July 24, 2023

Savoya takes win at 20th Japanese Kyosho Masters

Multiple European 1:8 Buggy Champion Reno Savoya travelled to Japan as Kyosho celebrated the 20th running of the Japanese Kyosho Masters over the weekend where the French driver took the TQ and win.  Held at the Chetuya Circuit in Sapporo, the capital of the mountainous northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, the signature event of the iconic Japanese manufacturer attracted 50 drivers including Inferno chassis designer and former World Champion Yuichi Kanai.  In qualifying, Savoya topped 3 of the 4 qualifiers to secure the TQ from Itaru Kawamoto who was fastest in Q2.  In the final Savoya would win by half a lap from Yuto Yokomachi who lined up 5th on the starting grid with Kanai completing the podium.

Image: Kyosho [kyosho.com]


July 24, 2023

T-Works 1:8 & 1:10 carry bags

Adding to its range of storage/travel solutions, T-works has added a range of carry bags for 1:8 Buggy, 1:8 Truggy, 1:10 Buggy and 1:10 Touring Car.  Made from water & tear resistant material, the bags feature dual direction zippers, 2.6cm widened velo straps for securing car in bag, and have a luggage handle slot to allow hands free carrying.  The four sizes measure 54x44x16cm for Truggy use, 48x34x12cm for 1:8 Buggy, 37x26x8cm for 1:10 Buggy and 46x25x12cm for 1:10 Touring Car.

View more images here


July 24, 2023

Maifield & Tessmann win ROAR 1:8 Electric Offroad National titles

Ryan Maifield and Ty Tessmann took the two main titles at the 2023 ROAR 1:8 Electric Offroad Nationals held at CRC Raceway in New York state over the weekend.  In qualifying it was Xray’s Ty Tessmann who lead the way, the Canadian securing the TQ in both eBuggy and eTruggy.  In eTruggy, Tessmann was able to convert that TQ into the championship title with wins over the TLR of second place qualifier Tater Sontag in the opening two A-Mains.  In A3, having qualified 5th, Maifield would take the win to complete the podium line-up.  In the eBuggy finals, while Tessmann won A1, third place qualifier Maifield was able to get his Tekno buggy passed his rival to win second & final encounters.  This secured him his second National title with Tekno having become Nitro Truggy National Champion last month at AMain Hobbies’ Silver Dollar RC Raceway in California.  A difficult race for second place qualifier Joe Bornhorst, who ended up P7, Kyosho’s Ryan Lutz took the final podium placing from 5th on the grid.

View Truggy podium here


July 24, 2023

Surpass Hobby GECKO Mini 18 brushless power system

Surpass Hobby has released the GECKO Mini 18 brushless power system which it has developed specially for the TRX-4M 1:18 rock crawler from Traxxas.  Equipped with intelligent closed-loop control, it is especially suitable for low-speed climbing.  Performance inertia brush and sensory force give better linearity and easy control and maintain a fixed motor signal under different loads and give excellent start-up, acceleration and linear output.  The built-in sensor brushless motor of GECKO Mini 18 has strong current resistance and excellent CNC enclosure.  The compatible ESC has a variety of protection functions, including: LIPO or NIMH battery power-off protection/ESC overheat protection/motor overheat protection/throttle signal loss protection/motor stall protection, built-in switch mode BEC 5V/500mA, compatible with high wiring and high voltage relays.  All these and can be programmed using the Surpass Program card .

View spec & more images here


July 22, 2023

Orlowski regains European Champion title in 4WD Buggy

Eight years after winning his first European Championship title in the UK, Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski has regained the title with victory at the 4WD Buggy Euros in the Netherlands today.  Having just missed out on his first 2WD title earlier in the week to the reigning 4WD Champion Marcus Kaerup,  Orlowski would be the Top Qualifier for 4WD.  Topping 2 of the five rounds at the challenge RACO200o astro track, he would start ahead of Team Associated’s Kaerup, fastest in Q1, Sworkz pairing Jöern Neumann, fastest in Q4, & Micha Widmaier with team-mate Daniel Kobbevik fifth ahead of Xray’s Bruno Coelho.  In the opening final Orlowski produced a dominant performance to win ahead of the Yokomo of Burak Kilic who had a strong run to come through from P7.  In A2, Orlowski came under a bit more pressure for the opening 2-minutes from 2WD Top Qualifier Neumann but a few moments from the German allowed the Polish driver to cruise to the win and the title.  Winning A3 from Kilic, Nuemann would secure the runner-up spot with Kilic completing the podium.

Image: Schumacher [racing-cars.com]


July 21, 2023

Orlowski holds provisional TQ at 4WD European C/Ship

Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski holds a very provisional overnight TQ at the EFRA 1:10 4WD Offroad European Championship after a challenging day for race organisers in the Netherlands.  Fresh from his 2WD title win on Wednesday at the RACO2000 track, it was Team Associated’s Marcus Kaerup who opened 4WD qualifying with a TQ run over 2WD Vice-Champion Orlowski.  With rain arriving for the top heats of Round 2,  Orlwoski was fastest of the top heat from 2WD Top Qualifier Jöern Neumann, but it would be Sylvain Gallo Selva from heat 4 of 11 that got the fastest time.  With the rain delaying Q3, when action resumed it was Orlowski with the TQ run, this time from Micha Widmaier.  With four of the five rounds of qualifying originally on today’s schedule, Q4 would be hit by a timing software issue.  With a team-managers meeting called, after heated discussions, it was decided that attempts to re-run the penultimate round would take place tomorrow.   With three rounds complete, meaning two would count, it puts Orlowski holding the overnight TQ.

Image: Michal Orlowski [Facebook]


July 20, 2023

STRC MT12 Solid Axle Monster Truck Alu Option Parts

ST Racing Concepts has released a number of CNC machined aluminium option parts for Team Associated’s MT12 Monster Truck to beef up the basher while adding some great looks to the truck.  Completely bulletproof the rear axle with the CNC machined aluminium lock-outs with mounts for the lower links and lower shock mounts.  Add the CNC Machined aluminium diff cover and you have a drivetrain that is ready for any bashing or car crushing.  The CNC Machined aluminium diff cover also works for the front axle, and together with the CNC aluminium steering knuckles it helps align the universal driveshaft to the centre diff better by eliminating the flex, adding more durability for bashing and looks great as well.  All parts are available in Black, Gun Metal, Blue or Red anodising.

View parts here


July 20, 2023

Team Associated Reflex 14B Ongaro RTR

For all the young aspiring RC World Champions out there Team Associated has released a commemorative Davide Ongaro 1:14 scale Reflex 14B Ongaro 4WD Ready to Run electric buggy.   Inspired by the 2-time I.F.M.A.R. World Champion’s paint scheme,  the buggy features a Reedy Power brushless speed control and motor, high-torque digital steering servo, and 2.4GHz radio system.  Designed with performance in mind, the adjustability offered by the turnbuckles, caster blocks and rear hubs make the Reflex 14B Ongaro ready for any terrain you can throw at it.  Additional features include three sealed differentials, aluminium steering rack, and lightweight aluminium centre driveshaft.

View more images here