Bittydesign in collaboration with the Swedish MK-Eskil club have announced the Nordic Contest and EFRA European Championship A warm-up race. The event will be in Eskilstuna, Sweden from May 12th to 14th in the two classes of 1/8th Nitro Buggy and 1/8th E-Buggy. The race is open to all racers and more information is available on the official event website here.
The opening round of the Andalusia 1/8th off-road regional championship was held in Sevilla this past weekend. In the 1/8th Nitro Buggy A-main Juan Carlos Canas took the win from Zacarias Villalba in second. Agustin Illanes would come in third to round out an all-Mugen/Ultimate podium.
Source: Modelix Racing [modelixracing.com]
LRP have announced the signing of Spain’s Juan Carlos Canas to their factory team. The EFRA 1/8th Buggy European B Champion will use LPR brushless motors, speed controllers, batteries, chargers and accessories for his 1/8th E-Buggy and nitro campaign and he has the following to say about the deal:
I want to thank LRP for this chance. I am very happy and exited and all products work perfectly together while the technical support is incredible. LRP is extremely helpful in every manner and I can really concentrate on my driving. I will give everything this season to achieve the best results possible. I am really grateful and I am looking forward to a very successful time together.
Source: LRP [lrp.cc]
The 2017 Winternats were held in Fort Myers, Florida over the weekend. As usual the event attracted some of the country’s fastest on-road drivers as well as guests from abroad. In the premier 1/8th Open class the A-main was a thrill from start to finish. Roniel Regalado brought home the victory after driving a great final. Paolo Morganti had a great comeback from last place to finished second with UK’s Mark Green completing the podium in third, with all three finishing within about three seconds. A special mention goes to DJ Apolaro who was leading the race and had to retire due to a battery malfunction two laps before the end finishing fourth.
Continue reading the report here
Chehaw Raceway of Georgia recently held the Forever Heroes Memorial race to raise money for the good cause. The small and dusty track was a challenge to any racer with the mindset, “fast is faster”. A slower, more stable vehicle was far superior and Chandler Elliott (Mugen) would take the TQ in the Pro Nitro Buggy class while Landen Lewis (Xray) came out fastest in the Pro E-Buggy qualifiers. Ultimately Landen would walk away with the win in the Pro Nitro Buggy class from Kyosho’s Mickey Griffin and TLR driver Allen Krier and Landen would also sweep the Pro E-Buggy category by taking the day’s win from Mickey Griffin (Kyosho) in second and Larry Cromontia (Mugen) in third.
The recent opening round of the Nitro Engine Championship saw Juan Jose Serna walking away with the TQ and win in the nitro buggy class. Juan Felipe Navarrete obtained the runner-up spot from third placed Luis Quintero who rounded out the podium.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
Marc Rheinard has announced that he has signed to race for electric touring car newcomers Infinity with the 4-time World Champion ‘excited by the new challenge’ of a 2-year contract with the Japanese manufacturer. Electric touring car’s most successful driver, winning its top prize three times, the German established himself as one of the sport’s all time greats through a driver/manufacturer relationship that spanned an impressive 22-years. Cutting his teeth in racing at the controls of a Tamiya, Rheinard and the iconic R/C brand became a formidable force starting out with a first World title together in 2004 and two further back to back titles in 2008 and 2010. This golden era however was to come to an unexpected end in December when Tamiya shocked the racing world with the news they were calling time on their TRF race team. Through his admirable loyalty to Tamiya, he had never been available before to rival Touring Car manufacturers so one positive of the news was that it presented the opportunity to other manufacturers to try and secure the services of the 30-year-old. Receiving a number of offers, and taking his time to carefully consider each of them, it was to be the ambitious plans of Infinity that would secure Rheinard’s signature marking the beginning of a brand new chapter in his career. The deal also comes as a major boost to Infinity as they embark on their first foray in EP touring car with them also announcing the signing two of Rheinard’s former TRF team-mates, 2014 World Champion Naoto Matsukura and Akio Sobue, will all three making their Infinity debut at the TITC in Bangkok this weekend.
Continue reading the announcement here
Xray have announced the signing of reigning Italian 200mm vice-champion, David Loppini to their factory team. Already an Xray privateer David will now receive the full factory support at races such as the Italian national championship, the ENS and select international events. The multiple ENS finalist had the following to say:
Since I was a child my dream was to be part of Xray team. Attention to details and the chase for perfection are exclusive Xray features. I have raced as a private driver the Xray cars and the reliability and especially the performance helped me to reach all my achievements and to improve myself as a driver. Now with focus for international level races I am very happy to be part of the team and family, which is a dream come true for me. I am more excited than ever and I am looking forward to hit the track.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
