May 26, 2008

2008 Reedy Race of Champions

2008 Reedy Race of Champions

The 2008 Reedy Race of Champions was held at the weekend at the Speedworld Raceway in Roseville, California, the first time the race has been held at this venue following the closing of the previous facility. As usual there were 3 classes at this years event, the blue ribboned Invitational class that uses the now famous Reedy Race system consisting of races for points, and the 13.5 Turn class and Open class, both of which consisted of the usual qualifying rounds and triple A-mains. Qualifying for the 13.5T class saw TOP racer Kyle Bergstrom take the pole position from Losi driver Larry Fairtrace in 2nd and Jason Ertracter in 3rd, while in the Open class it was again a TOP on top, with Kevin Jelich taking top spot in front of Associated driver Christer Andersson in 2nd and Randy Caster 3rd. The 13.5 Turn finals saw Losi driver Larry Fairtrace take the overall win from pole man Bergstrom who ended up in 2nd, with EJ Evans putting another TOP on the podium in 3rd. In the Open finals Kevin Jelich managed to maintain his top spot from qualifying and take the overall ahead of Christer Andersson in 2nd and Jimmy Jacobson rounding off the podium for Tamiya in 3rd. In the Invitational class it was a close battle between a number of drivers but in the end Hot Bodies racer Atsushi Hara had the most victories to just beat out Masami Hirosaka by 1 point to take the overall crown. Hirosaka, who was racing the new prototype Yokomo was himself only just ahead of last years winner Marc Rheinard who took the final step of the podium for Tamiya in 3rd spot.

Click here to see the final results… content


May 26, 2008

Todd & Baird win Rd1 Irish Off-Road Nats

Todd & Baird win Rd1 Irish Buggy Nats

Round 1 of the 2008 Irish 1:8 Off Road National Championship kicked off over the weekend with the Nitro Navan Nuts club hosting Round 1 of the 4 round series on their astroturf surface track in county Meath. Attracting a large entry of top drivers from North and South of the country it was Michael Todd that laid down the marker for this year’s title battle as he took his KSR Racing prepared Losi to victory in the 45-minute A Final. Securing the TQ position Todd took his Novarossi powered Eight to a convincing 2 lap winning margin over Hobao driver Mark Harron who was followed home closely by the Xray of Barkley Abernethy. Defending Champion Darren Hill took sixth having had to work his way up from the B Final but the Kyosho driver will be hoping for a better performance in Round 2 which will run on his local Galway track. In the Truggy class it was youngster Bradley Baird driving a Hot Bodies Lightning that took top honour from Top Qualifier Christopher McCauley with Frank McGoey completing the podium.

Click more for the final results… content


May 26, 2008

Mugen MTX-4R updated Gearbox parts

Mugen MTX-4R updated Gearbox parts

Mugen Seiki have announced the release of these new gearbox parts for the MTX-4R 1/10th scale chassis. Sold separately, but designed to be used together, the only difference is the use of 4mm balls for the gearbox mechanism, in place of 3mm versions used originally. This makes for a more stable shift between gears and to accommodate these new balls the gearbox shoes have been modified and are therefore new.

Source: Mugen [mugenseiki.com]


May 26, 2008

Richard Volta is European B Champion

Richard Volta is European B Champion

Last weekend saw the European ‘B’ Championship for 1/8th scale on-road held in Kirchberg, Austria. The race saw 125 drivers in attendance and after 4 thrilling qualifying rounds it was Shepherd Velox driver Richard Volta that claimed the pole position ahead of Novarossi employee Michele Baruzzi driving a Serpent in 2nd. The 3rd spot went to Mugen racer Marco Müller from Switzerland, while the final direct qualifying position was taken by another Serpent racer, Agostinelli Giordano. The 45 minute final was won by Richard Volta who never lost the lead and in the end finished nearly one lap in front of young Italian Serpent racer Alberto Tedeschi in 2nd. Michele Baruzzi rounded out the podium in 3rd, finishing only 0.2 sec in front of Serpent team mate Domenico Calce who finished 4th. This was the first European Championship title for the young Shepherd Team and comes only 3 month after the release of the Velox.

Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]


May 26, 2008

Exotek TEK-18X RC18 Conversion

Exotek TEK-18X RC18 Conversion

Exotek Racing continue to make their very impressive conversion kits and have released the TEK-18X, a conversion for the popular RC18 from Team Associated. This chassis conversion takes a no holds barred approach to transform the RC18 platform into a true performer and has already had success, winning the 2008 1/18th Off Road US Nationals in 4WD Modified. Amongst the new features, the car has an extra long wheelbase for better stability, rear biased battery mounting for better rough track handling and is super lightweight, thanks to the extensive use of carbon fibre throughout.

Click here for full feature list and more pictures… content


May 25, 2008

Y. Aigoin wins French 1/8th TT Nats Rd3

Y. Aigoin wins French 1/8th TT Nats Rd3

The 3rd round of the French 1/8th scale buggy Nationals was held this weekend at the Montceau track, in the East of the country. Qualifying went the way of Team Losi driver Yannick Aigoin, who placed his 8ight on pole position for semi final A, while Mugen racer Renaud Savoya was 2nd quickest and would start on pole for semi final B. The main final saw the order stay the same as Yannick was able to take the win, completing a dominant event, while 2nd spot went to Savoya and the final podium spot to Kyosho driver Jerome Aigoin.

Source: RC Mag [rcmag.com]


May 25, 2008

Riccardo Rabitti takes Italian Nats Rd2

Riccardo Rabitti takes Italian Nats Rd2

The 2nd round of the Italian 1/8th scale buggy Nationals has taken place this weekend at the Blue Rabbits track in Empoli. Qualifying for Sunday’s race saw Losi racer Riccardo Rabitti take the pole position ahead of round 1 winner, Crono racer Davide Tortorici in 2nd and Fabio Boero, driving a Mugen in 3rd. Sunday’s F1 class final saw little change at the front with Rabitti taking the win from Boero in 2nd, who managed to get passed Tortorici who ended the race in 3rd. In the F2 category it was a win for Mugen driver Eugenio Berti, while Alessandro Stocco took the runner up spot for Losi and Helmuth Aufderklamm rounding out the top 3, again for Mugen.

Click more to see the F2 podium… content


May 25, 2008

Nanda NRB-3R Team Version buggy

Nanda NRB-3R Team Version buggy

Nanda Racing have announced details about the new team version of their NRB-3 1/8th scale buggy, called the NRB-3R. Set to be released in June, the car is sold with a number of option parts as standard to strengthen and improve performance. Some of the new parts include a new chassis, big bore shock absorbers, new front shock tower, new engine mount, aluminum steering blocks, uprights and suspension brackets as well as a number of different anti-roll bars. As a neat addition the car is supplied in a handy NB-3R branded carry case.

Source: Nanda [nandaracing.com]