October 19, 2010

Bulgarian off-road nationals Rd4

Bulgarian off-road nationals Rd4

The 4th and final round of the Bulgarian off-road nationals took place in Varna recently in cold, windy and wet conditions, proving an extreme challenge for all drivers. In the buggy class the fastest racer in qualifying was Mario Vutov followed by Sterian Folev and Kristian Vrajilov. The final started with Sterian Folev taking the lead but a little mistake knocked him to the back of the pack, while Mario Vutov had issues with his engine which flamed out 8 times during the 45-minute-long final. Sterian Folev and Kristian Vrajilov battled for the first place with Folev leading most of the time with Mario Vutov and Theodor Trunchev battling for third. At the end Folev lost concentration and Vrajilov swept through to win by 1.965 seconds. Folev needed to be in the top 5 in order to get the necessary points for the Championship and so with 2nd he became the National Champion. In the truggy class Mario Vutov was again fastest in the qualifications and in this class he also managed to win the final too. Borislav Ivanov, Sterian Folev’s teammate and top pretender for the title finished 2nd, which allowed him to keep the lead and also become National Champion.

View the truggy podium here


October 18, 2010

Serpent Cobra-T truggy prototype photos

Serpent Cobra Truggy prototype photos

Having shown you an action video followed up by CAD images of the new Cobra truggy, Serpent have released photos of the prototype which is being used for development work by Billy Easton.

The proto-test car still includes the current version radio plate, but this will be replaced of course by the new one, which is almost ready. The proto-type is also fitted with some optional parts, as the final version is still to be decided. The body shell is fully aimed at pure performance and not yet the final version.

View more images of the prototype here


October 16, 2010

Hot Bodies Megagrid & Beams 1/8th tires

Hot Bodies Megagrid & Beams 1/8th tires

Hot Bodies have a number of new tire releases for 1/8th scale, starting with the Megagrid. Suitable for a wide variety of off-road and on-road surfaces including loose topsoil right on down to hard-pack, this is our most versatile tire and should be used when you go to a new track because it will be a good starting point everywhere. With interlocking lugs that feature varied step height and a medium gap, these tires provide high bite even in the worst of conditions. Available in Pink, Red and White compounds. The HB Beams are suitable for hard & dry off-road surfaces such as hard-packed clay and ‘blue groove’ high bite conditions and also work great on indoor tracks. With criss-cross bars crossing the tire and small bars in between they resemble an unfinished skyscraper in appearance. Scraping up traction where there is none. Now available in Pink and Red compounds.

View the Beams here


October 15, 2010

JConcepts RC8B-e Punisher body & t-shirt

JConcepts Punisher

The Punisher body by JConcepts for the RC8B-e is now available. The slight cab-forward treatment is amongst the most aggressive in class giving the Punisher top notch performance. Blended wing / body design gives additional downforce to the side-pods and windshield which increases drivability, corner speed and jump control. The rear base of the cab area represents the latest offering for 1/8th E-buggy racing featuring a super low profile design for increased air flow, escape and body placement. The new Punisher T-shirt features background imagery loaded with various popular JConcepts key words, making a statement with powerful blue Punisher drip logo graphics on the front and large JC print on the side. Finishing off the back of the shirt is a large blue drip with pressed logo so you can show JConcepts pride while coming or going.

View the Punisher t-shirt here


October 15, 2010

Serpent Cobra-T 1/8th scale truggy

Serpent Cobra-T 1/8th scale truggy

Following yesterdays release of the video showing Billy Easton testing the new Serpent truggy, the Dutch company have released details and CAD images on the new Billy Easton designed Cobra-T. Sharing many of the same parts and design elements of the buggy, the Truggy is different in many aspects and requires quite a selection of specific parts as well. The larger wheel/tyres and different body-type style, together with longer wheel-base do require intensive testing to find again the right balance in the car, as well as the correct level of grip and to be very good on large jumps too. The end result is a very sleek and “low” design, with a perfect left to right and front to back balance, making it a very nimble car and easy to push very hard out on the track. The Serpent Cobra-T will most likely feature CNC machined 7075 T6 shock towers, instead of the carbon ones, as standard. Release of the new truggy is planned for early December 2010.

View more CAD images here


October 15, 2010

Pillars reports from Pattaya

Pillars reports from Pattaya

On October 4th Kyosho, Associated and Losi USA drivers/mechanics traveled from LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) to Bangkok, Thailand. From Kyosho was myself, Jared Tebo, Mark Pavidis, Cody King, and Paul King. From Associated was Team Manager Brent Thielke, Ryan Cavalieri, Louis Cavalieri, Ryan Maifield, John Faulkner from J-Concepts and Kurt Wenger. From Losi was Adam Drake, Mike Truhe, Billy Fischer, Matt Castellano and Dyno. Our flight left at around 2:00am from LAX and we would land in Hong Kong for our layover about 14 1/2 hours later. This was the longest flight I have ever been on. Since we left early in the morning, most of us slept allot of the flight and made it go by faster. We would have a layover in Hong Kong for about 2 hours, then fly the rest of the way to Bangkok that was 2 1/2 hours away. After arriving in Bangkok, all 3 teams went their separate ways to the track. Each of the 3 teams stayed at different hotels. The taxi ride to the hotel was about 1 1/2 hours located in Pattaya. This is known as a very popular tourist destination and it didn’t disappoint. There was many street side vendors, shopping malls, and many activities to do.

Continue reading the report here


October 15, 2010

RB Serpent Cobra body shell

RB Serpent Cobra body shell

RB have introduced the latest addition to their range of buggy bodies with the release of this new shell for the Cobra S811 from Serpent. Made with high quality lexan, the RB bodies are designed to improve the performance of your buggy and come transparent with a protection film and windows mask.

Source: RB [rbproducts.com]


October 14, 2010

Frank Root captures JBRL titles 6 & 7

Frank Root captures JBRL titles 6 & 7

Team Losi Racing took to the JBRL Finals at Hot Rod Hobbies this past weekend with Keith Whisler, Ryan Dunford, Casper Nielsen, and Frank Root all in attendance and Frank sent us this report. Keith and I made it up on Friday afternoon to get in some practice packs and fine tune the setups for this weekend’s track conditions and found that Red BK Bars and Taper Pins were very hooked up on the blue-groove surface for all classes. After sharing this info with Ryan and Casper, the team was ready for qualifying on Saturday morning. This weekend was critical as it was the last chance for each driver to score crucial point towards the 2010 overall championships. The track was the typical high-bite blue groove that Hot Rod has become famous for and the weather was perfect setting up a great weekend of racing.

Continue reading the report here