Japanese company Active Hobby Products have introduced new option parts for the Tamiya TA07 Pro touring car kit. First up is an aluminium motor plate machined from high-quality material and coming blue or black anodised. Extra machining makes for a lightweight yet sturdy construction that also incorporates belt tensioner functions thanks to adjustable pulley and bearing holder shafts.
Made for Kyosho’s MP9 TKI3 and TKI4 buggies is T-Works’s new carbon fibre AMB transponder mount. The part is cut from high-quality material and it fits right into the buggy’s radio plate assembly, making for low weight, good stability and improved looks. The plate is usable with all AMB-pattern transponders.
Coming from Exotek are a range of option parts for several popular 1/10th 2WD buggies such as the HB Racing D216, the TLR 22 3.0 and the Team Associated B6. Starting with the D216 part, the Flite motor plate is a fully CNC-machined affair made of high-quality 7075 aluminium. The vented design will keep the motor running cooler and longer for that extra edge. Aggressive cut outs allow the heat that builds up inside the gear cover to vent out thus lowering overall motor temperatures. The extra machining also reduces the weight down to 11.8g but the critical motor mounting areas are still intact to maintain solid motor mounting and gear mesh. Extra cut outs on the bottom side make sure that debris is ejected for free running gears. The part comes polished, anodised in black and laser-etched.
The Protoform Western Canadian Indoor Championship Series round 1 brought racing excitement to the capital city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Hosted by SarCar it was a great season opening race weekend and with two major changes this season, there was lots of anticipation for the opener. On track, the new CRC Black Carpet was the star attraction, presenting the first opportunity for most racers in Western Canada to try this new carpet. The second major change was the AAA Main finals format. In the Touring Modified class the TQ, Team Awesomatix’s Wayne Mah would take the leg 1 win from Danny Buck (Xray) in second and privateer Josh Carter third. Then a break in leg 2 for Wayne would see Danny capitalizing with a win, Josh second. An epic battle in A3, which saw them cross the line just a few seconds apart, Danny posting the faster lap, but Wayne taking the win and first overall, and Josh third.
Continue reading the report here
RC Concept have announced the signing of Australian Off-road frontrunner, Ben Sterling. Ben is well known around the world and brings in some 16 years of knowledge in the industry. The 2016 Victorian State Titles holder will work together with the Australian RC Concept distributor to support all RC Concept users in Australia and he had this to say:
Firstly I would like to thank Alpha for the past 3 years. It has been an absolute pleasure working with them and evolving their company and product. Thanks so much for RC Concept for giving me this opportunity to run their great engines and also 1/8 EP electronics for the 2017/2018 seasons. I can’t wait to race this awesome package.
Source: RC Concept [rcconcept.net]
Coming from Reedy is the 540-SL4 sensorless brushless motor for ready-to-run vehicles. Due to its 4-pole configuration, the motor offers high power, efficiency and reliability as it is needed for demanding RTR applications. The 3300kV rating provides plenty of speed with 2S LiPo batteries but installing a 3S LiPo battery makes for even higher speeds. At the same time does a high-strength rotor provide plenty of torque and resists overheating better than 2-pole alternatives. The motor comes pre-wired with flexible silicone wires that ease wire routing in tight spaces and work in conjunction with 3.5mm bullet connectors to reduce power-robbing resistance and heat. The package is rounded out by triple insulated windings, a hardened steel shaft, and oversized ball bearings.
Source: Team Associated [teamassociated.com]
Destiny have announced the signing of up and coming Japanese drivers Shin and Jin Sawada. At 17 years old, Jin already made several A-mains at the Japanese Nationals while 12 years old Shin already showed some very impressive speed and results. The first big race for the two was the recent AOC finale at Yatabe arena where Jin achieved a fine third place after the qualifiers.
The 37th running of the US Indoor Championship was held at the Embassy Suite/Hilton in Independence, Ohio. The race has slowly grown over the last few years to reach a peak of 413 entries this year, making it one of the largest indoor races in the country. This time the format was special as the organizers left the track open all night so you could get in a lot of track time. Still, most of the testing took place on Friday during the seeding rounds and controlled practice. In true US Indoor Champs fashion, qualifying went on Friday from 7pm to 2am and Saturday from 7am to 3am, with main events on Sunday finishing at 3:30pm for those racers wanting to get on the road home. Once again Keven Hebert proved to be the man to beat. Taking the top qualifying honors in both Modified Touring and 1/12th scale, Hebert was in the best position possible for Sunday’s main events. In 1/12th, Hebert was able to win the main event by over a lap and in the Touring Car main event he was again able to take the win, even after an altercation with backmarkers close to the end of the race.
Source: Team Associated [teamassociated.com]
