October 1, 2023

Ongaro does double at Buggyland X

Davide Ongaro claimed the buggy double at Buggyland X in Madrid, Spain, by steering his Team Associated buggies to both the 1:8 Nitro and 1:8 eBuggy titles at the tenth edition of the international race.  The World Champion’s first win of the weekend came when he would win the eBuggy title ahead of the Mugen Seiki of Berkan Kilic with Sworkz Elliot Boots completing the podium.  Securing the TQ for the triple finals, defending Champion Juan Carlos Canas would win A1 only to retire from A2 and dropping to P8 by the end of third 10-minute encounter ended up 4th overall.  Also qualifying P2 for the 1-hour Nitro Buggy Main, this time behind Top Qualifier Berkan Kilic, Ongaro would come out on top again after a great battle that saw a very fast Boots take the lead before having issues at the 2/3rd distance mark.  The British driver’s team-mate Canas also lead the way for a time but in the end Ongaro completed the Buggyland double by 6.2-seconds from the Spaniard with Burak Kilic, coming from P9 on the grid, completing the podium on the same lap as the two ahead of him.  Making his WIRC debut at the event, Marco Baruffolo would finish fourth on the same lap as TQ man Berkan Kilic in fifth while Boots eventually took the finish in p9.

Image – Davide Ongaro [Facebook]


October 1, 2023

Iris ONE.05 Competition Touring Car

In addition to unveiling its first FWD 1:10 Electric Touring Car, Iris has simultaneously released the ONE.05 4WD Touring Car on which the front wheel drive is based.  The ONE.05 touring car is the second generation competition car kit that has been designed and developed entirely by Ruddog.  Based on feedback from customers and team drivers, the German manufacturer has improved several areas of the original Iris ONE.  While the ONE.05 is still based on the same concept as the ONE and uses most of the same drivetrain and plastic parts, it features several improvements to make the car faster and more durable.  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.  It still features an ultra-narrow bulkhead design and the efficient three-belt design for perfect weight balance and less belt tension compared to a two-belt design.  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


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

Willspeed RF3 Full Carbon Edition

With the carpet season return upon us, Willspeed has announced that its popular RF3 conversion kit is now available in a ‘Full Carbon Kit’ edition which includes many of their popular carbon option parts.  Offered as a conversion kit for the Team Associated B6.4 and World Championship winning TLR 22 5.0 2WD buggies, the carbon edition contains the following replacement item – 1x Carbon Fibre Shock Tower Uprights (pair)  with 1x Carbon Fibre ‘Take 3’ Shock Tower Uprights (pair), 1x Chassis Skid Plate (Polycarbonate) with 1x Chassis Skid Plate (Carbon).  Additionally it includes a pair of Carbon Side Rail Pair and a Carbon Radio Tray. Having just restocked the standard RF3 kit, the British company has announced that new Bi-Material tower will now be standard in all kits.

View complete ‘Full Carbon Kit’ here


September 30, 2023

Berkan Kilic secures Nitro TQ at Buggyland X

Mugen Seiki driver Berkan Kilic is the 1:8 Nitro Buggy Top Qualifier at Buggyland X in Madrid, Spain.  The German driver secured the top spot in qualifier ahead of World Champion Davide Ongaro and newly crowned European Champion Juan Carlos Canas.  Qualifying for the 10th edition of Buggyland started with Sworkz driver & defending Champion Canas taking the first round from Ongaro’s Team Associated before Kilic went top in Q2 ahead of new WIRC signing Marco Baruffolo.  The third round saw Ongaro post a TQ run ahead of Kilic and Canas but almost 4-seconds slower than Kilic’s best, it was the Mugen driver who claimed the overall TQ on tie break.

Image: Berkan Kilic [Facebook]


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