November 26, 2007

Ben Cosgrove Win BIWS Don Valley Rd2

Ben Cosgrove Win BIWS Don Valley Rd2

Xray have a report from team driver Ben Cosgrove on the recent 2nd round of the British Indoor Winter Series that was held on the rubber surface Don Valley track. Qualifying saw Ben Cosgrove take the pole position, after a quick run in round 2, in front of new Xray team mate Sam Smith with Hot Bodies racer Elliot Harper in 3rd. The finals were held over 2 races with the fastest final time taking the overall win on the day and both finals saw a very close battle between Ben and Elliott finishing less than a second apart in both legs. Ben eventually took the win from Harper in 2nd and Phil Chambers in 3rd.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]


November 26, 2007

Lawlor & Bickerstaff win at Fermoy GP

 Lawlor & Bickerstaff win at Fermoy GP

Fermoy Model Car Club hosted the first ever Munster Grand Prix over the weekend in Cork, Ireland with 35 drivers from around the country taking part in the indoor tarmac event. Biggest of the classes was 27T in which Top Qualifier Chris Lawlor took his S400 to victory over Serpent team-mate Keith Dempsey.  Lawlor won the first Leg of the A Final from Dempsey but in Leg 2 the result was reversed leaving the pair equal on points however as Lawlor was the fastest qualifier he was declared Munster GP Champion.  Completing the podium was local racer Michael O’Leary who finished 3rd in both Legs. In the 19T class Team Associated team driver Alan Bickerstaff dominated proceedings.  Starting from the pole he won both Legs of the A Final easily to win overall ahead of fellow Assocated driver Johnny Dunn with Andrew Rennick driving a Corally taking third. The first major EP Touring Car event to be held in Ireland for some time, the Munster GP looks set to become an annual event on the Irish R/C Racing calendar as the 190mm class goes from strength to strength.

Click more for the overall results… content


November 26, 2007

Norway lifts ban on EP Racing

Update on the Exploding cells

The Norwegian RC federation have announced that following their Annual General Meeting on the 17th-18th November, they have lifted the ban on EP racing in their country. The racing ban was put in place following a number of cell explosions during charging which could have led to someone getting injured. The NMF have laid out a number of guidelines, similar to the BRCA, regulating how to safely charge batteries during training and racing up until 1st April 2008, at which time the new EFRA approved cell requirements will be adapted across Europe.

Click more to read the full press release… content


November 25, 2007

BRCA 1/12th Nationals Round 3

 BRCA 1/12th Nationals Round 3

The 3rd round of the BRCA 1/12th scale Nationals was held last weekend on the Cramlington track, which replaced the Teesside event that had been on the calendar for a number of years. Saturday’s 19T turn event saw Keith Robertson take the pole position from Chris Kerswell in 2nd and Andy Griffiths in 3rd. In the final it was the top 4 that got away cleanly but a mistake from Griffiths dropped him down the order, and then Keith hit a back marker that knocked him out of the race. This left Chris up in front and he was able to take his first 12th National win from Russ Williams in 2nd and a recovering Andy Griffiths in 3rd. In the Modified race on Sunday Adny Griffiths took the pole position and in the final dominated the race, winning from Russ Williams in 2nd, who was well clear of Chris Kerswell in 3rd.

Source: Mirage [mirageracing.com]


November 24, 2007

Travis Amezcua joins Avid RC

Travis Amezcua joins Hot Bodies

Avid RC have announced that Travis Amezcua has joined their team, bringing with him great experience having raced in the top level for over a decade. Having just switching over to Hot Bodies, from Team Losi, to help head up their Team Management and R&D,Avid is very excited to have him on board. Travis has always been the racer that never stops searching for the next level in handling or speed, and will make a great addition to Avid Racing Concepts.

Source: Avid RC [avidrc.com]


November 24, 2007

Goo Ki Bon wins Much More TC Champs

Goo Ki Bon wins Much More TC Champs

Xray have a report on their site from the Much More Touring car Championships that were run recently in South Korea. Qualifying saw Nam Dong Woo take the event TQ ahead of top Xray driver Goo Ki Bon in 2nd and 3rd spot going to Goo Sung Mo. After preserving his control tires in the qualifying session Goo Ki Bon was able to dominate the finals with fresher tires, winning all rounds to take the overall championship win in front of race TQ Nam Dong Woo in 2nd & Kim Byung Whan coming home in 3rd.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]


November 24, 2007

Greg Hodapp Joins Team Kyosho

Greg Hodapp Joins Team Kyosho

World class driver, Greg Hodapp has joined Team Kyosho for the upcoming race season. This return to racing for Greg will also be the second time that he has been able to work with Gil Losi Jr.

I spoke with a few other interested manufacturers, but when given the opportunity to work closely with Gil Losi Jr once again, the choice was simple.  Gil has always been able to bring out the best in me and I’m very excited about the direction this team is taking.

Greg will be driving both of Kyosho’s RB5 and ZX5 for the upcoming season. His Kyosho buggies will be powered by Slingshot Batteries and Novak Brushless systems. Look for Greg to be attending major events throughout the 2008 race season.


November 19, 2007

Federations react to Exploding cells

Update on the Exploding cells

Following up on the decision by the Norwegian federation to stop all EP racing until the new year in response to the safety hazard of exploding NiMh cells, a number of other countries have also reacted, however so far not as strictly. Neighbours Sweden decided to just ban a certain batch of the offending IB4200 cells, as have Belgium, and racing will continue as normal, while the BRCA in the UK have advised their members on the best way to handle, use and charge NiMh cells. In the meantime the Intellect Battery Co. have now supplied the batch numbers which may contain cells that could potentially explode when subjected to race type conditions.

Click here to read the list of affected cells and also the BRCA recommendations… content