine and tire manufacturer GRP Gandini has been sold to a Chinese investor. The move follows some financial difficulties for the competition brand following bad months for sales in September and October. This led to the investment bank wanting out and so the owners, Stefano and Maurizio Gandini, were forced by the banks to sell the concern, which they started in 1994. The sale, said to be in the region of six million euros dollars, leaves the former owners no longer at the helm of the company, but both will stay on as technical advisors. It not confirmed whether the production will move to China where the paper claims production costs will be 1/3rd of that in Europe. We have contacted GRP for comment and will add their response when we get it.

UPDATE (17:52): The Gandini brothers have issued a statement (automatic translation) on an Italian forum saying they have not been sold and the whole story was a HUGE misunderstanding by the journalist who wrote the piece.

UPDATE (18:18): GRP have directly sent us a statement which is published below… content

December 9, 2008

R/C Racers wanted for reality show

We were contacted by the people behind R/C Wars, an ‘extreme R/C Competition Series’ for the Cartoon Network. If you consider yourself a bit of a legend at the controls of a RC car, and are aged between 12 and 18, then you could find yourself on the show. They are currently casting for teenagers to compete against each other for a new reality competition series and are holding an open casting call in Southern California this Saturday at Hot Rod Hobbies in Santa Clarita. Please e-mail the address in the flyer for definite information.

More information can be found by reading the flyer here.

November 21, 2008

Daniel Reckward joins Mugen Seiki

It has just been confirmed that former World and European champion Daniel Reckward has joined Mugen Seiki from the 2009 season onwards. Having raced for Kyosho for many years, he will now drive for Mugen as well as distribute and promote the off-road range of Mugen Seiki products in Germany starting from 2009. Also announced by Mugen is that that MID Mugen Seiki Mod.-Vertr. GmbH has changed its name to Mugen Seiki Europe.  With this company name change, “we aim to maximize group synergies to further build the relationships and trust we have with our existing customers. We will use the power of the Mugen Seiki Group companies to develop our company’s strengths”.

Source: Mugen [mugenseiki.com]

November 20, 2008

Ryan Lutz joins Tamiya America

Tamiya America have officially announced that Ryan Lutz will represent Tamiya as their newest Team Driver and assist in research and development of new products. For the past two years, Ryan has received many titles such as 1st place Buggy and Truggy champion at the 2008 CRCRC, 2nd place winner at the 2007 Pro National Points and 2007 Roar Truck Nationals. When asked why he wanted to work for Tamiya, Lutz proudly said:

On the outside it is a company with a very rich racing heritage. Their on road program and race vehicles are all top notch and I know that the ingenuity and design from those world class products are now going into their new TRF 801XT Truggy and soon to be Buggy. For me, this is an extremely exciting opportunity to Pilot these vehicles and show the world what they are capable of. The most important thing for me during this time will be to be there for the consumers. I want to gain as much knowledge as possible while working for Tamiya so that I can better help out the consumer. They are who keeps this hobby alive.

Recently, Tamiya launched their first American designed vehicle, the TRF801xt Truggy. Lutz will contribute to similar new products that are designed in America. With Ryan Lutz, their new addition to the team, Tamiya hopes to continue conquering new ground.

Source: Tamiya [tamiyausa.com]

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