Red RC » P Off Road

April 27, 2009

Neil Cragg wins BRCA Nationals Rd2

The Tiverton Model Car Club played host the round 2 of the BRCA 1/8th Off Road series and their fast Astroturf track provided a very difficult challenge. The high speed nature of the circuit, coupled with the very high traction levels on this surface, made for a un-forgiving combination. Mistakes were punished heavily, either by time loss or breakages. The qualifying sessions were also slightly affected by light showers, with the early and middle heats both having a blow out round where the track was too slick for quick times. At the end of qualifying it was round 1 winner Elliott Boots driving his Mugen MBX-6 who took the pole with 3 round wins and some very impressive runs. Neil Cragg took 2nd on the grid with his Associated RC8B ahead of Simon Willetts and Dave Bailey. The main final saw an early battle between Elliott and Neil until the first round of stops. After that Elliott started to make a series of errors in trying to keep up with Neil and dropped back into the chasing pack. This left Neil to put the hammer down and build a massive lead which he maintained until the end to record a comfortable victory ahead of Losi man Darren Bloomfield in 2nd, with Simon Willetts taking 3rd.

Source: CML [cmldistribution.co.uk]

April 27, 2009

Batlle takes Victory at Spanish Nats Rd2

The 2nd round of the Spanish 1/8th sale buggy Nationals was run at the weekend at the Montjuic track in Barcelona, close to the Olympic Stadium. 107 drivers attended the race and following qualifying on Saturday, it was Associated driver Robert Batlle that took the TQ spot from Javier Puché in 2nd and Jesús Gómez Salmerón in 3rd. On Sunday during the 1/16th final, the sky suddenly turned dark and the rain started, flooding the track. Due to this the organizers cancelled the race and the results were called from the qualifying positions, which gave Batlle the win from Javier Puché and Jesús Gómez Salmerón.

Source: Merlin [merlinfuel.com]

April 26, 2009

Josh Pain takes NT Nitro buggy Champs

The Australian Northern Territory Nitro buggy Championships held this weekend at OCR Raceway. Following his win at the AINC09 last weekend, Team Associated driver Josh Pain picked up the TQ, setting up a huge battle with dual Australian Champion Wayne Walker, and no one was disappointed with what ensued. Despite some drama on the start line with Pain flaming out, the very talented driver had it all to do to chase down Walker in the 45 minute Main, and on lap 55 managed to take the lead when Walker himself had a flame out. The super quick driver never relinquished the lead for the next 38 laps finishing 8 seconds ahead after a grueling 45 minutes on the super fast circuit, both Pain and Walker the only drivers getting into the 26 seconds bracket. With such an exciting battle going on at the front, the rest of the field was left in their wake, Andrew Dun driving the Mugen MBX6, visiting from Queensland, put up a big fight to hold onto 3rd place.

Click here to see a video from the race

April 25, 2009

The Drake wins RCX Truggy

The Drake was in touch to tell us about his success at last weekend’s RCX show put on by U.S. magazine RCCA. Presented by ‘The Dirt’, a small but challenging track was built to allow some of the best off road racers put on a show for the crowds at the show and in the truggy class it was Adam Drake, driving his Novarossi powered Losi 8ight T 2.0, that took home the win and with it the $500 cash prize.

April 23, 2009

Shin Adachi goes Nitro with Team Orion

Front running electric racing star Shinosuke ‘Shin’ Adachi has joined the Team Orion nitro team. With immediate effect the Japanese driver will be using the Team Orion Alpha engines to power his Kyosho MP9 buggy. Following the addition of former World Champion Yuichi Kanai to their team, Shin’s presence will further strengthen the company’s off road race presence in Asia.

Source: Team Orion [teamorion.com]

April 23, 2009

Florida State Series round 5

The FSORS season has now crossed the halfway mark and rolled into 555 Raceway this past weekend. Even with several other events going on in central Florida, the race nearly 140 entries. This track is known for brutal conditions, and often blows out badly when a larger event comes to town. The track crew did an excellent job of keeping the surface together with only minor issues throughout the weekend. The Florida sun and strong entry count helped to lay down a great groove and soon racers were switching to harder compound tires.

Continue reading the report

April 23, 2009

X Factory Quick Change battery kit

X Factory, responding to input from customers, releases a kit to allow faster removal of the batteries from the X-6 Squared and X-60 without damaging the chassis. Chief Engineer Paul Sinclair said, “Many team members live and race in places where LiPo batteries must be removed from the car for charging. Also, many who use cells instead of LiPo want to remove them to charge or store. The X-6 Squared’s CF battery strap is held in with flat head screws which go into posts in the chassis. Constant installation and removal of these screws will damage the threads in the chassis, and this new kit eliminates the problem. Many owners of the X-60 truck have converted from the Kit-supplied nuts to thumb screws, but that will not work for the X-6 Squared because the body sits too low. The new Quick change kit contains four 1” long set-screws that can be installed in place of the standard bolts with an Allen driver and four low-profile locking nuts which are just low enough to clear the buggy’s body.”

Click here for more images

April 22, 2009

Hot Bodies Megabite Pinks & T-Dish Wheels

Hot Bodies have released their Megabite mini-pin tires in a pink compound which are suitable for hard & dry off-road surfaces such as hard-packed clay, light dust conditions, and regular clay. With hundreds of short square pins arranged around the carcass providing fantastic traction on the corners and a central double-row of extra-wide treads giving you excellent acceleration and stopping power. The pink compound is their new extra soft compound for extra grip in low traction environments. HB’s new T-Dish yellow wheels utilize the maximum diameter allowed under the current rules and regulations. This makes for quicker response from the tires due to less sidewall flex. Their specially formulated plastic offers the perfect balance between rigidity and pliability, giving them impact resistance and flexion in the jumps and bumps yet maintain rigidity in the corners.

Click here to see the T-Dish wheel