Team Associated is releasing two new t-shirts for 2024 with the blue Heritage and black WC23 designs. . The Heritage tee features the heritage AE slot-car track logo design on a high-quality poly/cotton blend shirt in blue. The black WC23 shirt was designed for the American brand’s Team Drivers for the 2023 World Championships in Arizona where Davide Ongaro added to the AE tally of World titles.
Dialed-RC has officially announced its entry into the 1:8 Buggy Tyre market with 11 new patterns. The tyres, inserts, and Patent Pending Cobra wheels were 100% designed and developed in the USA by owner Gene ‘the machine’ Hickerson. Hickerson used his 37 years of racing experience to create wha he feels is the most Dialed tire/insert/wheel/compound combo on the RC market. The team has been running preproduction tyres since October and have received TQ’s, wins, and podiums all over North America at nearly every race so far. At the heart of Dialed-RC tyres is the innovative Cobra spoke and dish wheels. The Patent Pending Cobra 1:8 Buggy Wheels were meticulously designed to handle even the harshest conditions in RC Offroad racing. Whether you race in extreme temperatures on abrasive treated tracks, or in extreme cold on slick bumpy surfaces, there is an option for you.
Sworkz Juan Carlos Canas took the big win at the 2024 Silver State Indoor Championships, the Spanish driver winning Pro Nitro Buggy ahead of the Tekno of Truggy Champion Ryan Maifield and TLR’s Dakotah Phend. Once again attracting a massive 1100+ entries, qualifying for the Las Vegas event would see Maifield secure the TQ honours after the completion of the 3 rounds ahead of Team Associated’s Spencer Rivkin with Canas third and Phend P4. In the 45-minute final, Rivkin enjoyed a few laps a the front early on before Maifield took charge but 10-minutes in costly mistakes dropped him back. With Canas taking the lead, pit stops giving Phend the lead for a few laps before everything settled down, once in front the European Champion edged out a lead eventually finishing with over 12-seconds on Maifield. Phend would complete the podium a further 5-seconds back. Having won the event a year earlier, Marco Barufollo would finish 5th at South Point Casino and Hotel behind Seth VanDalen. In Truggy, Maifield made the class his own taking the TQ and win from Mason Fuller and Phend, the Top 3 finishing in the same order as they started. In eBuggy, Top Qualifier Fuller won followed home by Maifield and Canas.
Image: TheDirt Racing [Facebook]
The inaugural 1up Racing West Coast Invitational took place at 2024 IFMAR World Championship host track Finishline RC Raceway where Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski took the win. A nod to the famed Reedy Race Race of Champions, which last ran in 2019, the Mike Reedy Memorial Invitational Touring Car class attracted some strong international entries to the Bakersfield, California, track for 12 rounds of heads up racing. With a field of 16 invitational drivers, Orlowski and Xray’s Bruno Coelho would go right to the wire for the title. Sharing a total of 6 wins each and both ending up on 16 points, and all tie break avenues exhausted, 2nd places, 3rd place etc. the fastest 3 run times combined would give the on form Pole the title over the current World Campion. With most of the major manufacturers using the event to get track time ahead of the ISTC World Championships, that take place in early November, it would the Axon of Japanes driver Akio Sobue who completed the podium. Also with four win Awesomatix’ Lucas Urbain finished 4th ahead of team-mate and best of the host nation representative Sam Isaacs. Yokomo’s Nicholas Lee rounded out the Top 6. Making it a double celebration for Schumacher, Italian Mattia Collina took the traditional race format Open Touring Car win from David Mayhew and Byrce Butterfield while Xray’s Jan Ratheisky won 17.5.
Image: 1up Racing [1upracing.com]
You all loved his first column so we are delighted that Michal Orlowski has somehow found time in his busy schedule to give us another great column as an insight into his world as Schumacher’s star factory driver. Once again we’ll let Michal take it away and tell you in his own style what has been going on over the last two months….. ‘It has been a while since my last update here. We have been hard at work with the team to finish off the winter season on a high. We attended numerous events between February and April, which I will tell you all about, emphasising the struggles and how we could overcome them together. After attending the Mibosport Cup in early February, it was time to switch back to buggy mode. For the last few years, the MK GP event has been one of the mostly anticipated off-road races of the winter season with hundreds of drivers participating, but more importantly thousands of people coming to watch us race RC cars. The event is held in the MK shopping centre in Milton Keynes, UK, home to the Redbull F1 team. The event is organised by the Silverstone Club, who hosts weekly club races and a winter series at a smaller venue. This gave us the chance to test on the unique carpet the MK GP crew decided to use since 2023.
Another nostalgic masterpiece from specialist RC Formula car producer Fenix Racing is this Ayrton Senna Toleman TG184 1:10 F1 body. To set the scene, it was the 1984 Monaco GP and it was a very rainy Sunday. The race start was delayed several times, hoping for a weather improvement but the rain insist and race start. From 13th position, a young driver driving a midfield car, started to emerge. First time in Monaco, Ayrton Senna da Silva, was fast enough to qualify his car in the elusive Monaco GP. By lap 15, Ayrton was sitting 3rd, chasing Niki Lauda, overtaking him on lap 16. 41 second was the gap to fill with Alain Prost for the 1st position… On lap 31 the gap was mere 7 seconds, with the young Ayrton reducing the gap on 3-4 seconds per lap. At this point, Jacky Ickx, race director decide that was enough and the checkered flag was weaved, giving a controversial victory to Alain Prost. This was the race that let’s Senna talent shining in F1 for the very first time. 10 years later, 1st may 1994, Ayrton leave us forever. To proper celebrate this double anniversary Fenix Racing proudly show their new Toleman TG184 F1 body. Made to fit Fenix F1-70, Tamiya F103 and F104, and other low front end F1, this body is moulded from high-quality polycarbonate material, it is available now.
The organisers of the Hobbywing Cup have announced a number of well known international drivers will make the trip to the Shanghai International Model Auto Racing Arena (SIMARA) in China for the May 30 – June 2 electric touring car event. 1:12 Spec World Champion Max Mächler will make the trip from Germany with his Awesomatix touring car, while Nicolas Lee travels from Singapore for the factory Yokomo team. Japanese driver Shin Sawada with represent Xray in the Open Brushless class at the 4-day event. The Hobbywing Cup will also see drivers battle it out around the 65m by 35m track in categories for Stock, Sports Class and Tamiya TT02.
Source: Hobbywing [hobbywing.com]
Having only entered the tyre market 12-months ago, American company PRO1RC has announced it latest pattern, the DIRT-05 for 1:8 Buggy. Designed to work in the usual conditions where bar tires work, it also oerforms in conditions of a little dirt between or outside the line, this is due to the central 4 bar design, where it sweeps much more dirt. With the DIRT-05 you can use it in more situations for both indoor or outdoor tracks.
Source: PRO1RC [pro1rc.com]
