The 2017 Kick Off race will be held at the M.A.C.H. One track in Helmond, The Netherlands on the 22nd and 23rd of April. The season opener will see 1/8th nitro and electric classes run on the club’s astro turf track with the Saturday being devoted to practice and a first qualifier while Sunday is the official race day. More information and registration is available on the club’s website here.
The opening round of the Grass Roots Series was held at Thunder Alley RC Raceway in Beaumont, California. With 148 entries for the 1-day race, this was the first time in a while that the Californians could get on a track to race due to the rain they had. It was a lot of fun, lots of big jumps and a technical layout. The track started out with some muddy spots and remained wet throughout the day, due to the moisture in the track it developed a lot of ruts and bumps so at times it was difficult to navigate. Qualifying went well for newly signed Xray driver Ty Tessmann, he managed to TQ both rounds over Drew Moller (Mugen) who qualified second and Cody King who qualified third. In the main Drew Moller starting from the second position would challenge Ty throughout the race, at one point Tessmann would make a mistake allowing Moller to get by and then the latter would make a mistake giving Ty back the lead. The first fuel stop both came in together, on the second fuel stop Ty was approaching lapped traffic so his Gord called him in a bit earlier giving Drew the lead for a lap. On the next lap Moller pitted and Ty regained the lead and was able to create a gap, and ultimately went on to take the win from Drew Moller in second and Shawn Kirkman (Tekno) in third.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
Capricorn have announced the signing of former ROAR champion and US front runner, Paolo Morganti to their team. After several years spent with Serpent, and in addition to his GT class engagement with IGT8, Paolo will race the complete range of Capricorn nitro cars in his 2017 campaign. Paolo says:
I will like to thank Patrizio Rossi and all the staff at Capricorn RC for the opportunity of joining this company. The level of commitment in searching for the ultimate performance is one of their characteristic that I have always admired. I’m looking forward to start running the cars.
Source: Capricorn [capricornrc.com]
Dialed In Raceway played host the second annual Stadium Nitro Shootout. The event is part of the Legendary Adelanto Grand Prix that has over 20,000 spectators. Friday’s practice was limited due to rain throughout the day, but the weather was great for the 1/8th event on Saturday. The track was fast, flowing and had huge jumps and ultimately it was Adam Drake who the 25-minute Expert Buggy and Truck finals.
RC Concept have announced that UK frontrunner, Lee Martin will use Thor Fuel to power his RC Concept equipped rides for 2017. Lee will attend the UK BRCA Nationals as well as all major 1/8th off-road events such as the Neo Race and the European Championships to name just a few.
Source: RC Concept [rcconcept.net]
The RBR36 Arena farewell race was held this part weekend in Barcelona, Spain. The final race at Robert Batlle’s own indoor off-road facility saw his brother, Dani Batlle walking away with the win in the 1/8th Nitro Buggy class.
Source: SOAR [soar-rc.com]
The 2017 Panamerican International GT Grand Prix was held at Homestead RC Raceway in Florida over the weekend. In the Pro GT class it was Joaquin Desoto Jr. who took the win in the hour long main final some three laps in front of runner-up, Lazaro Alonso. Peter Breton would complete the top 3 result another lap down.
Following his departure from Novarossi last week, Hobbico have today announced that Adam Drake, along with his wife Ronda, have joined the O.S. and TrakPower race teams for 2017. This R/C power couple has been kicking the competition for a combined 50+ years, racking up countless wins at all levels. Now they’re bringing that expertise to a track near you, coaching race peers and helping Hobbico make fast drivers even faster with cutting-edge products. “O.S. is passionate about winning and is the proven choice of champions,” Adam explains. “I’m honored to be a part of the team.” Ronda adds “It has been a dream of mine to run for O.S. Everyone knows that they are the best engine on the market!”
Source: Hobbico [hobbico.com]
