June 14, 2017

2017 Alabama Manufacturer Shootout – Report

Last year, the Alabama Manufacturer Shootout made headlines with the news of the AMS having new ownership. As much as there was excitement, there was a bit of skepticism, but after the recent AMS 8.0, all doubts were laid to rest as the event was well planned, amazingly fun, and still has the AMS magic. Fortunately the drivers were blessed with perfect weather that added to the atmosphere and making the event more enjoyable overall. The track layout this year was fun and had a terrific flow that reminded of a toned down Psycho Nitro Blast in a smaller arena with dirt jumps instead of wood ramps. Many commented that the track looked “awesome”, “rad”, and “wished I was there”, claiming high praise from racers and internet viewers.

Continue reading the report here


June 14, 2017

JJ & Rick Wang bring home KO Grand Prix wins

The Greater L.A. Radio Control Racing Club recently hosted the 2017 KO Grand Prix with the event attracting over 100 entries. Mugen Seiki Racing’s JJ Wang was the top qualifier in the premier 1/8th Open class and JJ would also bring home the victory in the very close 30-minute A-main that was decided mainly by the tyre strategy as JJ stayed on the same set of tyres while runner-up, Xray’s Mike Swauger, opted to change tyres. Behind the two, Mugen’s Robbie Cerrato and Tony Clark would round out the overall top 4 result. Elsewhere in the 1/8th Sportsman class Rick Wang would bring home the win while Dana Smeltzer came out fastest in the 1/8th Masters main.

View the Sportsman and Masters podiums here


June 13, 2017

Kurzbuch & Lüscher win Rd3 of Swiss Nats

Last weekend the 3rd round of the Swiss nationals took place under summer conditions at the AMCS track in Schaffhausen. Already in practise the drivers noticed the high tyre wear and that the right strategy would be important for the finals. In the 1/8th scale class it was Simon Kurzbuch (Shepherd/Novarossi) winning 3 out of 4 qualifying rounds to take the TQ for the main final. Silvio Hächler (ARC/OS) won the super pole to join his friend and rival at the front of the starting grid by outpacing Jürg Nydegger (Shepherd/OS) by fractions of a second. In the main final Simon showed another great performance. Only during the tyre changes Silvio could take over the lead for some laps. In the closing stage Silvio suffered a flame-out so Simon took it easy for the final laps and crossed the finishing line in first position followed by Silvio Hächler with Luca Martinelli taking the final podium spot.

Continue reading the report here


June 13, 2017

Willert dominates Class 2 at Mid-German Nats Rd2

The second round of the Mid-German nationals was held at the MSC Kirchheim track. Shepherd driver Christian Willert was the man to beat in the 1/8 class 2 group which was the biggest class with 26 participants. In qualifying he was fastest to take the TQ lining up at the front of the grid for the main final. As in qualifying the first 4 drivers directly advance to the main final also his Shepherd colleague Markus Friedrich claimed a spot for the final in 4th position.
The main final was a clearr-cut affair for Christian as he was leading unchallenged from the start to the checkered flag. He crossed the finishing line 5 laps in front of Sven Lienhop with Markus Friedrich completing the podium another lap down, both also running a Velox V8 making it a full Shepherd podium.

Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]


June 13, 2017

Western German Championship Rd3 report

The fast 310-metre track of Hamm was the arena for round three of the Western German Championship for the 1/8 and 1/10 scale nitro classes. A total of 57 nitro racers made their entry and were welcomed by excellent weather with temperatures up to 30 degrees. Following intensive practice on Saturday, the heat was on to qualify for the German Nationals on Sunday.

Continue reading the report here


June 9, 2017

Ty Tessmann & Xray win at Manufacturers’ Cup

AMain Performance Hobbies hosted the Inaugural Manufacturers’ Cup presented by Tekin at Silver Dollar RC Raceway last weekend. The race pitted the top pros against one another in four heads-up 14-minute races. Many of the elite drivers were in attendance including: Ryan Maifield, Adam Drake, Ryan Cavalieri, Ty Tessmann, Ryan Lutz, CJ Jelin, Austin Blair, Joe Bornhorst and Jared Tebo.

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June 9, 2017

Depta & Wischnewski win Mid-German regionals Rd2

The second round of the Mid-German onroad regionals took place in Kirchhain last weekend with 46 drivers in attendance with sunny weather on Saturday. Rain on Sunday however meant that for the third and fourth rounds of qualification most of the drivers decided not to drive. In 1/8th the only drivers who were able to make the 25 laps in qualifying were pole man Oliver Mack and Merlin Depta, with Patrick Schäfer lining up on the grid in 3rd position.

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June 7, 2017

2017 Nitro-West-Masters Rd2 – Report

The ADAC-Ring at Haltern in the north of the Ruhr region in Western Germany was the venue for round two of the Nitro-West-Masters (NWM) on the Pentecost weekend. 55 participants meant a new record entry since the comeback of this old outdoor circuit in 2012 which is located inside a driver safety training centre and well known for its unique atmosphere with tents in the non-covered paddock. The Nitro-West family enjoyed a great weekend as rain didn’t hit the track as forecasted, only a shower during practice on late Saturday afternoon and some drops during a sub-final.

Continue reading the report here