February 5, 2008

Jon Hazlewood joins Team Losi

Jon Hazlewood joins Team Losi

Horizon Hobby in the UK are delighted to announced that top off road racer Jon Hazlewood has joined their team to race Losi and Spektrum for 2008. He will be using the new Spektrum DX3R, Losi 8ight and 8ight-T at all events of his choice along with this years Euros and the all important World Championships. Jon brings with him his long standing pit man Jon Dell, years of experience and an amazing dedication to his racing and leaves behind a team who have supported him over the past few years and Jon had this to say.

I am leaving a very hard working team who have given me great support, but I feel it is now time for a change and some new challenges. Losi have proven over the years that no matter what class of racing they participate in they dedicate their resources until they succeed and I want to be a part of their plans. During 2007 I watched how fast the car was and the excellent level of trackside support that Horizon UK were providing. I am delighted that I am now part of the team and incredibly excited at the prospect of driving the cars this year.

Source: Horizon Hobby [horizonhobby.co.uk]


February 4, 2008

Adam Drake to run GRP Engines

Adam Drake to run GRP Engines

Losi have announced that 2007 ROAR National Champion Adam Drake will campaign Mario Rossi Tuned engines from GRP through to 2010. Drake joins Losi factory drivers Mike Truhe and Yannick Aigoin who have previously announced their commitment to running GRP Engines. With the addition of Drake to the GRP lineup, the potential of a Losi/GRP 1-2-3 finish at the IFMAR 1/8th World’s is now stronger than ever. Drake commented on the announcement:

First of all, I want to thank Trinity for their support over the past 9 years, they have been a very important part of my racing success. I’m really excited for this new opportunity to race GRP engines and joining Yannick and Mike to focus the efforts of the Losi/GRP combination toward the 2008 Worlds.

Adam added that his engines will be powered by Losi Nitrotane Performance Engineered Fuel in 2008. Nitrotane fueled numerous wins by Losi drivers in 2007, and Drake is looking forward to racing with the powerful combination of GRP Engines and Nitrotane Fuel starting at the Dirt Nitro Challenge later this month.

Source: Losi [losi.com]


February 3, 2008

Robert Batlle wins Catalunya Rd1

Robert Batlle wins Catalunya Rd1

This weekend saw the first round of the 2008 Catalunyan Championships take place in Santa Perpetua, and saw 65 racers in attendance. After the wet weather on Saturday, Sunday stayed dry but overcast and saw European Champion, and new GRP signing, Robert Batlle take the top spot for the final. In the race, the Hobao driver could take the win, finishing in front of Nanda racer Gerard Roig in 2nd, using the new SIIM engine, and Mugen driver Alex Brujas in 3rd.

Source: Auto RC [auto-rc.net]


January 31, 2008

Ielasi wins on debut for Shepherd

Ielasi wins on debut for Shepherd

We got word from Shepherd Racing that newly signed team driver Daniele Ielasi won last weekend in Lucca, Italy in his first race with the Velox. With the Shepherd team, consisting of Robert Pietsch, Patrick Schäfer and Armin Weihert, in attendance to give support, Daniele quickly became comfortable with the car and could improve his lap times constantly. The race saw 50 drivers in attendance including 2 time European Champion Dario Balestri as well as Marco Vanni and Stefano Puccinelli and after Saturday’s practice session it was clear that the battle for the win would be between Dario and Daniele. After 3 qualifying rounds on Sunday morning, and with drivers battling with fuel consumption, it was Balestri that took the pole position just in front of Ielasi in 2nd. With changes to his muffler prior to the final Daniele immediately jumped into the lead in front of Balestri, Vanni and Puccinelli and up to the first pit stop the Velox racer could increase his lead at the front of the pack. By the middle of the final there was a gap of 8 seconds between the first 2 racers but 6 minutes before the end Dario had to stop with glowplug failure while Marco Vanni also had to retire because of gearbox problems. This left Daniele to cruise home in first, taking his first victory in his first outing with his new team.

Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]


January 31, 2008

Tobias Hepp joins Serpent SDD program

Tobias Hepp joins Serpent’s SDD program

Serpent have announced that young German racer Tobias Hepp has been signed to the Serpent Driver Development program, which aims to assist up and coming racers in their quest to reach the highest levels of the sport. 14-year-old Tobias has been racing for 5 years and has made a big impression in his home country, winning his first major RC championship title in 2004, for the past two seasons has been the German 1:8th scale Junior National Champion. This season will see him race in both the 1:8 and 1:10 200mm German Nationals, while in addition to his National racing the youngster will travel to Austria and Spain for the European 1:8th B and A Championships respectively.

Source: Serpent [serpent.com]


January 30, 2008

2008 Latin Cup – Announcement

2008 Latin Cup -  Announcement

We received a mail announcing the upcoming 2008 Latin Cup that takes place in Puerto Rico on July 18th – 20th. Held at the most complete Sport Complex in the north area, the Barceloneta R/C Speedway, the track is located 45 minutes from the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport and on your way to the track you will find beautiful hotels, restaurants and an excellent view of our beaches and sunsets. Open to 1/8th, 1/10th Sedan and 1/10th Outlaw classes, racers are expected from the United States, Dominican Republic and other countries in Central and South America.

Click more to see the event flyer… content


January 30, 2008

Joern Neumann wins Kyosho Indoor

Joern Neumann wins Kyosho Masters

Serpent have a report from their team driver Joern Neumann who was in action last weekend at the Kyosho International Indoor in Ostrava in the Czech Republic. The event was held in a large ice hockey arena with the surface made up of carpet and a kind of grass, which made tire choice very difficult. Following some tire tests, Joern found the correct balance and managed to win 3 of the 4 qualifiers to take the event TQ. Once through the semis, in which he drove most of the final in 2wd after a broken drive shaft, he was able to pull out a clear lead in the main final, winning by 2 laps from Kyosho driver Daniel Reckward in 2nd and Gerhardt Frank in 3rd.

Source: Serpent [serpent.com] / Image: RC Car Ostrava [rccarostrava.cz]


January 29, 2008

Puerto Rico National Championship Rd1

Puerto Rico National Championship Rd1

The first round of the Puerto Rico Championships was held last weekend in Barceloneta, with the event open to 1/8th scale and 1/10th 200mm. In the 1/8 scale class it was Mugen team driver Andy Báez that took the TQ spot and in the 30 minute final the IDM powered racer took the win by 1 lap in front of Juan C. Rodríguez in 2nd and Fernando Méndez in 3rd. In the Sedan class it was again Andy Báez that took the TQ with his Mugen but in the final finished 2nd after a long battle with Kyosho driver Geovanni Gónzalez. In the end of the 45 minute final the gap between to first and 2nd placed racers was 3 laps with 3rd placed Jesús M. Rivera a further 2 laps back.

Click more to see the final results… content