Red RC

March 28, 2007

Ilia van Gastel leaves Sirio?

Ilia van Gastel

To continue our long running look into the partnership breakdown between Kyosho and Sirio, we today heard a rumour, that backed up something we heard a while back, that multiple Belgian Champion and Euros podium finisher Ilia van Gastel has not re-signed to use Sirio engines. Van Gastel is of course a factory sponsored Kyosho racer and his abandoning Sirio as an engine partner is in keeping with the other Kyosho factory racers Collari, Bertin, Cyrul and Shimo who have all abandoned Sirio as their engine supplier in recent months.

So where does Van Gastel go from here? Should he choose Novarossi like 7 time World Champion Collari or choose the Team Orion CRF like Cyrul and Bertin or perhaps go for some other manufacturer? Who knows, but we’re sure to find out soon, as the new outdoor season is about to start up.

UPDATE: According to a number of e-mails from other top European racers that i have received and also the current entry list (PDF) from the 1/8th scale EFRA GP that will be held at the end of April, Ilia will race Team Orion CRF engines.

Image: JE Racing [jeracing.eu]

March 28, 2007

3rd Annual March Meltdown, Canada

3rd Annual March Meltdown

Xray have a report on their site from the 3rd Annual March Meltdown that took place recently atÂ Action Hobbies Kingsville, outside Windsor, Ontario in Canada. Attracting racers from Ontario and Michigan, the high speed and flowing turns of the track showed that a premium would be placed on precision and consistency and to that extent the Xray touring car won all classes at the event with Andy Vetor taking the wins in both Stock and 19T while in Modified Aaron Straus took the win.

Read the full report with results here.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

March 28, 2007

Xtreme Racing carbon parts for 8ight

Xtreme Racing 8ight buggy rear tower

Xtreme Racing have released these attractive and functional carbon fibre parts for the ultra popular and competitive Losi 8ight and 8ight T. First off is this shock tower, shown above, that is for the rear of the Losi 8ight buggy and is made from 4mm carbon fibre and sports an extra hole for more adjustment. Also available are a set of 2 carbon brake discs that are suitable for the both the buggy and truggy whilst for the truggy, Xtreme have released front and rear 4mm shock towers for weight savings, strength, looks and more adjustment.

Check out the other products here… content

March 28, 2007

Atomic RC Bearing tool & other accessories

Atomic RC Bearing tool

Some time back we told you about the powerful Atomic RC Evolution electric motors for your Mini-Z. Well should you ever need to replace the bearings in this motor, Atomic RC have released this nifty bearing tool. Similar to the bearing tools seen for gas engines, this bearing tool aids in the removal and insertion of bearings while ensuring they are perfectly in line. Also from Atomic RC today is some nifty adjustable shock absorbers for the AWD Mini-Z as well as some AWD crystal adaptors.

Check out images of the other 2 products here… content

March 28, 2007

Important warning for all XB8 EC kits

Xray have published a warning for their new XB8 EC kits that recently shipped. Apparently the light blue coloured shock springs supplied with the kit are not the correct springs and are in fact are dark blue springs with the incorrect colour coating, so be warned.

The Light-Blue shocks springs (#358095) which are included in the kit are NOT the light-blue springs. By a mistake in the color coating process the Dark-Blue springs (#358096) were coated with Light-Blue color. Therefore the springs which are in the kit, despite they have Light-Blue color, in the reality the characteristics and the springs are Dark-Blue.

We suggest to use for the basic set-up either the White springs or the correct Light-Blue springs from the XB8 or XB8TQ kit.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

March 28, 2007

Homestead Miami International Fuel Challenge

Last weekend saw the RC Pro Series come to Miami Speedway for the International Fuel Challenge, held on the same weekend as the IRL race on the full size oval track. Racing on a temporary circuit, with huge tire wear, the competitors raced to a triple A-main format to determine the race winner. In the 1/10th scale sedan class it was top electric racer Paul LeMieux that claimed the pole position and then proceeded to win all of the 10 minute long triple A-main finals to take a dominant win for Xray. Barry Baker backed up the Xray NT1s performance by taking 2nd with Ralph Burch coming home in 3rd complete a total podium lock out for the Slovakian manufacturer.

In the 1/8th scale class it was a battle between Chris Tosolini and Joe Sumasky who swapped 1st and 2nds, but the 2 wins of Tosolini meant the Kyosho racer came out on top despite a more consistent run by Sumasky with Franco Ragusa rounding off the podium, finishing in 3rd.
Click here to view the final results… content

March 27, 2007

Slovenian 2007 National Off-road Champs

Our friends in Slovenia have asked us to mention their upcoming 2007 National Championship for Off-road that starts at the beginning of May. The championship will cater for 1/8th buggy, truggy and 1/5th, 1/6th buggy with the first race being held at a track near the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. The series will consist of 4 rounds with the 1st round taking place on the 6th of May in Ljubljana, the 2nd round on the 3rd of June in Jesenice, the 3rd round in Maribor on the 30th of September and the 4th and final round will take place at an, as yet, undecided venue on the 28th of October. We will be bringing you results from each of these National rounds as we get them.

RC Racing in Slovenia seems to be growing strongly on a National level, and is also being recognised on an international level as this year Slovenia will host the European B Championships for 1/8th gas in Tolmin on the 25th – 27th of May.

Source: Skalec Racing Team [users.triera.net/kiselrob]

March 27, 2007

Interview with Martin Wolhuter

Martin Wolhuter

More interviews, this time from our Aussie pals Rube Dude who delve deep in to the mind of one of Australias top racers, Martin Wolhuter. Born in South Africa and began racing in the US we reported recently on the Aussie residents great run at last weekends Western Australian Championships where he finished 3rd in the buggy class and dominated the truggy class for Hong Nor.

Read his full interview here.

Source: Rube Dude [rubeduderc.com]