T-Works has added two new screw & parts trays to its line-up of RC accessories. Made from high-quality aluminium, the lightweight but sturdy trays are available in two sizes to offer a suitable solution to parts and screws on your pit table. The small measures 50 X 215mm and is divided into 5-compartments while the large is 100 X 215mm with 7 separate sections, with both 11mm in thickness.
Source: T-Works [rc-tworks.com]
It was the venue of the first ever ROAR 1:8 Offroad National Championships Red RC would attend and we still have great memories of being blown away on arriving at Thunder Alley RC Raceway in 2011, but unfortunately this well known track has just announced that it is to close permanently at the end of 2024. Reporting on a Jared Tebo TQ and Ryan 1-2 result that year, Cavalieri taking the win ahead of then Associated team-mate Maifield, the world famous track has played host to many great races since with the news a big blown to the hotspot of Offroad racing that is Southern California. On its Facebook page together with images of its latest track build, the track posted, ‘Here is your last and final layout at the world famous Thunder Alley RC Raceway for the 21st annual Proline Nitro Explosion! With a heavy heart Im still not sure if I have the best words for this but unfortunately due to circumstances mostly beyond our control as of January 1st, Thunder Alley Rc Raceway will be permanently closing and the park will be repurposing the facility. With that being said, we still have the rest of the year and a few great events such as our Easy Money Race and our annual Toy Drive as well as a few more club races that we will be scheduling to enjoy the track we love so much! We will need your continued support threw this time as even closing is a costly process. Currently we are looking at another property, but this will be a long process to get things up and going. If anyone has any other leads or connections to any other locations please reach out. We are beyond grateful for the friend and family we have made over the last 20+years and the support from the Rc community world wide.’
View images from 2011 Nationals at Thunder Alley here
Mini Autodromo Stradivari in Cremona, Northern Italy, played host to the Modeltek Trophy last weekend where Filippo Beretta and Alex D’Angelo took the 1:8 GT wins. In 1:8 Nitro GT, qualifying would see Genius Racing’s Beretta secure the TQ as the Italian topped two of the three rounds. Fastest in Q2 France’s Bernard-Alain Arnaldi made it a Genius 1-2 on the grid. In the half hour final, Beretta would deliver the win posting the fastest lap of the race but having come from P7 on the grid with new Capricorn signing & World Championship Top Qualifier D’Angelo would finish just 1-second back. Newly crowned European Champion Natanaele Senesi took his Senesi Motorsport S21 GT to the final podium step. In 1:8 Electric GT, it was Arnaldi who secured the TQ from Senesi and D’Angelo with the later coming through to win the opening two encounters for the overall victory. Winning A3 Arnaldi took the runner-up spot ahead of Senesi.
Image: Alex D’Angelo [Facebook]
The organisers of the Euro Large Scale Series has announced the two venues for the 2025 ELS with iconic tracks Fiorano in Italy and Mini Circuit “Ville de Luxembourg” in Luxembourg the two new locations for next year. This year the ELS saw Bologna in Italy and Lostallo in Switzerland host the series with Mecatech’s 2024 EFRA European Champion Emanuele D’Amico taking victory at Round 1 and MCD Racing’s Dario Veseli the Round 2 victor. With categories for Open Pro, Open Gentleman, Sport and F1, the dates for both races are still to be finalised with the ELS organisers waiting for the publication of the EFRA race calendar.
Team Associated’s Davide Ongaro has won the 11th edition of the Buggyland, the newly crowed 3-in-a-row World Champion repeating the victory double he achieved last year at the Spanish race. The Madrid based event would kick off with Tekno’s World Championship finalist Joao Figueredo topping Nitro Buggy seeding ahead of Ongaro. With three rounds of qualifying it would be another World Championship final who took Q1, Mugen Seiki’s Berkan Kilic fastest from his brother Burak with Figueredo third. Q2 & 3 however Ongaro lay down the form for the rest of the event with the fastest times ahead of the Berkan. In the 16 buggy grid 1-hour final that order was maintained with Ongaro taking a comfortable win by 15-seconds over Berkan with the Sworkz of 2021 Buggland double winner Juan Carlos Canas coming from P5 on the grid to complete the podium. In eBuggy, the result was a repeat of Nitro with Ongaro taking the TQ and win while Canas and Berkan Kilic switch order on the podium with Canas the runner up.
Image: Mauro Ongaro [Facebook]
Dario Balestri has won the Euro Nitro Series Season Finale in Leno but it is Simon Kurzbuch who comes away from Italy with the 2024 title. The fourth & final round of the championship would see World & newly crowned European Champion Balestri take his Infinity to the overall TQ as he topped two of the 4 qualifiers. Fastest in the opening qualifier, it was the Mugen Seiki of ENS Ettlingen Round 1 winner Kurzbuch who secured P2 ahead of Infinity’s Thomas Lorenzi and Serpent’s Andrea Catanzani. With the original timetable effected by rain, the Main final would be reduced to a 30-minute encounter with Balestri setting the fastest lap en route to becoming the fourth different winner of the season, 2023 Champion Toni Gruber the Round 3 winner and Lars Hoppe the victor at Round 2. 10-seconds behind Balestri, Lorenzi would come home in second in a repeat result of the Italian Nationals held at the same track earlier this year. Finishing just ahead of fellow Swiss racer Kurzbuch, ARC’s Silvio Hachler completed the podium but P4 was enough for Kuzbuch to take the title by 1-point ahead of Infinity’s Teemu Leino, the Finn’s championship tally made up of three podium finishes in the first three races. In 1:10, having secured the TQ it would be a sudden & cruel finish to British National Champion Alex Thurston’s first ENS outing of 2024. Leading the race from Champion elect Melvin Diekmann, just after half way point as he came up on traffic a car spun in front of him and with nowhere to go the impact broke Thurston’s car putting an immediate end to his race. Shortly after title contender Jilles Groskamp would also go out of the race, leaving Diekmann’s Capricorn to take it ahead of Milan Holthuis for his third win of the season to successfully defend his title.
Image: ENS [Facebook]
Lachan Donnelly is the 2024 Australian 4WD Offroad National Champion, the long time Team Associated driver reversing yesterday’s 2WD result to beat his 2-time World Champion team-mate Spencer Rivkin to crown at Hills Off Road RC track. Sunday’s 4WD title action at the Campbelltown Hobbies 2024 RCRA EP Offroad Australian Championships saw the 20-year-old from Sydney secure the 4WD TQ as he topped the opening 2 rounds of qualifying. Fresh from his 2WD title on Saturday, the US star using the event as practice for the IFMAR Electric Offroad World Championships the Sydney track will host in 12-months time, Rivkin went fastest in Q3 to secure the No.2 spot on the grid. Rounding out quali by topping the fourth & final round multiple National Champion Ari Bakla’s Xray would line up 3rd on grid ahead of another US visitor Chase Lemiuex. In the finals Donnelly would put in two faultless drives to secure the title that will go down as one of the National Championships more special years. Winning A1 ahead of Lemiuex and A2 ahead of Bakla, everything was to play for as to who would stand either side of the new Champion, it an emotional and very popular win. A great battle between Bakla and Rivkin would ensue, the former looking like he had done enough to get the job done but in the dying moments of the last lap Rivkin executed the pass to secure the win and another Team Associated podium 1-2, Bakla ending up on the third step. In 4WD Stock, Michael Stone pulled off the double adding to his 2WD title with victory over Justin O Connell and Andrew Selvaggi.
Image: Team Associated Australia [Facebook]
Having announced it would collaborate with RC racing legend Atsushi Hara back in June, Japanese radio manufacturer Ko Propo has unveiled the limited edition ‘Device’ transmitter & receiver that it will display at the Tokyo Hobby Show. The ‘Device’ logo design, which was very popular in the past, is reproduced with a matte clear coat giving it a texture that blends in with the pearl black. Based on Hara’s signature purple colour the key feature of the radio is the Dish Design Aluminium steering wheel. The anodised wheel is precision machined to recreate the original design with special laser engraving create a unique and special feeling. The exposed screws on the transmitter body have been changed to purple anodised aluminium, creating a unified design all the way to the back. Adding to the detail, the plated power key and BT1 key are a special purple colour, which acts as an accent colour to effectively unify the entire keyboard. The grip plate of the ‘Device’ 2024 is also specially made. It has a cool crushed carbon texture that gives it a custom feel. A special film with a pattern that gives it a sense of depth is transferred onto it and then clear coated. This set comes standard with a battery stand that can hold a battery. A silkscreen print recreates the characteristics of the device at that time. In addition, a unique number is engraved on the brass plate for each unit. A serial number plate is attached to increase the value of the limited edition product with KO Propo highlighting that specific serial numbers cannot be ordered. To finish off the Hara ‘Device’, the upper case of the included receiver KR-420XT is also plated in the Hara purple, giving it a stronger presence when mounted on the car.
