You may recall that we mentioned Australian racer Ari Bakla yesterday as he dominated the truggy class at the AWJ Nitro Challenge. Well now, thanks to our Aussie partners Rube Dude, you can read a very interesting interview with this multiple National Champion racer and get an insight into the man and the RC import business he runs.
Read the full interview here.
Source: Rube Dude [rubeduderc.com]
Not much information to go on here other than the results and the fact that the race took place last weekend in Thailand and was very well attended with some top drivers present including Japanese National Champion Kenji Osaka. The buggy race was won by Mugen/OS racer Daisuke Endo from Japan with fellow Japanese Mugen racer Yoshio Otsuka in 2nd and Mugen/Ninja ace Osaka in 3rd. In the truggy class it was Yuichi Ajishi who won from pole, having also TQ’d the buggy class but ran into difficulties in that race, Yoshio Otsuka finished in 2nd place ahead of Sin Dick San in 3rd.
Source: RC Mania [teamrcmania.com]
Last weekend saw the first round of the 2007 Spanish 1/8th scale National Championships held at the ARCA track in Madrid. The race effectively belonged to reigning Spanish National Champion Oscar Cabezas, who not only claimed pole position after qualifying, but also set the fastest lap in the heats and set a new track record in the final. On top of that the Serpent driver won the race ahead of Josue Artiles with Carlos Peracho in 3rd, getting the young SDD drivers title defense off to a perfect start.
Source: Serpent [serpent.com]
The news that Matteo Dapporto had joined Xray first broke in mid February but only today has that announcement been made on the company website. Matteo, who is also sponsored by RB, is one of the best racers in Italy and has made multiple visits to the main final at both World and European Championships
I used to race for many RC companies and collaborate with many companies to develop new products and this is what I prefer to do most. I would like to be a part of a great team made up of people that like to help each other to grow constantly and help drivers to get the best performance
that they can.
Source: Xray [teamxray.com]
Kyosho racer Mickaël Pontal has won the first round of the French 1/10th 200mm Nationals held last weekend at the Ampuis circuit, near Lyon. In Qualifying it was Picco powered Kyosho racer BA Arnaldi that took the top qualifying spot with team mate Sebastian Wartelle in 2nd and Xray racer Nicolas Bougnoteau in 3rd. In the final everything started well for Arnaldi who pulled out a strong lead but Mickaël Pontal only making pit stops every 6 minutes managed to catch Arnaldi whos tires were starting to wear. Soon Pontal could take the lead and with it the win, leaving Arnaldi to come home in 2nd with Wartelle in 3rd.
As we mentioned last week, the new EFRA engine regulations were causing some conflicts with whether they should be adopted this year or not, but it was finally decided that for an engine to be legal for racing this year it must conform to the 2006 EFRA rules. This ruling, which calls for a crankshaft with a 7mm inner diameter and with maximum chamfer of 0.5mm, would cause problems for the new GRP made .12 motors, which were only made to the 2007 EFRA regualtions. Despite that ruling there were Ninja engines present at the event, so they must have been able to manufacture a different crankshaft for the motors or found some other solution.
Source: RB Products [rbproducts.com] Image: Kyosho [kyoshofrance.com]
Last weekend saw the Sandy Nitro Model Club host the warm up race for the upcoming BRCA Nationals and a lot of top drivers were present at the event. David Crompton TQ’d the race with his Team Magic M1B while 2nd position went to HoBao racer Graham Alsop with another M1B in 3rd in the hands of Dave Bailey. In the final it was a close race in the beginning until the first pit stops after which David could extend his lead from which he never looked back and took the win by 17 seconds ahead of Jamie Booth driving the Hong Nor in 2nd with 3rd going to 2nd placed qualifier Graham Alsop.
Source: CML [cmldistribution.co.uk]
Our mates down under at RubeDude RC have got a full report on last weekends AWJ Civil Nitro Challenge that took place on the Liverpool track with racers battling for serious prize money, always a great motivator. The racing was spread over 4 classes and in the Buggy class it was Steve Drygalla driving his Novarossi powered Kyosho that took the win and with it the $1000 prize money. Runner up spot went to Joe Porfida in 2nd with OCM racer Steve Haley getting the final step of the podium in 3rd. In the truggy class, CEN racer Ari Balkla absolutely dominated the event with TQ, lap record and the win, and with it he took home the $750 prize money while 2nd spot went to Craig Lewis with Allan Boyer claiming 3rd.
You can read the full race report here.
Source: Rube Dude [rubeduderc.com]
Top German off road racer Patrick Feschtschenko has joined the LRP Nitro team for 2007 and will exclusively use LRP Nitro products in this years racing campaign. A World finalist, Feschtschenko was also chosen by LRP to help develop the range of LRP Nitro products using his extensive knowledge and experience that has seen him win many International events.
Source: LRP [lrp-electronic.de]
