Top Italian 1/8th scale gas racer, and owner of Solaroli Tuning, has signed a 4 year deal to join Motonica starting immediately. Joining fellow Italian racer, and current number 1 Motonica driver, Dario Balestri, Solaroli will begin work on development of the car as well as helping customers trackside at races. Stefano has raced for a number of top brands, the most recent of which being Mugen.
Source: Automodellismo [automodellismo.net]
Jonas Kaerup has made a surprise move only a short time before the 2008 DHI-CUP, with the former European 1:10 electric Touring Car Champion deciding to end his relationship with Corally, and race the Hot Bodies Cyclone for Morfars.dk and Hot Bodies Europe. Jonas had to say-
It is a major chance to get to drive the Hot Bodies Cyclone and I am thrilled to get the opportunity. The car has won the European championships and World championships in the hands of Andy Moore. It is probably the best car I get to drive now, so I cannot wait to try it on the track.
As well as signing up to Hot Bodies, Morfars.dk and Much More Racing, Jonas will be continuing to run GM motors and batteries with Xenon racing gears.
Source: Race RC [racerc.dk]
We received news from X-Factory to let us know that current European 4wd Champion Hupo Honigl from Austria, will run the company’s X-6 2wd car in 2008. Since his main sponsor Tamiya does not currently make a 2WD buggy, Honigl is free to run the car of his choice in that class, and Hupo has chosen X Factory’s New Math. In his very first race with the X-6, Hupo won the Austrian Indoor Winter Championship last weekend, beating a strong field of challengers with a borrowed box-stock car. X-Factory had not been able to ship Hupo’s car and parts from the US in time for this early-January race, so he borrowed the car of his friend Florian Klemm, complete with the original X-6 transmission and shock tower and dominated the race.
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Xray have announced that RC superstar Brian Kinwald will be joining their team. Brian has won 2 World Championships, over 30 National titles, and many other big race wins in gas and electric classes and while 1/10 electric touring car he will mainly focus on racing and development of the off-road line of the Xray products. Brian had this to say about the deal:
I have been doing R&D for numerous companies for over 15 years, and I have been watching Xray for many years now. I truly believe they have a superior product; I have never seen such great craftsmanship and innovation in an RC company, and trust me I have ran and seen it all! Since I am now in a position to make a change, I am very happy to announce that I will be working and racing for them…I can’t wait! It’s also very exciting to have the very best equipment, tools, and set-up accessories from Hudy which will ensure that all my Xray cars will be perfectly dialled all the time
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
After much speculation about the future of top Dutch International electric racer Jilles Groskamp, we can confirm to you that he has signed to Tamiya. Jilles, who has raced for Xray for the past 6 years, leaves behind a succesful term at the Slovakian manufacturer that has seen him win many major races as well as make the final for multiple European and World Championships. We caught up with Jilles recently and put a few questions to him about this exciting new deal.
UPDATE: We have some pictures below the interview from Fridays test in the Netherlands thanks to our sponsors, the Border.
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Ultimate Racing have announced that new Losi/GRP signing Yannick Aigoin has joined their team. Yannick, who is a top European driver and 2006 European Champion will collaborate closely with the UR technical department developing new parts and accessories. And on top of all this Aigoin Racing is now the exclusive Ultimate Racing distributor for France.
Source: Ultimate Racing [modelixracing.com]
We recently heard the unconfirmed report that top Dutch International racer and Mugen team driver Rick V has followed in the footsteps of his American counterpart Mike Swauger and joined JP Racing for the 2008 season. Although currently unconfirmed, Rick had had a difficult World Championship in Argentina when he could only manage a place in the 1/8th final, a bad result for a multiple European finalist and World semi finalist. Rick returns to the French assembled JP Racing motors, the powerplant that helped him make a name for himself before moving over to use GRP motors when they were initially released. We will let you know further details when the deal is confirmed.
Neo Buggy are reporting that Finland’s most famous offroad driver Joseph Quagraine has announced his departure from long time sponsors HoBao. After 5 years together, JQ has developed into one of the most exciting and fast drivers in the current crop of top class European drivers. He had this to say about the announcement:
I would like to thank HoBao for their great support during the last five years. HoBao was my very first sponsor back in 2003, and they helped me make a name for myself on the international racing scene. I will never forget that! But now the time is right for me to move on, and I wish them all the best for the future. As for me, I am now looking forward to a new challenge.
Source: Neo Buggy [neobuggy.net]
