Team Orion have welcomed Chad Phillips as the new US team manager. Chad will support the company’s Electric and Nitro race teams both at the track and with day-to-day responsibilities. Chad has been involved in the RC industry for many years and has a great expertise in electric and nitro racing and he will continue building a successful team not only at international and national but also at regional level.
Source: Team Orion [teamorion.com]
Xray have announced the signing of US off-road frontrunner, Tommy Hinz to their factory team. The Reedy Race runner-up and Summer Indoor Nationals Champion will be running Xray’s full line of 1/10th and 1/8th off-road kits at all major national and international events and he has the following to say:
I am very excited to announce that I will be running for Xray. The quality of the products is unmatched and the cars are so precise and nice to drive. Definitely can’t wait to get these cars all dialed in at the track. Thanks to Xray for the opportunity to run for such awesome company.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
The opening round of the Bolivian 1/8th Off-road Nationals was held in La Paz this past weekend. Due to the location of the track, high above sea level, engine tuning was very difficult for the nitro drivers as were the weather conditions with rain making for a muddy track at times. In the end it was Carlos Guerra who made the best out of the conditions to bring home the win in the Nitro Buggy class from Bryan Bohrt 2nd and Jorge Zamora 3rd, making it an all JQ Racing top 3. Over in E-Buggy it was again Carlos Guerra with the win as Jorge Zamora and Wilson Cuellar rounded out the top 3 results for another JQ Racing 1-2-3 finish.
Source: JQ Racing [jqracing.com]
With snow covering most of the UK the Herts Nitro venue was lucky and only received a light dust so the team were able to get the track cleared and ready to race round 12 of this season’s Winter Series. Only 26 diehard racers braved the sub-zero temperatures and all had an enjoyable but cold day. Qualifying was dominated by Simon Reeves with Dylan Saunders not far behind. With only two finals the finals would be a pit lane start as the straight was the only part of the track which was soft and in the end it was Simon Reeves with the A-main win from Dylan Saunders 2nd and Steve Johnson 3rd. The opening round of the HNMC Summer Series will be held on the 1st of April.
Thanks to Jim Thompson for the report.
Ryan Lutz has taken an expected win in the 1/8th nitro buggy class in Xiamen China, but he didn’t have it all his own way. Looking at the results one would think the race was a procession but at various stages of the 1 hour main there was plenty of excitement at the front of the field. Yusuke Suguira looked to have the faster car throughout the race, especially in the early part, but too many mistakes meant he couldn’t capitalise, while in their own league, behind the leading pair Kaja Novotny took home 3rd after a long and exciting battle with Wataru Takashiro who ended up just off the podium in 4th.
Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.
The final round of the North West Nitro Winter series was held recently and it was Chris Simkiss who would walk away with the overall title in the Nitro Truggy class. Andy Beaumont would end the series on the runner-up spot from Mick Fallows who rounded out the top 3.
Source: Answer RC [answer-rc.com]
Modelix Racing from Spain have announced the signing of Germany’s off-road frontrunners Burak and Berkan Kilic to their team. The two will be using Nitrolux fuel and Ultimate Racing accessories and in addition they will be supported by German Modelix Racing distributor JSB Modellsport.
Source: Modelix Racing [modelixracing.com]
Jesse Davis is the new FEMCA 1:8 Onroad Champion, the popular Australian leading an all Infinity podium at the Asian Championships that was this year hosted by the Tom Racing Circuit in Hong Kong. Focusing their efforts on 1:8 for the event, the World Champion manufacturer got the weekend off to a strong start with Naoto Matsukura taking his IF18 to the fastest time in the opening qualifier. The Japanese star went on to rule proceedings taking 4 of the 5 rounds of qualifying with team-mate Davis the only other driver to post a TQ run. With Matsukura Top Qualifier, Davis joined him as a direct qualifier for the final by winning Super Pole. Taking victory in his Semi Final, Takaaki Shimo joined them for what was to prove a tough 45-minute final. With multiple lead changes between the Infinity trio, at the end it was Davis who came out on top 3.5-seconds in front of Shimo. Having to make a late tyre stop while holding the lead, Matsukura completed the podium a further 6-seconds back.
Source: Creation Model [creationmodel.net]
