October 1, 2023

Salemi wins ENS Italy, Gruber takes title

Capricorn driver Mirko Salemi has won the season finale of the Euro Nitro Series where team-mate Toni Gruber was crowned the new 1:8 Champion.  Racing at the Leno track in Italy, the Italian claimed his first ever win of the series with victory over team-mate & defending Champion Dominic Greiner with just 8-seconds separating them at the end of the 45-minute final.  Completing the podium at the third round would be Serpent driver Andrea Catanzani who lined-up 6th on the starting grid.  Securing the overall TQ from Dominic Greiner, Mugen Seiki’s Simon Kurzbuch lead early on before hitting problems and would eventually retire at the 30-minute mark. Taking over the lead from Kurzbuch, ENS Germany winner Greiner enjoyed a long stint at the front before 4th place qualifier Salemi moved to the front in closing stages of the race which he described afterwards as ’45-minutes of racing at the limit’.  Despite retiring from the final after 17-minutes, ENS Netherlands winner Toni Gruber would clinch the overall ENS title by a single point from Greiner with Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp completing the Top 3.  In 1:10, Top Qualifier Kyle Branson took his Xray to the win by the narrowest of margins over new Champion Melvin Diekann who made it title double for Capricorn RC.  The 1:10 podium in Leno was completed by France’s Quentin Leroux.

View Overall Championship podiums here


October 1, 2023

Iris ONE.05 FWD Competition Touring Car

German 1:10 Electric Touring Car manufacturer Iris has released details of its ONE.05 FWD which is based on the ONE.05 Touring Car, the second generation competition car kit designed and developed entirely by German company Ruddog.  It features a forward mounted motor and battery for optimised weight balance and performance. The central single belt drive has a machined aluminium pulley and is highly efficient for the low power 17.5T and 21.5T motors. It also has FWD-specific steering geometry to meet the needs of the FWD class, while still sharing the majority of components with the Iris ONE.05 touring car for easy and simple parts management. It now has an updated and optimised shock linkage and a carbon fibre rocker arm that reduces roll when cornering. New chassis locating pins on the bulkheads, motor mount and damper cases not only improve durability, but have also allowed us to redesign these parts and make them lighter, saving over 25g in total.  Many unique details, such as an optional direct mount aluminium fan, have been incorporated into the design of the Iris ONE.05 to give you an edge over the competition.

VIew features & more images here


September 30, 2023

Kurzbuch & Branson Top Qualifiers at ENS Italy

Mugen’s Simon Kurzbuch and Xray’s Kyle Branson are the Top Qualifiers at season finale of the Euro Nitro Series in Italy.  Racing at Pista di Leno in the north of the country, in 1:8 it was former World Champion Kurzbuch, who after problems in Q1, took control topping the next three rounds of qualifying to secure pole for tomorrow’s final.  The multiple ENS Champion’s 20th TQ of the series, behind him it will be Capricorn’s Dominic Greiner, having topped Q1, who starts P2 with the Infinity of Francesco Tironi lining up third.  Winner of the previous round in the Netherlands and the current points standings leader, Toni Gruber will start the final a lowly P9.  Making it a TQ double for engine brand Ielasi Tuned, Branson completed a clean sweep of 1:10 qualifying going fastest in all four rounds.  Behind the British driver, ENS Germany and ENS Netherlands winner Melvin Diekmann qualifies second ahead of Infinity’s Milan Holthuis.

Image: Ielasi Tuned [Facebook]


September 29, 2023

Xray X4 ’24

Xray has just presented its latest 1:10 Electric Touring Car, the X4’24.  With factory drivers Bruno Coelho and Alexander Hagberg officially debuting the new car at the Monaco RC Race Of Champions at Luca in Italy this weekend, the kit features new suspension arms with relocated shock positions improve lower arm flex and reduce twist under load.  Inner shock locations improve weight distribution with the shocks closer to the vehicle midline.  Lower arms use under arm anti-roll bar mounting and reduce shock height by 4.5mm for ultra-low CG while the upper arms are shaped for clearance around the new shock position while maintaining proper suspension geometry and rigidity.  The front and rear shock holders use shims to adjust shock positions in finer increments with 3 different shock holder mounting options provide chassis flex alternatives to tune responsiveness and grip while active or fixed rear shock holder configurations provide two dampening alternatives in one mount.  A simplified shock absorber installation uses a fixed set screw to secure the threaded shock mount stud and prevent movement in the mount during maintenance.  The car gets front steering plates with improved Ackermann positions integrate with the new arms and shock positions.  Rear ARS plates move the link forward for improved rotation.  An improved ECS drive shaft case uses a C-clip to secure a new aluminium sleeve that captures the coupler pins without the use of set screws for improved reliability and easy assembly.  A narrower chassis design reduces cornering drag, while additional material in the central motor area improves durability and reduces chassis fatigue.  Updated chassis layout matches the new lower arms, shock holders and motor mount attachment points, while also moving the battery holder mounting points closer to the centreline to reduce chassis width 3mm centering pins and an additional forward motor mount attachment point improve durability and expand flex adjustments to provide improved stability on high grip black carpet tracks.  Additional motor mount clearance for ESC wiring allows cleaner electronics installation.  Bulkhead anti-roll bar locations are moved lower, along with a new ARS link position on the rear bulkheads, to match the improved suspension geometry.  Rear graphite body post holder improves durability and stability, and offers 8 adjustment steps for even more precise horizontal body mount positioning.

View the full X4’24 presentation here


September 29, 2023

Axon 351mm Precision Drive Belt

New from Japanese electric touring car chassis manufacturer Axon is this 351mm Precision Drive Belt.  Not only for use on their own TC10 but also across a variety of other car brands due to the belts standard 1:10 Electric Touring Car belt size, it is designed to reduce drive friction while improving durability.

Source: Axon [team-axon.com]


September 28, 2023

Sanwa RX-49T FH5 receiver

Coming new from Sanwa next month is the release of the RX-49T receiver which is a budget friendly version of the Japanese company’s RX-493i FH5 model.  The waterproof unit is compatible with the M17, MT-5, and MT-R and has Ultra Response Mode (SUR) and Extreme Response Mode (SXR).  Using ‘Plug in Bind, the smallest and lightest 2.4 GHz FHSS5 Spread Spectrum System 4ch receiver in the class is compatible with Telemetry however without RPM sensor and Temperature sensor connectivity.  Measuring RPM and temperature is only possible when combined with SUPER VORTEX series while Indicator function with MT-5 is also not compatible.  Due to go on sale in Japan in October it should reach the rest of the world by January 2024.

Source: Sanwa [sanwa-denshi.com]


September 28, 2023

Blitz TCN-S 1:10 Touring Car Body

Blitz has released a new 1:10 Touring Car body shell, the TCN-S.  Based on the Blitz TCN, the TCN-S future an overall smaller size and improved details for better steering response, corner speed and reduced overall down force.  The first TCN was designed to work on the low traction track or car with modified power with the new TCN-S focused on improving the handling on the high traction tracks with open boost power and stock 13.5T class.  Compared to the TCN, the TCN-S has better low speed steering and corner speed with the high speed stability on par with the TCN.  The TCN-S standard is made from 0.7mm high quality clear polycarbonate with the light weight version 0.5mm.  Each body comes with pre cut window mask, decal and wing screws.

BView more images here


September 28, 2023

Exotek Vader Pro Drag Kit

In the latest release from US Drag Racing specialists Exotek Racing, the American manufacturer unveiled its all new Vader Pro kit.  Designed from the ground up for maximum street racing performance with all pro level components for lightness, durability, ease of use and precision assembly.  Compatible with standard Street Eliminator bodies, wheels and tires, the kit features all premium design elements and components at a more reasonable kit price.  Performance features includes a 4mm thick high quality carbon fibre main chassis and 3mm carbon fibre suspension arms and shock towers.

View features list & more images here