The inaugural Ruddog Winter Race will take place at the RC-Indoor-Arena track in Köstendorf near Salzburg, Austria on the 29th of January. The 1-day fun event will see 2WD Modified, 2WD 13.5T blinky and 4WD Modified buggy classes and the weekend kicks off with free practice on Friday and Saturday. More information about the race can be found here while registration is available here.
Former IFMAR 1/8th Nitro Buggy World Champion and record National Champion, Robert Batlle has announced another new sponsor for this season with AKA being his official tyre supplier. The Spaniard’s first race for the US company will be this weekend’s The Italian Job Race in Padova, Italy and he has the following to say about the deal:
On the way to Padova for the first race of the year… is the moment to announce that AKA will be our tyres supplier for the next two seasons! I would like to thank Mark Pavidis, Joel Johnson and Bernard Duran to believe in me and my team, the season is going to start, stay tuned!
HRC Racing make wire protection easy with the introduction of two new Team Secret Weapon wire protection sleeves. Made from sturdy fabric material the sleeves are available in two sizes; as 13mm diameter variant for 10AWG to 16AWG power cables and in a smaller 6mm variant for servo and receiver leads. The black colour sleeves come in coils of 100cm and they not only protect wires from being cut and scuffed cut but they also add a dark and stealthy factory look without having to swap or blacken coloured wires.
Source: HRC Distribution [hrcdistribution.com]
Available soon from Muchmore is the Impact Linear FD2 6500mA 14.8V 4S LiPo battery pack. Built from high-performance 100C cells the battery offers a high capacity and it is ideal for demanding 1/8th electric buggy and truggy racing. The hardcase pack measures 138x47x47.5mm, it weighs in at 545g and comes pre-wired with 10AWG wires, a genuine Deans connector, and an XH-type balancer port.
Source: Muchmore [muchmoreracing.net]
Exotek have introduced an aluminium rear bulkhead for laydown converted Kyosho RB6.6 buggies. A heavy duty 1-piece design and high-quality 7075 aluminium material mean improved durability and less chances to strip a ball stud mounting hole in hard crashes. The part matches the stock geometry and includes mounting points for the RB6.6 sway bars and at 10g the bulkhead is also about 1.5g lighter than the stock nylon part.
The latest Tamiya and TRF driver to officially announce his departure from the disbanded race team is Germany’s Christopher Krapp who will also leave long-term electronics sponsors Team Orion. Christopher joined the TRF team in Spring 2015 while his ties with Team Orion span even longer, back into his early days with Kyosho. The German front-runner will soon announce his future plans and in the meantime he has the following to say:
First I want to wish all a happy and healthy New Year! I want to take the moment to announce my departure from Team Tamiya/TRF and Team Orion. I had a great and successful time together with the whole TRF team and I want to thank all my teammates for keeping up with me at that time. Especially I want to thank Kiyokazu Suzuki and Takayuki Kono for being my mechanics and mentors. I also want to thank Team Orion for the awesome support they gave me. I used Team Orion products since I started RC and we had many great moments together. Personal thanks to Oscar Jansen for all his efforts! Now it is time for something new and I am extremely motivated for the new challenge. Look out for the news soon!
Xray have introduced a dedicated aluminium pinion tool for the RX8 1/8th on-road car. The wrench helps to install and remove pinions from the XCA clutch system without harming the gears or clutchbell. Made from high-quality 7075 aluminium the tool sports a black surface treatment for wear and looks and it is usable with 17T to 19T first gear and 22T to 25T second gear pinions.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
Coming from Samix and made for the Serpent Cobra GT is a lightweight clutch bell. A direct fit to the standard clutch assembly the part sports extensive machining for a low weight and thus quicker engine spool up. Made from high-quality steel the clutch bell is still very durably and it features a screwdriver hole to lock the clutchbell for easy and convenient gear swaps.
