Round four of the Malaysia National League was held in Kulim State, Northern Malaysia with about 60 entries for the Pro and Semi-Pro 1/8th Nitro Buggy classes. In the Pro Buggy A-main event, Kelvin Yong (Xray) would take the win from Danny Kato (Tekno) and Danny Teh (Tekno). The Kyosho duo of BH Gan and Loon Lee rounded out the top 5 result.
Tamiya have announced the soon release of the 2016 Blackfoot 1/10th scale 2WD truck kit. The re-release of the original 1986 Blackfoot features a number of upgrades while still keeping that oldschool appearance and so the vehicle sports a 4-wheel independent suspension design with a front double wishbone and rear trailing arm setup, the kit comes with CVA shock absorbers as well as rear universal driveshafts for improved reliability, efficiency and power supply. Part of the kit are also yellow wheels with chevron-tread tyres and also the Blackfoot’s iconic pick-up truck bodyshell. The ’16 kit will become available by mid-September.
Source: Tamiya [tamiya.com]
New from X Factory’s Infinity line of option parts are front and rear carbon fibre shock towers for the Team Associated B6 and B6D buggy. Machined from heavy duty 4mm carbon fibre the towers are available as straight and gullwing A-arm front variants as well as standard rear and also a new taller variant for the use with the longer B5M shocks for improved rough track handling. 0.5mm thicker than the standard parts the shock towers are also more durable.
View the other shock towers here
Fastrace have introduced a range of new option parts for the Team Associated RC8B3 buggy. First up are anti-twist bushings for the rear suspension of AE’s latest 1/8th buggy. Machined from aluminium and coming in a shiny silver look the bushings prevent the A-arms pivot pin area from deforming under load, resulting in a more precise suspension action. The parts are a direct fit and do not require any modification.
O.S. Engines have introduced their limited edition 24K Gold-plated #80 glow plug. The release goes along with the the recently announced O.S. Speed Spec II Gold Edition and B2101 Las Vegas Edition engines with the #80 glow plug being a renamed #8 covered in a luxurious gold-plating in honour of O.S.’s 80th anniversary. The plug is usable just like a standard #8 and available for a limited time only.
Source: O.S. Engines [osengines.com]
Coming from JConcepts and made for the Team Associated RC8B3 buggy is the Strike 2 bodyshell. It samples elements from its famous relatives the Finnisher and Silencer bodies but packs a slightly refined image. Used in prototype form by Spencer Rivkin during the 2016 ROAR Fuel Off-Road Nationals, the Strike 2 was victorious the first event out. The base enhancements to the design come from the added “finger” channeling on the front-pod increasing mid-corner steering while a complete wicker section was added on the rear-pod to further plant the rear of the vehicle. The offset of the race proven shell provides a compact fit for fuel tank, linkage and air filter assembly and the heavy channeling on the front windshield and upper cab keeps the Strike 2 aligned at high-speed while the side-pods have multiple hard-edge angles that spill off neatly into 90 degree side-panels. Just behind the engine head, a sleek up-rising flows from the body like running water. As usual the clear body set includes window templates and a decal sheet.
The third and final round of the Swedish Cup was held this past weekend at the Höör RC Klubb. The race for the title was on between Kyosho’s Jessica Palsson and HB Racing’s David Ronnefalk. The latter had to win the race in order to take the overall title as he missed a round due to a date clash with the World Championship warm-up race. In the qualifiers the two youngsters would then battle it out for the overall TQ with the better end for David who took the top qualifier position from Jessica in second. In the main final Jessica started from pole position after winning the semi finals with a 13 seconds margin on David and he would lead until around the 18 minute mark when David was able to pass her but a different fuel stop strategy meant the fight for the win was still on until some 10 minutes before the end the tyres on David’s car started to become unglued on all four corners while he was in the lead. Jessica in second then was able to close the gap and to eventually take the win, nearly a lap in front of David. With the win Jessica grabbed herself the Swedish Cup and All Swedish Cup title, leaving David with the vice championship title.
Source: Kyosho [kyoshoeurope.com] & David Ronnefalk
The 2016 Bring the Heat was held at Flowood R/C Indoor Park in Flowood, Mississippi. In the 1/8th Expert Nitro Buggy class, Ryan Lutz would take the TQ honours and he would go onto dominate the 35-minute A-main event by lapping the entire field to take the win from Cole Ogden and Blake Boggs.
