November 23, 2024

Groskamp back on top of the World

Jilles Groskamp is back on top of the World, the Infinity driver becoming the new IFMAR 1:10 Onroad World Champion at the Huge RC Circuit in Bangkok 12-years after winning the Electric Touring Car World Title.  Having booked his way directly into the 1-hour Main by winning Super Pole, Groskamp would in the end cruise to victory to become Nitro Touring Car’s 10th different Champion as outgoing Champion Tadahiko Sahashi struggled in his quest to be the first driver to successful defend the title.  Starting as the Top Qualifier, this being his second time to secure pole at the Worlds, Teemu Leino’s race lasted less than 10-minutes as the Finn flipped his Infinity after his second fuel stop and the impact with the boards broke a front shock.  With 2018 Champion Naoto Matsukura looking like he was on to repeat his earlier dominant Semi final performance, as the race reached halfway and he had a clear lead over the field, a touch of the curbing ended his challenge.  The subsequent impact after the roll would break a rear shock shaft but with the car still running on the spring he would limp home in P6, 7-laps down on his winning team-mate.  For 1:8 World Champion Dario Balestri a dead receiver battery would cause him to crash out of a podium finish and DNF with just over 2-minutes to go.  Behind Jilles, having managed to un-lap himself towards the end of the race, Capricorn’s Toni Gruber would claim second with tenth place starter Charlee Phutiyothin making it two Capricorns on the podium.

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November 23, 2024

Sahashi title defence back on track in Thailand

Tadahiko Sahashi’s 1:10 Nitro World Championship title defence is back on with the Infinity driver booking his place in final at Huge RC Circuit after finishing second to team-mate Dario Balestri in the second of the two Semi Finals.  Having topped seeding, Sahashi then struggled throughout qualifying and found himself scrapping his way onto the back of a direct spot in the Semis.  In the early stages of the final it looked like the Japanese driver’s quest to become the first back to back Champion of the class was over, however by the 10-minute he was up to third, helped in part by 2012 Champion Meen Vejrak and Takaaki Shimo both running out of fuel.  Up front a flip by pole sitter Balestri allowed Chavit Saligupta to lead but shortly after third way distance his car came to a permanent stop ending his hopes of repeating his 2022 final appearance.  Looking like he was safely into the final as he lapped in 3rd position there was a heartbreak for Australian Jessie Davis.  With three minutes to go and having just exited pit lane his car came to a stop and with his engine refusing to restart his Worlds was done.  Capricorn’s Thilo Diekman would finish 3rd to book the German’s first World Final start.  In the other Semi, Naoto Matsukura looked like he was out for a Sunday drive, the 2018 World Champion lapping the entire field with a flawless drive that has the Infinity driver highly motivated for the final.  Having started on pole, Capricorn’s Toni Gruber came home 2nd as he continues to challenge the might of Infinity here in Bangkok but the 1:8 GT World Champion admitted himself that his Semi performance was not a Title contending performance and they need to improve for the final.  On the road it would be Viktor Wilck that would complete the Top 3 but his car would be deemed to be too wide in post race technical inspection and Charlee Phutiyothin was promoted to the final.  The final two places on the grid would be decided on fastest times which went to Milan Holthuis and Sinnosuke Yokoyama.

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November 22, 2024

Sworkz to defend MIBO International title

Having made their debut at MIBO International last year and claimed the 2WD Buggy title with Joern Neumann, Sworkz is the first team to confirm its participation in the third edition of the annual Czech Republic based event.  Taking place on February 07-09, with practice starting on the Friday evening, multiple European Champion Neumann and Micha Widmaier will travel to Hrotovice to represent the manufacturer at the indoor event once again.  MIBO International brings together both electric offroad and onroad racing on two tracks build side by side in the Sport V Hotel by the team from Mibosport.  With entries for the event having opened this week, the Offroad track will cater for 2WD and 4WD Buggy and ‘Offroad Kids’, while on the onroad track the racing action will cater for Modified, Stock & FWD Touring car with a 1:12 GT 13.5T class as well as ‘Onroad Kids’ being introduced for 2025.  With a capped entry limit the relaxed schedule means plenty of time in the evening to wind down and socialise over dinner after each day’s racing.

Source: MIBO [mibosport.com]


November 22, 2024

1:10 Onroad WC Manufacturer Statistics

IFMAR, the World governing body of RC racing, has released official manufacturer statistics from this year’s 1:10 Onroad World Championship in Thailand, 2024 marking the 10th running of the championship for the nitro touring car category. In terms of equipment being used by the 58 racers from 16 countries completing here at the Huge RC Circuit in Bangkok, reigning back to back World Champion manufacturer Infinity is a clear leader in terms of choice of car of the six different brands being used.  Italy’s Capricorn is the second most popular chassis.  In the power stakes it is Japan’s O.S. that has over half the engine share when Thai engine tuner Aood Racing versions are taken into account. The brand of one of the categories former World Champions Daniele Ielasi is the next biggest provider of power with his Ielasi Tuned engines making up 18% of the entry. Controlling the cars, it is Sanwa that makes up almost half the field followed closely by fellow Japanese manufacturer Futaba whose servos are most popular choice over Sanwa and Savox. With drivers having to choose between two official suppliers it is Thai fuel maker Maxima that has 90% of the users. With 1:10 Onroad running a handout tyre everyone is running on Matrix.

View Statistics Charts here


November 22, 2024

Capricorn LAB GT2 Progressive V2 Light Blue Spring

Italian onroad chassis manufacturer Capricorn has launched a new Progressive Spring for its LAB GT2 1:8 GT Onroad platform while at the same time, publishing the LAB GT2 Spring Table which summarises all the springs from the softest to the strongest one.  The new Light Blue spring has a medium response and is positioned between the blue and the purple spring options.

View Spring Table here


November 22, 2024

JConcepts RC10B7 Option Parts

JConcepts has just dropped a range of new option parts for the World’s most popular 2WD 1:10 Buggy, the Team Associated RC10B7.  First up is a Standard & -4mm hard anodised 7075-material chassis that maintains many of the critical and standard mounting geometry but features black hard anodising and additional pocketing in a progressive pattern.  The -4mm length chassis weighs in at approximately 122g and with the addition of the angular pockets provides racers with another tuning option for the B7.  JConcepts are also offering 7075-aluminium machined front bulkheads in both 0-degree, that allows the vehicle to maintain its original kick-up angle, and 2.5-degree variants that allows the racer to alter the kick-up angle of the buggy.  Both are available in blue or black finishes.  A steel electronics plate set and steel servo weight plate set which provide the ability to add or remove weight in a race car is the adjustability racers lust for. The steel servo weight plate is adjustable and features 2 pieces. The main body of the plate weighs 9.5g making it slightly heavier than an aluminium option. Adding the included optional insert of 8g boosts the weight to a combined 17.5g making it a hefty and adjustable item.  The main body of the plate electronics weighs 18.6g while adding the included an optional insert of 16.7g boosts the weight to a combined 35.3g.  Finally JConcepts has designed a user friendly and light-weight titanium axle specifically for the B7. The blooming flower design offers individual pads to support the wheel.  This allows the part to reduce even more rotating weight on the axle and with the titanium material supporting the load, offers great durability.  The titanium material axle anodised in either burnt blue or stealth black has performance and aesthetic advantages.

View more parts here


November 22, 2024

Matrix Red Giant 1:8 Offroad tyre

Italy’s Matrix Racing Tires has announced the release of their new Red Giant offroad tyre for 1:8 Buggy.  Announcing its entry into the offroad market at the beginning of 2023, the reigning World Champion tyre manufacturer is describing the newest addition to its 1:8 Offroad line-up as ‘a new Game Changer’ with the Red Giant the result of hours of development by their R&D department.  Claiming the IFMAR 1:8 Offroad World Championship in Spain in September with Davide Ongaro, Matrix don’t go into an specific details on the tyres pattern or the types of conditions the new Red Giant is best suited for.

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November 21, 2024

Leino Top Qualifier at 1:10 Nitro World Championship

12 years after he took pole position at the IFMAR 1:10 Nitro World Championship at Bangkok’s other famous circuit RC Addict, Teemu Leino is once again the Top Qualifier at the nitro touring car category greatest race, this time at the challenging Huge RC Circuit.  The Infinity driver was the only one who could repeat a TQ run over the 6 rounds of qualifying at the 10th running Worlds, but it was his team-mate Naoto Matsukura who officially sealed the deal for the veteran Finn.  Running in the second fastest heat alongside Toni Gruber, Leino’s only remaining challenger for the top spot, and having shown promise of TQ pace with a P3 in the penultimate round, the 2018 Champion denied Gruber the TQ run he needed.  Matsukura’s run would turn out to be the Q6 TQ time, none of the drivers in the top heat able to better his time, as he became the 5th different driver to TQ a round.  Also in heat group 5 of 6, it would be 2022 Finalist Chavit Saligupta and 2012 Champion Meen Vejrak that completed the Top 3 for the closing round.  Overall, Gruber would conclude qualifying in P2 and together with Dario Balestri, Jilles Groskamp and Saligupta would go into Super Pole to battle for the other direct position into Saturday’s 1-hour main alongside Leino.  With each driver getting 6 laps to set a time, that shoot out would go to Groskamp who put down the fastest lap by 0.043 of a second from Gruber.  Gruber will line up on pole for the Semi while 1:8 World Champion Balestri will lead away the other 30-minute encounter, the Super Pole favourite having a rough number of laps over his 6 attempts and slowest if the four contenders.  After topping seeding but only managing one Top 5 qualifying run, defending Champion Tadahiko Sahashi just made the Semi Final cut and joins Balestri in his Semi lining up P7.

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