Coming from T-Works and made for the Xpress Execute XQ1 touring car is a mixed aluminium and titanium screw set. It includes a total of 104 fasteners with the red anodised aluminium ones being of the special UFO head design for improved visual impact. Using the set over the standard steel hardware will greatly reduce the overall weight while also lowering the centre of gravity.
Source: T-Works [rc-tworks.com]
MCD Racing from Turkey have introduced their all-new IBS internal bypass shock absorbers for their range of off-road and on-road large scale kits. An industry first in the large scale scene, the dampers feature a fully working piggyback reservoir that that acts as a volume compensator for the overflowing oil as the shock absorber compresses. Valves allow for precise compression and rebound control with the compression and rebound circuit featuring auto-adaptive dual-way check valves that allow the oil to by-pass independently. The all-alloy shocks come anodised for looks and wear, they are adjustable externally and come as 64mm or 47mm stroke off-road and 26mm stroke on-road variants.
Capricorn RC have introduced the Dynamic upgrade kit for their 1/8th scale C803 chassis. The set consists in a total of three 2mm graphite plates that serve different purposes. The first plate raises the front bulkhead, bringing it higher from the ground in order to improve the steering response entering the corner and raising the corner speed. The other two plates raise the radio tray, so as to reduce the torsional flex bringing the two elements further from each other.
Source: Capricorn [capricornrc.com]
In what has come as a big shock, Yukijiro Umino has announced his departure from Japanese company Yokomo. Yukijiro, a top racer in his own right, is best known for his role as chief designer of the company’s touring car platform and for being Ronald Völker’s race engineer. One of the most successful partnerships in RC, the pair dominated the ETS for 5 seasons between 2010 and 2015, took numerous European, Reedy race and National titles and finally took a long awaited and well-deserved IFMAR World title back in 2016. Yukijiro has yet to announce his new destination but has released the following statement:
I wish to announce that after 22 great years with the company, from the 25th of January I will no longer be working for Yokomo. I want to give a big thank you to everyone at Team Yokomo, my co-workers, team and especially to Tom Yokobori for what has been an amazing opportunity. I also want to give a special thank you to Ronald Volker with whom I have worked so closely over the past 9 year and achieved so much together. And finally I want to thank my family for their support throughout this journey. I wish to let everyone know that, as I have always done, I will never stop challenging and never give up. See you all at the track soon.
The third round of the Arrowmax Asia Race Cup Malaysia attracted more than 50 entries for the three classes of Touring Boosted 13.5T, Touring Pro-Stock and Formula. The Pro-Stock 13.5T champion was about to be crowned at this round who would be awarded a ticket to the grand final that is held in Japan and hosted by the iconic Yatabe Arena. The fastest of the three classes was the Boosted 13.5T category and it was Wong KokWai who was able to show that he was willing to control the field with a 12.709s lap to be seeded the number 1 driver to head off the start of qualifying. While in the Pro-Stock 13.5T class it was returning racer Max Teo who has shown that he did not loose much in term of his speed, seeding himself as number 1 driver with a fastest lap of 13.781s, while in Formula, it was Sham Arop who was able to secure the number 1 seed.
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PSM from Germany have introduced a rear arm balance weight for the Tamiya TA07 Pro intermediate-level electric touring car kit. The weights are machined from high-quality brass material and add a total of 9g to the chassis for improved traction, smoother cornering and added rear arm reinforcement that prevents arm twisting under load. The weight comes as pair and it is available now.
Italian company Bittydesign has released several sets of coloured body shell clips for 1/10th vehicles. They are of a directed design with the sets including four left hand and four right hand clips to make for a symmetrical appearance once attached to the body or wing. The clips are available in several colours including red, blue, green, gold, dark grey, orange and purple.
Hobbywing have announced the signing of Sweden’s Alexander Hagberg to their factory team. The former World and European Champion will use Hobbywing products in the 1/10th Touring and 1/12th on-road classes and his knowledge and skill is expected to further strengthen the already impressive Hobbywing factory team. The former long-time Team Orca driver has the following to say:
I am extremely pleased to announce that I am joining the international Hobbywing team for 2018! After taking note of the performance of the Hobbywing products in the last few years, mainly from some of my teammates, I can definitely say that I am both confident and excited to use the products myself! I hope that it will also help to strengthen our team work both for the Hobbywing and Xray team! See you at the race tracks!
Source: Hobbywing [hobbywing.com]
