December 5, 2023

Infinity IF18-3 1:8 Onroad chassis

Creation Model has officially released its latest 1:8 onroad chassis, the IF18-3.  In 2023 the long awaited IFMAR 1:8 Onroad World Championship was held at Infinity International Speedway in Japan where on its official debut 6 out of 10 IF18-3 cars advanced to the final, with team driver Dario Balestri being crowned 2023 IFMAR World Champion (see winning chassis focus here).  The new IF18-3 was designed based on data from Infinity team drivers active all around the world and introduced by them during the 2023 World Championship.  With increased rigidity and a lower centre of gravity, it has outstanding rear traction that significantly exceeds the previous model IF18-2.  Armed with an all new brake system with improved control and drivability the IF18-3 successfully regained the championship title.  It has multiple part revisions from the previous model, allowing for a wide range of settings with minimal changes to each component, making it adaptable to all track conditions.  The IF series fuel tank, which has received high praise all over the world, guarantees a stable fuel supply.  The new clutch extracts as much power as possible even from 16% nitro fuel, which is mainstream in Europe.  The front area has also been improved and the lower suspension has improved crash resistance, now making it possible reproduce track width setup changes more quickly and easily.  Of course, it maintains high compatibility with many existing parts, and the design allows you to continue using a wide variety of optional parts, so you can customise it to your liking.

View more images here


December 5, 2023

FIRC announces FEMCA VP Kee as Race Director

The organisers of the Foshan International Invitational RC Championship, which takes place on December 15-17 at the new GDC Indoor track in China’s central Guangdong Province, has announced FEMCA Vice President Leonard Kee as Race Director and race commentator of the inaugural running of the event.  The race which aims to promote high level racing to local racers, has attracted a number of high profile international entries including former World Champion Ronald Volker from Mugen Seiki, Xpress team driver & 1:12 World Finalist Yugo Nagashima, and Team Yokomo’s Australian National Champion Simon Nicholson.  FEMCA, the governing body of radio-controlled car racing in Asia and Australasia that represents 15 nations, is looking to boost racing in the region following Covid, with Kee’s attendance a big boost for both FEMCA and the event which hopes to become an annual international electric touring car fixture.  On the announcement Kee, who was the Race Announcer for the 1:8 GT World Championship in Australia said, “Hi All, I’m Leonard you can call me Leo.  I’m the Vice President of FEMCA.  Am absolutely thrilled to be heading to one of the premier carpet tracks in Asia for their inaugural race, The 2023 Foshan International Invitational RC Championship as their Race Director as well as race commentator.  One of my tasks for this race is to evaluate the feasibility of the Foshan venue for upcoming regional and world events.  It’s going to be a blast.  I look forward to seeing my friends from the RC world there.”

Source: Foshan International Invitational RC Championship [Facebook]


December 5, 2023

SkyRC B6ACneo Charger

SkyRC has released this smaller than a credit card B6ACneo Charger that sports a sleek design with vibrant colours, and boasts an impressive 200W charging capacity with DC power and 60W with AC.  Surpassing the original B6AC’s 50W AC limit,  the B6ACneo reduces charging time, maximising your time in RC action.  Don’t let its downsized footprint deceive you – this charger packs a punch.  When powered by DC it delivers a remarkable charging power of up to 200W with a maximum current of 10A.  Even when connected to AC power it effortlessly fills up to 60W.  The SkyRC B6ACneo features an XT60 interface as its DC input and Universal 100-240V AC input, ensuring greater flexibility and convenience in charging your RC batteries.

View more images here


December 5, 2023

Offroad talent Bajusz joins Xray Factory team

Xray has announced that up & coming offroad talent Zsolt Bajusz will be part of the Xray Factory team from 2024.  The multiple Hungarian National Champion will race the Slovakian manufacturer’s XB2, XB4, XB8 and XB8E platforms.  Commenting on the news Bajusz said, ‘It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce that I am joining the Xray factory team.  I am very grateful for the opportunity to join the Xray team.  It is a dream come true to join this professional team.  I am looking forward to the races and I will try to do my best both on and off the track.   Thanks to Martin Bayer, Mario Hudy, Juraj Hudy and the whole Xray team for this opportunity.’

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]


December 5, 2023

Triple win for Drake at 19th Annual Toys For Tots Race

This past weekend Mugen/JConcepts driver Adam Drake and his wife Ronda hosted the 19th Annual Toys For Tots Race at The Drake Raceway in Palm Desert, CA.  With 180 entries, the event had a lot of competition and also brought in some great toy donations for kids in need this holiday season.  Qualifying started at 9am that morning and the race program called for two rounds of qualifying to determine each class TQ.  There were 12 classes to compete in and only a driver’s best qualifier would be used to determine who made the main events.  Drake set the TQ in 1:8 Expert Nitro Buggy, 1:8 Open Electric Buggy, and 1:8 Open Nitro Truggy classes, and he would go on to take the win in all three classes but ultimately the biggest winner was the kids’ charity.

Source: Adam Drake [Facebook]


December 4, 2023

Greiner announces retirement from nitro racing

One of the outright fastest nitro onroad drivers of the last decade, 2016 1:10 Onroad World Champion Dominic Greiner has announced his retirement from nitro racing.  In an interview with the German last year ahead of the 1:10 Nitro Onroad World Championship in Thailand, the Capricorn driver highlighted the growing difficulty of trying to remain competitive while also holding down a full time job.  Having made a very emotional 6th World Championship Final appearance at the 1:8 Worlds in Japan which was won by his long time sparring partner Dario Balestri, Greiner made the announcement on social media that after 15-years  in nitro racing he was calling time on it.  A driver who always wore his emotions on his sleeve, his retirement will leave a big void in the nitro onroad racing scene.  Having witnessed first hand the highlight of his World title win in Gubbio which came after a flawless performance in the final, we also had the opportunity to experience his raw emotion of making the final in Japan last month where he hinted at it being his final race.  Red RC would like to thank Dominic for the great memories, emotions and laughs shared together around the world over the years.

Read Greiner’s full post here


December 4, 2023

Edmunds takes 1:8 Buggy South Australian State Title

Team Associated driver Jayden Edmunds claimed the South Australian State Title for 1:8 Nitro Buggy over the weekend.  The 17-year-old took his Adam Drake 3 engined RC8B4 to the TQ at the Southern Districts Model Car Club track after topping three of the five qualifiers as racers experienced rain on and off during Saturday’s qualifying.  Taking the other two rounds, Q2 & 4, Andrew Foord would line up 2nd for the 45-minute final ahead of Damon Davis-Perry, Aaron Dexter and Caleb Noble.  A hotter day on the Sunday for finals, Edmunds was able to gap the field eventually winning by half a lap from Dexter’s TLR with the Mugen Seiki of Zac Foster completing the Nitro Buggy podium.  In eBuggy Edmunds would finish runner-up as Noble took his Tekno to the title over the triple A-Main.  Top Qualifier Jack McMillian would compete the podium.

Source: Speedy RC [speedyrc.com.au]


December 4, 2023

D’Angelo crowned Italian 1:8 GT Nitro Champion

Genius Racing’s Alex D’angelo is the 2023 AMSCI Italian 1:8 GT Nitro National Champion.  Top Qualifier at the 1:8 GT World Championship in Australia in October, he secured the title with a second place finish behind Schepis Model driver Rosario Giaimo at the third & final round of the championship at Miniautodromo Vallelunga RC.  Going into the season finale, a number of drivers remained in contention for the title including Round 2 winner & Raptor driver Loris Luise, Xray’s Natanaele Senesi and Capricorn’s Alessio Mazzeo.  In qualifying it was Mazzeo who took the TQ from Senesi and D’angelo but in the 45-minute final it was Giaimo from p9 on the grid who came through for the race win ahead of D’angelo and Mazzeo, second being enough for the Gimar engine GT8.23 of D’angelo to secure the title.  In 1:8 GTe,  it was also Mazzeo who also took the TQ honours again from Senesi and he duly converted it into the win after taking both A1 and A2 to secure the overall 2023 title for Capricorn.

Image: Alex D’angelo [Facebook]