Similar to the aluminium nose brace tubes for the RC10 Classic released some days ago, JConcepts now have diamond wing tubes for the same car. Available in black and silver color schemes, the diamond tubes in black jump out with a pattern of black hex flats matching a gold or black chassis combination. The tubes are sized to slide into the bulkhead and press into position similar to the stock components.
The driver news continues with FX announcing that one of the world’s finest off-road racers, Jörn Neumann has after extensive testing of the 5K engine decided to race this engine for the 2014 racing season. Jörn, who previously raced Picco engines, is a talented off-road specialist racing both 1/10 and 1/8 classes and the list of achievements is extensive including 4 European titles. The Durango team driver will race with the FX engines all the 2014 major events including German Championship series, Neo Race, Efra GP and European & World Championship.
To change a nitro engine sponsor in the World Championship season is for sure a difficult decision for any driver especially because the engine’s performance & reliability play a very important role in any successful race. Despite FX are all new in the nitro engine industry I know Juraj and his dedication for an absolute perfection and I was very interested to test the new 5K engine. To my huge surprise the engines have been extremely reliable and have unbelievable power but are smooth at the same time. After extensive testing I was so amazed and because I want to have absolute confidence in my engine I have decided to use this engine for the 2014 season.
Source: FX [fx-engines.com]
Xray announce that 2013 European Champion Martin Bayer will continue to race for their team in 2014. Martin has been important member of the R&D team participating at the development and testing of XB4 platform as well was actively involved in testing & development of the all-new XB8. Martin had this to say:
2013 was my most successful year with wining the European Championship 1/10 and finishing on podium at European Championship 1/8 off-road as well winning the German & Czech National Championship series. All the Xray off-road cars belong to the absolute top in the racing market and I am very glad to have the best possible cars to defeat the title in 2014 and especially I have been looking for the new season with the new XB8. We showed how good the prototype has worked and now with the final car I am very confident for both the Euros and Worlds. Working with the Xray Factory team is a pleasure and I am happy to re-sign for 2014. I hope our result will be even better and I will do all for it.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
At the end of December, Florida’s top 10th scale racers descended upon Shiverville Raceway for the final round of JConcepts Super Cup Series Fall session. Most classes were still up for grabs as some classes were in a tie for the title of Champion. Racers arrived to the track in High Springs Florida early on Friday to work on setups. On Saturday everyone was at the track by daylight for the last hours of practice before racing began at 9:30am. Racers had to adapt to a more “old school” track condition with a loamy surface as sunlight was in short supply and moisture was plentiful.
Continue reading the report here
Lee Martin has signed a new 3-year contract extension with Viper R/C. After a strong finish to 2013, which saw the British driver take the runner-up spot at the World Championships in the USA, Viper RC and Lee Martin are now aiming to go one step further at the next IFMAR World Championships. The newly signed Yokomo driver will work closely on new product testing and development as well as new UK market distribution.
Source: Viper R/C [viper-rc.com]
Serpent have released a teaser image showing a partly covered Mike Truhe, confirming many earlier rumours that the former TLR driver had joined the Serpent team. Despite the trademark goatie and body shell giving it away we still have to wait for official confirmation which we are sure will come in the next days. The addition of Mike to their team is a positive development and with their new mid motor 2wd buggy recently added to their their very thorough line-up, having a major name on the team to work alongside Billy Easton was the next logical step to ramp up their offroad program in the US. Update: Mike Truhe made a statement on his FB page confirming the move:
I am now very excited to be working with Serpent racing and Desoto racing to grow and expand the Serpent brand and all that Desoto racing has to offer. I truly feel that this is a great fit for me and that the products available are some of the best on the market. I am very excited to also be apart of this growing brand and bring the consumers the best and freshest ideas of cars and parts that are available.
Source: Serpent [serpent.com]
Bittydesign together with distributor Team RC Pro & PRC staff have announced the 2014 Asia Contest, an event born in 2013 with a successful race format that saw the participation of racers from all neighboring countries and known for its fun atmosphere. The International Pattaya RC Power Boat World track continues as the venue for the event which is set to take place from the 2nd to the 4th of May 2014. Limited to 192 drivers nitro buggy, split between Pro and Open class it will again be a 3 day format running from Friday with free practice, Saturday qualifications and the special one-off race ‘Thai VS Foreigners’ for the top qualifiers. Sunday will be the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) followed by Superpole and finals. More information can be found here.
2010 IFMAR 1/8 Off-Road World Champion Cody King has announced that he has made the move from U.S. online hobby giant A Main Hobbies to the up and coming online hobby store Absolute Hobbyz. Cody had this to say about the move:
I really appreciate the time I had over at A Main Hobbies. I raced with the owner Kendall Bennett 10 years ago before A Main was even started up, and it has been fun running for him and watching his company grow. This move to Absolute Hobbyz just makes sense for me at this point in my career, and opens up opportunities to do things I could not have done otherwise. I’m really looking forward to running at some of the Absolute Hobbyz sponsored events this year, including the Psycho Nitro Blast in March. Hobby shop support is important to me, and I am pleased to have the support of Absolute Hobbyz in 2014.
Source: Cody King [codykingrc.com]
