December 2, 2012

Tessmann tops 2nd practice in Argentina

Hot Bodies’ Ty Tessmann started day 2 of the 1:8 Offroad World Championship in Argentina at the top of the time sheets taking his D8’12 around the Buenos Aires track in a 43.274 second lap in the second Free practice with Mugen’s Robert Batlle second fastest with a time of 43.550 and Kyosho’s Jared Tebo third with a best lap of 43.615.  Running Proline’s new Diamond Back tyre, US National Champion Tessmann said his buggy felt really good on the new tyre but added the track which received some overnight repairs to fill ruts which appeared after yesterday’s single practice round had a lot more traction.  Running the tyre for the entire 10 minutes the Canadian said he will use the second of today’s three scheduled runs to back to back test the Diamond Back against the Blockade tyre. In terms of set-up Tessmann will change to a heavier oil in the centre diff.

View our complete event coverage here.


December 1, 2012

Subdued start to 1:8 Offroad Worlds

Day 1 of the 1:8 Offroad World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, can be best described as a rather subdued affair with the timetable consisting of just one 15-minute round of practice. Lacking the air of excitement that is normally associated with the opening day of a Worlds, most drivers treated their single run as a systems check and to learn the track layout which has been reversed since teams attended the Warm-up race held at the end of September. For the first group of drivers to take to the track, HB’s Tyler Vik being one of them, it was nothing more than a cleaning exercise with the dust causing a rapid evacuation of the grandstand situated next to the drivers stand. The heavy dust was due to recent flooding of the track after a nearby river burst its banks and further rain yesterday which led organisers to spread wood shavings on a number sections to help dry the surface as much as possible in time for the 14:00 start time.

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November 29, 2012

Maxi Vogl wins German Open Indoor Masters

Shepherd driver Maxi Vogl won the German Open Indoor Masters the second time in a row in front of his team-mate and 2012 German vice-champion Daniel Sieber. The race took place at the “Faszination Modellbau” fair in Friedrichshafen in the very South of Germany and attracted 35 drivers in the 1/8th scale class. Unfortunately the race was overshadowed by a bad accident during the main final. On Friday the track was open for free practise and both Shepherd drivers had a good pace already. The qualifying was held on Saturday and Maxi and Daniel showed a great performance. At the end it was Maxi taking the TQ less then 0,1sec in front of his fast team-mate Daniel with both drivers being the only one to reach 18 laps in qualifying securing themselves the pole-position in the semi-finals.

Continue reading the report here


November 24, 2012

Daniel Vega wins Madrid Championship 2012

The Tarancon race track and C.A.T.A.R club played host to the fourth race, of five, of the Central Championship Region of Madrid. For this race various drivers from other regions were in attendance including Ignacio Candel, vice-champion of Spain, and some other drivers from Levante such as Marcelino, Daras and Bernabe. Also many drivers from Madrid or Toledo such as Ignacio Gutierrez and Ignacio Candel. The race was very difficult in the morning due to the thick fog, the bottom of the track difficult to see and control the car, doubly difficult in that it is not allowed to practice on Saturday.

Continue reading the report here


November 23, 2012

David Loppini joins KM Racing

KM Racing have announced the signing of young Italian driver David Loppini to their racing team. David showed great speed in qualifying 4th at this year’s European 1/10th 200m Championships in Cassino, as well as a steady string of results on the National circuit over the past few years. He will run alongside former European Champion Dario Balestri as they both compete for results for KM in the Italian and European championships in 2013. David had this to say:

I am proud to be selected as KM driver in the same year in which KM wins the world championship in Bangkok. Running as team mate of Dario will be both a challenge and a growth opportunity. Thanks to Dario, Kenny and Hang for making this dream happen. I will do my best.

Source: KM [km-rc.com]


November 20, 2012

Torsten Müller signs for SMI Motorsport

SMI Motorsport, German importers for Xray, have announced the signing of Torsten Müller to their Racing Team. The reigning German Class 2 Champion, will run the company’s Xray RX8 for the upcoming season at National and International Events. Torsten had the following to say about the deal:

Firstly, thanks a lot to team Shepherd for their support for the last years. Now it’s a new challenge for me and I’m really happy to join the Xray Team Germany and I will do my best for the next seasons.

Source: SMI [smi-motorsport.de]


November 17, 2012

V is for victory, Meen is World Champion

KM Racing’s Meen Vejrak, or as he is more commonly referred to as Meen V, is the 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Champion, the Thai driving becoming the country’s second ever IFMAR World Champion after a stunning performance at the RC Addict track in Bangkok saw him win the rain shortened race from HB’s Atsushi Hara and Capricorns’s Francesco Tironi.  For Top Qualifier Teemu Leino engine issues ended what was looking like a dominant run for the rapid Finn who would eventually crash out 7-minutes before the race ended 56 minutes into the scheduled 1-hour distance.

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November 17, 2012

2012 World final grid complete

The grid for the 1-hour Main that will decide who will be crowned the 5th 1:10 Nitro Touring Car World Champion in Bangkok, Thailand later this evening has been finalised with two drivers progressing from the first of the Semi’s and the other 4 who join the Top 4 direct qualifiers coming from the second Semi. Following a lengthy protest over the results of the 1/4 B final officials made the unusual decision to allow Francesco Tironi, who protested that the timing had missed his second lap, start as an additional 11th car on the grid for the 30-minute encounter.

View our complete event coverage here.