July 31, 2009

Exclusive – Protoform AMR-12 body shell

Exclusive - Protoform AMR-12 body shell

On Oct 1st 2009 there will be new EFRA/BRCA body rules that will come into effect, so a ‘clean sheet’ type design was required by Protoform in an effort to fully comply. The AMR-12 had been exhaustively tested in preparation for these rule changes and the body has actually shown an increase in performance over the ‘old format’ type race bodies. It’s made to fit all the popular 1/12th chassis with design considerations built in to accommodate the larger brushless motors and lead wires. This semi-realistic body is pulled in .020 lexan and has a protective film on it. Ready to ship at this time, it’s just in time to start practicing for the IIC Race in Vegas and the US Indoor Champs in Cleveland.

Click here for more photos


July 30, 2009

Picco P-Zero 1/8th clutch set

Picco P-Zero 1/8th clutch set

Italian company Picco Micromotori have released their P-Zero 1/8th scale on road clutch set. Supplied with 2 springs, a hard and super hard version, both are made with a special material that does not lose tension even after long use, which helps keep the clutch consistent for the length of a race avoiding any loss of torque. The set includes the flywheel, lightweight flyweights, shoe plate and shoe, but does not come with the bearings or the clutch bell.

Source: Picco [teampicco.com]


July 30, 2009

Tamiya end Euros Day 1 on top

Tamiya end Euros Day 1 on top

Day 1 of the 2009 EFRA Electric Touring European Championships has been completed and it is the Tamiya team who top the time sheets.  The final practice of the day saw defending Champion Marc Rheinard set a new fastest run as both he and Jilles Groskamp broke into the 17 laps. Having had a run time issue in the third practice, Rheinard switched to SpeedPassion’s new Competition 3.0 motor for the final outing of the day and now plans to stick with the motor after posting the 17/5:17.356 run with plenty of power left aferwards.  The German will make a small change to the gearing but said overall he was confident that his run time shortfall was a one off. In terms of the car, the World Champion said it was a little loose but feels that is down to track conditions rather than set-up.

View our full event coverage here.


July 30, 2009

Volker setting pace in Euros Practice

Volker setting pace in Euros Practice

With three rounds of free practice completed here in Luxembourg it is last year’s Top Qualifier Ronald Volker who is setting the pace from reigning champion Marc Rheinard. The Yokomo driver recorded the fastest run time (16/5:00.987) in the second outing, and has also laid down the fastest lap (18.364) around the large circuit. Topping the timesheets again in the third session, with a slower run of 16/5:03.894, the German ran different shocks on his BD5 but found they made the car feel unstable and he will revert to the shocks used earlier for today’s fourth and final practice.

View our full event coverage here.


July 30, 2009

Christian Wimberger wins South German Rd1

Christian Wimberger wins South German Rd1

The opening round of the 2010 German regionals took place for the Southern group at the tricky Zollhausring track near Nürnberg. After the qualifications it was Maximilian Vogl (Novarossi/Velox) on pole, setting a time of 24 laps in 5:05,700, 1,2 seconds ahead of Christian Wimberger (Novarossi/Mugen), with Dominik Mayer (Novarossi/Velox) and Christoph Pietsch completing the Top 4. All drivers had a good start in the final race, but the young driver Maximilian Vogl couldn’t bring his qualifying pace into the final and fell back to 7th place. German 1/8th scale Junior Champion Christian Wimberger jumped straight into the lead from the first lap and opened up a gap, eventually taking the win ahead of Nicolai Bähr and Christoph Pietsch in 2nd and 3rd respectively.


July 30, 2009

Titanium Racing Xray F1 Stealth CVD

Titanium Racing Xray F1 Stealth CVD

Following on from the success of the F1 stealth CVD for the Mi4, with a victory at the hands of Chris Grainger at the BRCA Cotswolds National, Titanium racing are releasing the new CVD for all the current range of RC cars, beginning with the Xray T2 range. Manufactured to the highest standards using the latest technologies the new CVD features  a unique stainless steel Locking coupling, reduced stress points, oversized joint for increased smoothness and high tolerances for better fit, reducing play.

Source: Titanium Racing [titaniumracing.com]


July 29, 2009

2nd African Cup GP report

2nd African Cup GP report

The 2nd African Cup GP On Road event took place recently and combined with it the IFMAR Pre Worlds Large scale discipline. The event saw 2 Australian drivers make the trip over to the race, which created a lot more excitement for the 1/8th discipline on it’s own, as they hadn’t seen foreign drivers competing in a club event since 2002.

Continue reading the report


July 28, 2009

Mission Possible – Schumacher Mi4

Mission Possible - Schumacher Mi4

UK based company Schumacher’s range of ‘narrow’ electric touring cars has come a long way, since starting in 1996 with the SST, which turned out to be a very successful TC platform. What followed was the exquisite Axis mid-motor cars that proved difficult to set-up but as fast – if not faster – than the SST range of cars. The current Schumacher TC platform is called Mission and has evolved from the Mi2(EC), Mi3 and Mi3.5 that went back to a more conventional design and suspension geometry compared to the Axis chassis. The latest incarnation is the Mi4 that offers the same race-proven suspension like the Mi3.5, introduced in 2008, but with a more LiPo-friendly chassis and bulkhead layout making it ‘future ready’, with more and more race meetings allowing the use of 7.4V LiPo batteries. We found out what the new UK tourer has to offer.

Read the full review here