March 16, 2010

Victor Pelaez joins Serpent Spain

Victor Pelaez joins Serpent Spain

Serpent Spain have announced that they have signed front running Spanish touring car driver Victor Pelaez to race the 733 in 2010. The double Spanish National Champion and 4th place finisher at the European ‘B’ Championships in Ampuis, France in 2008 will be not only driving for the team but helping promote the new car in Spain. Víctor had the following to say about the deal:

I would like to thank Modelcar / Serpent for the opportunity they have given me to run the new 733. I will do my best to win the Championship title this year. Since the first day of testing the 733, I felt very confident, the car is amazing and I’m really happy with it.

Source: Serpent [serpent.com]


March 15, 2010

Abisset wins opening French 1/8th National

Abisset wins opening French 1/8th National

The opening round of the French 1/8th scale on road nationals took place last weekend in Beaumont Monteux in the south east of the country. Qualifying in the Elite class went the way of Shepherd driver Richard Volta, who after 7 minutes was 3 seconds in front of Serpent/RB driver Anthony Abisset, with team mate Stéphane Riccobono and Motonica driver Arnaud Mathieu completing the top 4. In the National class, Serpent racer Damien Thirion took the top qualifying spot in front of Mugen driver Eric Loge in 2nd, with Maxime Tenet and Jérémy Cassagne in 3rd and 4th. The elite final saw Volta lead away with Abisset in close pursuit, this order remained the same until Volta hit mechanical trouble and dropped out of contention allowing Anthony to take over at the front, who close to the end of the race had a close battle with team mate Riccobono, but a small mistake by Stéphane gave Anthony the breathing room to take the win, with Riccobono 2nd and Gérald Colinet in 3rd, giving Serpent and RB the complete podium. In the National class saw an early race battle between Loge and Thirion with the latter taking the lead and able to build up a gap before stopping just before the pits and allowing Loge back into the lead with Antoine Gaschet climbing up to 2nd, while Thirion recovered to take 3rd.

Click here to see the national podium


March 15, 2010

CSO 966 CVD shafts

CSO 966 CVD shafts

New from CSO Products are these optional CVDs for the 1/8th scale Serpent 966 & 960. Made from hard coated steel, these complete CVD shafts are super strong and a direct replacement for the standard versions.

Source: CSO [cso.com.hk]


March 15, 2010

Trofeo Motonica 2010 report

Trofeo Motonica 2010 report

Last weekend saw the Trofeo Motonica take place at the Riccione track in Italy and attracted drivers across three categories 1/8th, 1/10th 200mm and 1/8th Classic. In the 1/8th scale 4wd class it was Maunel Tordi that took the win by over a lap from Paolo Maggioli in 2nd and Stefano Sammarini in 3rd, a lap further back. Pole man Sando Sammarini, easily the quickest man in the race, had to retire after only 6 minutes. In the 1/10th scale class Alex Rinati took the victory, 3 laps clear of Manuel Antinori in 2nd, with pole man Alessandro Bracci a lap back in 3rd spot. In the Classic class, Paolo Gaggiola was able to convert with pole position to a 5 lap victory in front of Simone Giordano and Kevin Pignotti in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Click here to see the other podiums


March 15, 2010

CRC Shock springs & Sanding paddle

CRC Shock springs & Sanding paddle

New from CRC for use with their Encore Shocks, Durashocks and other brands of shocks is this new line of springs. Sold in a complete set of 6 or individually, you can get them in blue, white, red, green, purple and black. Also from CRC is their tire sanding paddle that has a coarse 60 grit on one end to round the edges on even the toughest rubber, such as purple front tires. Then flip it around and get the perfect finish with the 120 grit end.

Click here to see the sanding paddle


March 15, 2010

Xray Alu Lightweight locating collar

Xray Alu Lightweight Locating collar

Xray have released this strategically-lightened locating collar made from tough 7076 T6 aluminium, which replaces the composite collar used on the front middle shaft or 2-speed shaft on the NT1. The result is that the rotating mass is reduced without sacrificing strength or durability.

Click here to see the collars mounted


March 12, 2010

Motonica P81 optional transmission

Motonica P81 optional transmissions

Italian company Motonica have released new optional rear pulleys for their P81 1/8th scale and now offer three types of transmission combination’s for the car. The transmission included in P81 kit consists of the 51T pulley on the rear main shaft and the 22T pulley on the 2-speed axle, which is combined with a 25T pulley on the side a configuration which gives the car more drive to the front wheels. Motonica now offer an optional 50T pulley, sold as a set including 2 aluminium eccenters to adjust the tension of the rear shaft, that helps give more drive to the rear wheels. Further to this, there is also a 48T rear shaft pulley that when combined with a 20T on the 2-speed axle and a 26T pulley on the side, gives a more balanced ratio between the front and rear. This last configuration also results in the need for a shorter gear ratio between pinions and spur gears.

Source: Motonica [motonica.com]


March 12, 2010

Carlos Peracho wins Spanish Nationals opener

Carlos Peracho wins Spanish Nationals opener

Last weekend the first national race of the Spanish 1/8th On-Road Championship took place in Cerdanyola, close to Barcelona. The weather forecast was not very promising but only a little rain shower on Friday morning delayed the start of the free practice. Qualifying saw Oscar Cabezas, driving a Motonica, take the pole position ahead of Serpent driver Nacho Lopez in 2nd, with Shepherd drivers Carlos Peracho and Joaquin Villegas having a good run to take 3rd and 4th.

Continue reading the report here