Southside RC of Lake City, Florida recently held a club race and in the Nitro Buggy class it was Blake Raulerson (Xray) who took the TQ for the 20-minute A-main. He would then also sweep the final to take the day’s win from Mikey Griffin (Kyosho) who had to settle for second and Travis Adams (TLR) third. In the E-Buggy class Mikey Griffin (Kyosho) stroke back, taking the win from Blake Raulerson (Xray) second and Joe Barbara (TLR) third.
The opening round of the Caribbean On-road Series was held at Guaynabo RC Complex in Quaynabo city. In the 17.5T Touring class Peter Alvarado took the TQ early in the first round with a 14 laps 5:10.392 run, some 0.105s over the second placed driver. In round 2 Alvarado would improve his TQ pace to 15 laps 5:07.158, some 2.5s over second placed Ivan Garcia. In the opening A-main Peter suffered a DNF due to mechanical issues but he came back in A2 and A3 to take the overall victory from Fernando Mendes in second, while 10 years old Victor Merino obtained the final podium spot.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
Serpent have introduced a 2.5mm carbon fibre main chassis and lower pod plate for the S120 LTR 1/12th scale pan car. The new chassis is meant to improve high speed steering at corner entry, the car will feel smoother throughout the corner while also carrying more corner speed. Driving feel through chicanes is also improved while rear wheel lift is reduced, making for faster acceleration and a more efficient drive at the expense of slightly harder working rear tyres, which can be overcome by moving the battery forward or using a softer centre shock spring. The chassis and pod plate are available now and they will be a running change for all S120 LTR kits from April on.
Coming from Xray and made for the XB4 line of vehicles are new 9 degree caster C-hubs moulded of graphite composite material. The rigid graphite material is suitable for most track conditions but especially for high to very high-bite surfaces while the overall design allows for easy CVD assembly swaps and no driveshaft jamming issues at high steering angles and during hard crashes. The hubs are available separately for the left and right hand side of the buggy.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
JConcepts has added a new item to their Shapeways store for Yokomo YZ-2 owners using a laydown transmission. The elephant trunk style chassis brace replaces the stock unit and uses a single column support which promotes flex characteristics giving traction gains associated with these types of adjustments. With the single post, there is also increased clearance around the motor and tabs for easier soldering and wire routing. The built-in ledge helps minimise issues with the battery brace popping out during hard landings and crashes. The mount attaches at the top and bottom with stock hardware and it is available directly through JConcepts’ Shapeways store.
The 2017 Philippine Masters will be held from the 28th to 30th of April at the Circulo Verde race track in Quezon City, Philippines. The 3-day event will see Nitro Buggy, Nitro Truggy and E-Buggy racing with drivers from all over the world attending including Pro drivers such as Adam Drake, David Ronnefalk, Ty Tessmann, Kyle McBride and Atsushi Hara. More information can be found on social media here.
SpeedMerchant have new side dams and wing sets for Protoform’s Swift 235 Pro10 bodyshell available. Coming as carbon fibre or clear polycarbonate variant, the aerodynamic helpers will give the car much more rear grip than the stock pieces. The side dams are used for both indoor carpet racing as well as outdoors on asphalt. They make the car more predictable by helping it track straighter and hold its line better in high speed corners. Suited mainly for high speed asphalt racing, the rear wing is contoured to the back of the body so all of the air travelling over the shell is forced directly on to and over the rear wing for maximum down force. The 30 thousandths carbon fibre also has the benefit of making the rear of the Swift body more ridged and less likely to distort under the air pressure of high speed modified asphalt racing.
View the polycarbonate parts here
The 2017 Protoform Canadian Onroad Nationals, the 8th running of the race, which started its life as the Can-Am RC Challenge, took place in snowy Welland, Ontario, Canada just a short drive from the Canada/US border. A record 450+ entries have turned this from a local trophy race into one of the largest RC car races in the world. Always one of the most unique races of the year, this year’s event saw a major change. In past years, the race has been held in the Centre Court of the Seaway Mall, allowing the public mall shoppers to be exposed to high-end RC racing. Race organizers Mark Frechette and Mike Wilson wanted to continue to grow both the track size and the overall scope of the event. With Centre Court’s limited size only allowing a 85′ x 40′ space, it was decided to move the event down the hall to a former Target store that had since closed. With the mall food court only a short walk away, racers have convenience and selection not found at many other events. Pit space was abundant in the former department store, after years of cramming into other empty stores to set up pits. Mall shoppers were still welcomed in to watch the action and scope out the many full-scale race cars on display around the track area.
