The Taiwanese city of Tainan hosted an 1/8th GT Nitro race this past weekend. When the dust had settled after the A-main event it was Lam Cheung Tat with the overall win from Hisang on the runner-up spot. Lin Zhifeng came in 3rd overall to round out the podium result.
Source: Hong Nor [hongnor-racing.com]
Yokomo have introduced new brass balance weights for the BD10 touring car. First up is an in-line brass weight that is installed between the motor mount and the battery. It weighs in at 20g and allows to up the overall weight of the chassis without sacrificing weight balance. The weight is mounted using double sided tape which allows for swift and easy attachment and removal. Also new is a 6g motor balance weight. It fits right into the mirrored pocket opposite the motor and it allows to optimise the left/right balance when running lightweight or low-profile battery packs. A special shape ensures the natural chassis flex is not disturbed.
View the other new brass weight here
This past weekend at Apex RC in middle Tennessee racers came out for the first time in months to return to the great hobby we enjoy. The racers came from Ohio, Georgia, and Kentucky to join in the event. The track staff and owners put a plan in place to make sure everyone was safe and respected amid the C-19 issues. The track was open for a limited time on Saturday for setup, cleaning, and a little practice. As Sunday rolled around the track opened earlier than usual to get guys a chance to shake the cobwebs. Nathan Flores positioned himself in the TQ spot in VTA making improvements to reset his own TQ. And after 3 rounds he was on the pole for the 8-minute main. He would go on to take the victory and in one of the nicest moves to maintain his lead by driving between two cars of lap traffic. Jeff Mobely came in 2nd some 1.1 seconds behind as Brett McGee finished in 3rd overall, already a lap down.
Continue reading the report here
Coming soon from Kyosho is their new 1/27th scale Mini-Z RWD Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ReadySet. With just eight AAA-size batteries, the Mini-Z Racer allows anyone to enjoy the beautiful style and advanced performance of RC cars. First launched in 2013, Kyosho has renewed the Mini-Z Racer Sports MR-03 concept to be even more user-friendly and appealing to more drivers with the Mini-Z RWD series. Widely popular body styles in highly detailed body sets create the incredibly realistic model lineup. Including the latest Syncro KT-531P transmitter with steering trim, throttle trim, dual rate, LED control function, the sponge grip of the steering wheel provides comfortable fit for precision control feel. The set also includes a car body finished to display-model standard that matches style with the performance, reliability and durability of the MR-03 chassis. The new control program on the newly designed circuit board realises linear handling characteristics and can be further enhanced for even easier control by installing an optional gyro unit.
View a list of the key features and more images here
Japanese news website RC-Monkey has announced the VRC Japan Tour 2020 series. With the world-wide cancellation of race events due to the current Corona virus pandemic, the RC racing simulator VRC Pro has gained lots of interest recently and RC-Monkey has jumped onto this train in order to offer racers a bit of racing action during these dull times. Venues for the RC-Monkey VRC Japan Tour 2020 will include iconic Japanese tracks such as the Tamiya Kakegawa Circuit, the Kyosho Circuit, Hokusei Circuit, Boss Speed, K-tune Racing Speedway, Central Racing Park, and the SPL Speedway. Full details will be announced soon including race dates and classes. Until then interested racers can find more information here.
With the current World-wide Corona virus pandemic still causing a lot of havoc, the EFRA has announced the cancellation of five European Championships scheduled for this year. This means the 1/10th 200mm, Large Scale On-road, Large Scale Off-road, 1/8th Nitro Off-road, and 1/8th IC Track Euros will all be moved to next year, with the EFRA, the national federations and organisers trying to keep the same venues as planned for this season. Full details and updates can be found here.
Source: EFRA [efra.ws]
The IFMAR has announced that with an unanimous decision all four blocks and the IFMAR committee have decided to postpone the three IFMAR World Championship events planned for 2020. This means the Electric 1/10th ISTC Worlds in Heemstede, Netherlands, the 1/8th IC Off-Road Worlds in CiaNorte, Brasil and the 1/10th IC Track Touring Car Worlds in Brisbane, Australia are postponed to an alternative date, either 2021 or perhaps later. The first plan was to run those events in the beginning of 2021, making it a very busy calendar with the other already planned events. However, some alternative proposals are being studied now and IFMAR will come back to the racers later this year on how the IFMAR calendar will look like for 2021 and beyond. Additionally the IFMAR has the following to say about the decision:
This will be a disappointment for all of you, organizers, drivers and industry. For many of you, RC racing is the highlight of the week. However, this COVID-19 is not so easy to bring down and to avoid last minute cancellations and even more great disappointments we bring you this message now. Apart from the health issue there is also the travel ban that is in place for a big number of countries. We also need to consider this and travel possibilities needs to be back before we can start racing IFMAR WC events again.
The IFMAR board of Directors
Source: IFMAR [ifmar.org]
The Arizona State Championships were hosted by the Arizona Scale Racers in Mesa, Arizona last weekend. The Touring Modified class saw Gabe Harvell taking the overall TQ from Thomas Varns in 2nd and Johnathan Lee in 3rd. With wins in A1 and A3 Gabe would also seal the overall title as Thomas and Johnathan battled it out for the overall runner-up spot. Ultimately and with 11-3-2 finishes it was Thomas who would hold the upper hand after the tie-breaker from Johnathan who had to settle for 3rd overall with 4-1-7 finishes.
Source: Muchmore [muchmoreracing.net]
