June 28, 2010

Matsukura tops opening qualifier

Matsukura tops opening qualifier

Defending World Champion Naoto Matsukura has topped the opening round of qualifying for the 2010 IFMAR 1:12 World Championship.  The Japanese star set the pace with a 37 lap run in 8:06.802 which was almost 4 seconds up on his closest rival Ronald Volker.  The only other driver to record 37 laps for the first of six qualifiers was Dutch driver Jilles Groskamp.

View our full event coverage here.


June 28, 2010

Additive switch transforms 1:12 Worlds

Additive switch transforms 1:12 Worlds

Day 2 of the IFMAR 1:12 World Championship at Burgdorf, Germany, has a new air of excitement after it was decided this morning to allow a second tyre additive to be used.  Yesterday the cars didn’t look good on track and drivers complained of a complete lack of traction. Despite a full day of running on the CRC carpet no black line appeared raising concerns about the batch of controlled additive provided by the race organisers.  Following a team managers meeting IFMAR made the decision to allow the use of a second additive and immediately the results could be seen with a black line appearing after just two groups of drivers completed 4 minutes each on the track.

View our full event coverage here.


June 27, 2010

Perfect start for World Champion Matsukura

Perfect start for World Champion Matsukura

Defending 1:12 World Champion Naoto Matsukura has ended the opening day of the 2010 IFMAR World Championships here in Burgdorf in the perfect position by putting his new Yokomo at the top of the time sheets ahead of Touring Car World Champion Marc Rheinard.  Both drivers really upped the pace in the final round of controlled practice recording 3 consecutive laps in 40 seconds.  Having set the pace in the opening controlled practice Marc Fischer failed to improve on his time but made three different cars in the Top 3.

View our full event coverage here.


June 27, 2010

Electric Worlds gets underway in Germany

Electric Worlds gets underway in German

Two years of waiting to lay claim to the greatest crown in the sport are over for the World’s top electric drivers with the 2010 IFMAR Electric Track World Championship having just got underway here in Burgdorf, Germany.  Kicking off the event is the 15th running of the 1:12 World Championship with 8 of 10 Finalists from Thailand including reigning Champion Naoto Matsukura present.  The now 16-year-old Japanese protege of r/c legend Masami Hirosaka, is very relaxed despite having the huge weight of defending his title on his shoulders and this has been further increased by the fact he is debuting Yokomo’s first competition 1:12 chassis.

View our full event coverage here.


June 26, 2010

Motonica 1/8 scale on road tires

Motonica 1/8 scale on road tires

Motonica have announced a new dedicated line of 1/8 scale on road tires. After a year of research on the material of the rims and having finally obtained the right lightness and stiffness, they are ready to release a top range product in terms of performance and quality. Moreover, Motonica’ s special care in research and product development designed the possibility to use a 24 mm pin, already included in the pack, in order to grant a perfect fit without compromising the functionality of the rim itself.

View the new front wheel here


June 25, 2010

Jovanovic & Dytor win Futaba OS Jakarta Open

Jovanovic & Dytor win Futaba OS Jakarta Open

Last week saw the 2010 Futaba OS Jakarta Open held on the Jakarta International Twin Circuits track in Indonesia. In 1/10th  scale, qualifying started on the Saturday with 3 heats. The first qualifier saw Steven Jovanovic set the pace with 17 laps in 5:08.271sec. Azri Amri taking 2nd with 17 laps in 5:17.841 & Erwin Luhur taking 3rd with 17 laps in 5:18.389. In the 2nd round Steven J ran out of fuel so he couldn’t improve, but Sadikin From Jakarta bumped up to 2nd place with 17 laps in 5:09.354 & Erwin Luhur in 3rd place. The third qualifier saw Sadikin take TQ with 17 laps 5:06.274 & Erwin Luhur in second with 17 laps 5:06.686. Steven J dropped down to 3rd position after setting a blistering lap time of 17.326sec but to then run out of fuel at 4:42.562sec. The fourth qualifier was rained out on Saturday afternoon, so the final qualifier was on Sunday morning and it saw Bowie Ginting move up into 4th position with 17 laps 5:10.290.

Continue reading the report here


June 25, 2010

Shepherd Velox V8 servo saver

Shepherd Velox V8 servo saver

Shepherd have announced the release of this aluminium servo saver for the Velox V8. The blue anodized parts are CNC-machined from high-grade 7075 T6 aluminium. Designed to survive even hard crashes on US-style tracks with boards, it still perfectly protects the steering servo from being damaged. Like the standard one the optional servo saver is adjustable in its length by only one screw.

Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]


June 25, 2010

Yannic Pruemper joins Yokomo

Yannic Pruemper joins Yokomo

Yokomo have announced that they have signed current European Junior Champion Yannic Pruemper. Just in time for the next week’s World Championship the former Tamiya racer, who won the ETS series race in Poland in 2009, will run the company’s successful BD5 Worlds Spec chassis. Continuing to run Speed Passion products, Yannic joins an already strong team headed by Ronald Volker and since only recently getting the car has been testing intensively ahead of his competition debut with the Japanese manufacturer in Burgdorf. Yannic wished to thank Tamiya for their support over the past number of years and looks forward to a successful partnership with Yokomo.

Source: Yokomo [teamyokomo.com]