Red RC » Drivers

January 7, 2014

Xray re-signs Martin Bayer for 2014

Xray announce that 2013 European Champion Martin Bayer will continue to race for their team in 2014. Martin has been important member of the R&D team participating at the development and testing of XB4 platform as well was actively involved in testing & development of the all-new XB8. Martin had this to say:

2013 was my most successful year with wining the European Championship 1/10 and finishing on podium at European Championship 1/8 off-road as well winning the German & Czech National Championship series. All the Xray off-road cars belong to the absolute top in the racing market and I am very glad to have the best possible cars to defeat the title in 2014 and especially I have been looking for the new season with the new XB8. We showed how good the prototype has worked and now with the final car I am very confident for both the Euros and Worlds. Working with the Xray Factory team is a pleasure and I am happy to re-sign for 2014. I hope our result will be even better and I will do all for it.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

January 6, 2014

Lee Martin signs 3 year extension with Viper R/C

Lee Martin has signed a new 3-year contract extension with Viper R/C. After a strong finish to 2013, which saw the British driver take the runner-up spot at the World Championships in the USA, Viper RC and Lee Martin are now aiming to go one step further at the next IFMAR World Championships. The newly signed Yokomo driver will work closely on new product testing and development as well as new UK market distribution.

Source: Viper R/C [viper-rc.com]

January 6, 2014

Teemu Leino continues with Team HB for 2014

HB / HPI Racing have announced that Teemu Leino will continue to represent Team HB for 2014 and will apply his versatile skills to both their on and off road racing platforms. ‘We look forward to a great year ahead with the Finnish ace, plus some more exciting developments just around the corner for the World Championship winning Team HB!’. Teemu had this to say:

I look forward to 2014 racing season with many exciting race meetings to coming up. I feel HB/HPI Racing gives me best package of full range racing cars in all my different racing categories. I would like to thank Tatsuro Watanabe, Hiroyuki Kasuya, Masayuki Miura, Takashi Miyashita, Torrance Deguzman and all my team mates.

Source: HPI [hpiracing.com]

January 6, 2014

Robert Pietsch signs for Picco

A teaser image on Picco’s Facebook page, when adjusted, reveals that they have signed 2011 1/8th onroad World Champion Robert Pietsch. Having announced that he was leaving Novarossi late last year, the German driver and designer of the Mugen onroad line was linked to a number of companies but it seems he has settled for current World Champions Picco, who won the title in Japan back in October in the hands of Tadahiko Sahashi. We can expect the full reveal and statements from both parties in the coming days.

View the adjusted image here

January 6, 2014

Mike Truhe joins Serpent

Truhe Serpent

Serpent have released a teaser image showing a partly covered Mike Truhe, confirming many earlier rumours that the former TLR driver had joined the Serpent team. Despite the trademark goatie and body shell giving it away we still have to wait for official confirmation which we are sure will come in the next days. The addition of Mike to their team is a positive development and with their new mid motor 2wd buggy recently added to their their very thorough line-up, having a major name on the team to work alongside Billy Easton was the next logical step to ramp up their offroad program in the US. Update: Mike Truhe made a statement on his FB page confirming the move:

I am now very excited to be working with Serpent racing and Desoto racing to grow and expand the Serpent brand and all that Desoto racing has to offer. I truly feel that this is a great fit for me and that the products available are some of the best on the market. I am very excited to also be apart of this growing brand and bring the consumers the best and freshest ideas of cars and parts that are available.

Source: Serpent [serpent.com]

January 6, 2014

Viper R/C signs Marc Fischer

Viper R/C have announced the addition of German electric onroad ace Marc Fischer to their fast growing racing team. Marc’s proven talent will help team Viper to maximize the product performance in all major events in 2014 including DHI Race, Snowbirds, TITC, EOS, ETS and IFMAR Worlds. Marc will also be heavily involved in the new product development and European distribution support in 2014.

Source: Viper R/C [viper-rc.com]

January 4, 2014

Cody King joins Absolute Hobbyz

2010 IFMAR 1/8 Off-Road World Champion Cody King has announced that he has made the move from U.S. online hobby giant A Main Hobbies to the up and coming online hobby store Absolute Hobbyz. Cody had this to say about the move:

I really appreciate the time I had over at A Main Hobbies. I raced with the owner Kendall Bennett 10 years ago before A Main was even started up, and it has been fun running for him and watching his company grow. This move to Absolute Hobbyz just makes sense for me at this point in my career, and opens up opportunities to do things I could not have done otherwise. I’m really looking forward to running at some of the Absolute Hobbyz sponsored events this year, including the Psycho Nitro Blast in March. Hobby shop support is important to me, and I am pleased to have the support of Absolute Hobbyz in 2014.

Source: Cody King [codykingrc.com]

January 4, 2014

Joern Neumann joins Pro-Line

Pro-Line have announced that they have signed EOS Champion and Worlds top qualifier Joern Neumann to a 2 year deal. The Durango driver and multiple European Champion moves away from long time sponsor JConcepts after a successful term with them in both 1/10th and 1/8th offroad. Pro-Line had this to say:

All of us here at Pro-Line are excited to have Jörn on board for the 2014-15 racing seasons. Jörn’s attention to detail and motivation to win are a perfect fit to our organization. Jörn’s years of experience will help strengthen our product development and innovation into the future.

Source: Pro-Line [prolineracing.com]