June 17, 2009

Puleo & Nerone win Endas Italian Championship

Puleo & Nerone win Endas Italian Championship

The annual Endas Italian Championship took place last weekend at Segrates circuit near Milan. Under the supervision of Mr. Spatuzzi, Mr. Magni, Mr. Taccani and Mr. Colombo it was one of the best organised and presented Endas race in recent years. Qualifying for the modified class went the way of Andrea Simari, with Andrea Nerone in 2nd and Luca Radaelli in 3rd, while in the 10.5T stock class, after a hard fight Giorgio Montagna took the TQ spot followed by Marco Puleo in 2nd position and Luigi Viola in 3rd. Weather conditions were very hot due to a strong sun during the day and the asphalt temperature reached 56°C with an air temperature close to 35 degrees making it very critical for some ESC and motors. After some strong performances in the main finals, first place in the modified class went to Andrea Nerone with Luca Radaelli in 2nd and Max Micheli in 3rd. In the stock class (above) the win was taken by GP Batteries and Matrix driver Marco Puleo, with Tony Simari in 2nd place and Ruggero Zanusso in 3rd spot. GP Batteries and Matrix tyres supported the event with GP Batteries offering anyone the opportunity to try the company’s new GP4300 and GP5300 LiPo.

Click here to see more photos from the winners


June 17, 2009

Hot Bodies Cyclone TC, D4 & D8 Options

Hot Bodies Cyclone TC, D4 & D8 Options

Hot Bodies have release a whole load of new products for their main line of competition chassis’ but we will start with the Cyclone TC. Now you can adapt your Cyclone and Cyclone TC chassis to LiPo power with this LiPo battery upper deck conversion set, which comes complete with upper deck, aluminium block and all the necessary hardware you will need to get up and running. New rear 0º degree hubs have been machined from billet aluminium and anodized purple for added durability and custom looks. Some new aluminum front spindles are more than just aesthetic, but also stronger and more precise on the track. Finally for the TC are the DCJ drive shafts, that maintain better corner speed while drastically reducing wheel chatter. The DCJ or (Double Cardan joint) shaft breaks the single pivot point into two pivot points resulting in less drag and shallower shaft angles during sharp turning. For the Cyclone D4 and D4 WCE come an aluminium centre cup joint set that helps you loose weight where it counts the most, in the drivetrain. Less rotating mass equals quicker acceleration response and higher top speeds. The buggy also gets a complete set of both front and rear steel universal drive shafts. For the World Champion D8 buggy there are new universal drive shafts made from Japanese steel. Tougher than stock, they are easily identifiable as WCE with a light silver coating and come in 92mm length instead of stock 91mm, which gives a little bit of extra length to prevent pop outs and give an extra bit of down travel. The centre drive shafts also get the Japanese steel treatment.

Click here to see the other options


June 17, 2009

Francesco Tironi wins Italian Nats Rd2

Francesco Tironi wins Italian Nats Rd2

The 2nd round of the Italian 1/10th scale 200mm Championships took place in Messina last weekend and in the expert class it was Dario Balestri, with the new Team Magic G4 II, that took the pole position. In the race however, Mugen Sirio driver Francesco Tironi won the final by a lap, setting a new track record along the way. In 2nd place was Xray Max driver Giorgio De Felici, with 3rd place going to Mugen SM racer Guiseppe D’angelo, 7 seconds further back. Alessio Mazzeo finished 4th driving the prototype Serpent 733 chassis.

Source: F.V.S.S. Racing Team [fvssrc.com]


June 16, 2009

Associated RC12R5 Front end & How-to DVD set

Associated RC12R5 Front end & How-to DVD set

New from Factory Team is the complete front end assembly of the World Championship winning Team Associated RC12R5. Perfect as either a replacement front end, using for spares or for attaching to another chassis, this set includes all the parts needed including fasteners, plastics and suspension parts. Also new from Associated is a two-DVD set in which Richard “the King” Saxton goes through the build of a nitro vehicle from the ground up. Divided into chapters individually accessible from the main menu, the first DVD thoroughly covers all the different assembly points as well as tires, bodies and engine break-in. A bonus DVD covers a typical race day, with Richard giving running commentary on what he does for race prep.

Click here to see the DVD


June 16, 2009

Steele & Campbell win Irish Nationals Rd4

Steele & Campbell win Irish Nationals Rd4

The fourth round of Ireland’s On road Nitro Nationals took place over the weekend at the St.Annes track near Dublin city where Chris Steele took his third 200mm win of the season and Ian Campbell notched up his first 1:8 victory following a thrilling 30 minute final. Qualifying on pole for the 200mm race ahead of fellow Kyosho driver Chris Lawlor, Steele dominated the race setting the fastest lap enroute to a 7-lap winning margin over the Xray of Eoin Doran with Thomas Ward completing the podium. In 1:8 it was defending champion Clive Connolly who took TQ honours with his IDM powered Mugen over the Kyosho of current championship leader Austin Elliot. A very close final saw four drivers in the hunt for the win but that dropped to three when Elliot flamed out and then to two when Connolly had to make an unscheduled tyre stop five minutes from the end. This left Campbell and 1:8 returnee Steele, winner of the 200mm race, to battle it out for the top spot on the podium. In the end teenager Campbell, whose Matrix tyres equipped Shepherd recorded the fastest lap of the race, took the win by 7 seconds from Steele’s Kyosho with the recovering Connolly a further 7 seconds adrift in third.

Click here to see the 1/8th scale podium


June 16, 2009

Stefan Pregnolato is European ‘B’ Junior Champion

Stefan Pregnolato is European 'B' Junior Champion

Forgotten at the prize ceremony during the European ‘B’ Championships in Cassino 2 weeks ago, EFRA have confirmed that 14-year old Shepherd driver Stefan Pregnolato is the European B Junior Champion. Already in qualifying Stefano showed great potential by driving the 3rd best time with his Velox V8 and reaching the main final directly. During the final he was on the third place for quite a long time but unfortunately in the last lap he dropped down to 5th position. Nevertheless this was enough to claim the titel of Europe’s best under 17 driver at this years Championships.

Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]


June 16, 2009

Grainger & Jefferies win 2009 MMUKGP

Grainger & Jefferies win 2009 MMUKGP

This years running of the annual Much More UK GP took place last weekend at the Stonehaven circuit in Scotland. Qualifying for the modified class went the way of current British National Champion Chris Grainger, just in front of Olly Jefferies in 2nd and Dutch driver Niels Koenekoop in 3rd, while in the Pro Stock class, it was Graham Kenny up front followed by Tom Jefferies and Scott Kenny. Conditions remained dry for most of the day, however a rain shower after the first leg of mains mixed things up a bit but dried quickly. Schumacher racer Chris Grainger carried through his pace from qualifying to take the overall title with 2 leg wins, with Niels Koenekoop driving the TOP Photon won leg 3 and took 2nd overall. Team Associated driver Alan Bickerstaff completed the podium in 3rd. In the Pro Stock class, Graham Kenny won the first leg but struggled in the next two, while Tom Jefferies won the final 2 legs to take the overall class title from Scott Kenny in 2nd and Mark Musgrove in 3rd.

Click here to see the final results & pro stock podium


June 16, 2009

Karl-Heinz Meister takes German West Rd6

Karl-Heinz Meister takes German West Rd6

What a pity! Once again rain hampered the racing action of the Western German Championship I.C. 1/8 – for the fourth time in a row. Practice for the sixth and last round of the Western German Championship was held in Oberhausen under the best possible conditions with blue sky and temperatures around 25 degrees. On Sunday first clouds welcomed the racers and after round three of the heats it started to rain and didn’t stop for the rest of the day. In a drivers meeting it was decided not to continue this disappointing race day and to count the race following the heats order.

Continue reading the full report