New from Maker.rc is their Lightweight metric 4 piece hex set with 3D tool holder. This 4-piece set includes 1.5/2/2.5/3 X 120mm tools and the high-speed steel material provides superior strength and durability, while the black body and red tail cap give the wrench an eye-catching appearance. The included 3D tool rack is perfect for organising and storing wrenches in a safe and secure location.
Dakotah Phend heads seeding at the 4WD Offroad World Championship at the end of the opening day of action in Arizona. The TLR driver’s opening time remaining the quickest as 1:8 Buggy World Champion David Ongaro set the pace in the second seeding to move up to P2 with one more seeding round in the morning. Despite improving on his second fastest time set in the opening round, Broc Champlin dropped to P3 while Dustin Evans enjoyed a good run to jump up to fourth. Another to make a big improvement was Joern Neumann whose Sworkz means four different manufacturers in the current Top 5 seeding. For defending Champion Bruno Coelho it was a tough first day at Hobby Action with the Xray driver currently set to line up in the second fastest heat for qualifying and in need a good final practice in the morning.
With IFMAR’s original & longest running World Championship taking place later this year in Japan, photos shared by Juraj Hudy of one of his early 1:8 Onroad creations grabbed our attention. Being raced at the recent veteran’s race at the Czech Nationals, the handmade Hudy Special 4WD car is from 1985, the year Rody Roem was crowned World Champion in Japan. With our own introduction to RC racing being through the category in the late 80s, it is interesting to see how chassis design has evolved over the last four decades when compared to the latest cars. Having had the pleasure of getting into an in-depth conversation with Juraj about all things engineering and what goes into the production of a chassis kit while waiting in airport lounge in Buenos Aires for our return flight from covering the 2012 1:8 Offroad World Championships, one year later we got to visit the lock up that was Juraj’s very first workshop. There he shared his story of the journey to the impressive high tech factory of Hudy & Xray and Hudy Racing Arena that is now just a few hundred metres away. Red RC will be travelling to Infinity International RC Speedway in Japan at the end of October as part of our 2023 Worlds coverage to tell the story of how the 23rd 1:8 Onroad World Championships unfolds.
View more Hudy Special 4WD images here
Smart Workshop has released a new version of their Smart Starter intend for 1:8 GT use. The extended front tips are capable of accommodating GT models with a higher body shell height. Like the original glow plug starter, it is a high efficiency high frequency synchronous step down DC/DC regulator capable of delivering up to 6A output current. It integrates main switch and synchronous switch with very low RDS (on) to minimise the conduction loss, Internal Soft-start Limits the Inrush Current. It uses a replaceable 3.7V 1800mAh Lithium Iron Rechargeable Battery (Size 18500) with JST connector with build in protection board to prevent over charge and discharge. One touch button to show five levels of the battery capacity. Red and Green indictor to show the charging progress. Changeable Inner hexagon contactor use direct plug-in design without locking, user can insert or remove fast and smoothly during operating. In order to reduce the phenomenon of flashover and oxidation, Inner spring power contactor come with gold plated and both contactors make by 100% copper to minimise internal resistance.
In a major signing for Chinese radio brand Flysky, they have announced Marc Rheinard will officially represent the company and race with their Noble Pro transmitter and receiver. The multiple World Champion made his race debut with his new radio over the weekend securing the TQ at the opening round of the ETS but unfortunately the Awesomatix driver would have issues in the finals including a broken rear belt in A2. Commenting on the announcement Marc said, ‘A big thank you to the Flysky team for taking me on board. I tried the Noble Pro a couple of weeks ago for the first time and I loved it from the first moment. The feeling and handling of the radio is perfect and the menu is like on a smartphone, super easy to use’.
Source: Flysky [flysky-cn.com]
Italian based Senesi Motorsport, owned by top Italian 1:8 GT racer Natanaele Sensei, has released two new products specially designed for 1:8 GT bodies. The GT8 Rear and Side Ant-Tuck are 3D printed stiffeners joined with a thin carbon rod that allows you to stiffen the side and the rear of all 1:8 GT bodies. In fact, when using 0.7mm bodies the car is way more nimble and agile but at the same time the body is very flimsy. For this reason Sensei Motorsport decoded to offer these packs of stiffness so that you can still have all the benefits of a light body but with the rigidity of a thicker one.
Source: Senesi Motorport [senesimotorsport.com]
Brandon Clements took the win at the West Coast Onroad Nationals over the weekend, the event the first major race to be hosted by Finishline RC Raceway. The impressive facility in Bakersfield, CA, which is a joint venture between Track Time Hobbies and Finishline Signs, attracted almost 200 entries with the grids set over 4 rounds of qualifying, with 2 to count. In Modified Touring Car, it was Clements who set the pace taking the first three rounds to secure the overall TQ with 1Up Racing’s Randy Caster hitting the top of the time sheets in the final qualifier for second on the grid in the triple A-Main ahead of David Mayhew, Lex Tyler and Aaron Lewis. From the front Clements was untouchable winning A1 from Jacob Cruz before wrapping things up with victory in A2 over Lewis. Having opened with a P5 and suffered a DNF in A2, Caster would win A3 but overall it was Lewis and Cruz who joined Clements on the podium.
Image: 1up Racing [Facebook]
Alexander Hagberg is the Top Qualifier at the 2023 EFRA 1:12 European Championship. The Xray driver, who is chasing his 8th European title in the Modified class, secured top spot for the triple finals by topping 3 of the 6 rounds of qualifying in Eastbourne, England. With three drivers going into the final round vying for pole position, the former World Champion took the deciding round with his Hobbywing powered X12 from reigning Champion Michal Orlowski and current World Champion Marc Rheinard. Overall having TQ’d Round 1 & 5, Schumacher’s Ollie Payne will start second followed by team-mate Orlowski with the Awesomatix of Rheinard lining up in P4. In the Stock class, Orlowski will defend his title from the TQ having topped the opening four qualifiers with fastest times in the final two rounds securing Payne 2nd with Louis Parker making it an all Eclipse 5 top 3. Awesomatix’s Mark Stiles will start fourth.
Image: Xray [Facebook]
