March 3, 2025

PowerStar HV Digital Large Scale Servo

Vapon owned brand PowerStar, who also own VP Pro and Team Saxo, has released a new servo intended for Large Scale car use.  Engineered to utilise the latest technologies it offers high precision offering 1:5 enthusiasts huge torque of 80kg @ 8.4V and excellent speed at 0.15sec @8.4V to power through the toughest terrains.  The steel gears keep the servo working smooth and reduce any deformity or wear. For easy installation, a 15T spline double horn and a single horn are included.

View Specs & additional image here


March 3, 2025

Desert Classic wins for Lemieux & Horne

The annual Desert Classic presented By Stick It One took place at Hobby Action where it was Xray’s Chase Lemieux and Team Associated’s Aydin Horne who took the big wins.  Attracted 320 entries, this was the 9th running of the event at the 2023 World Championship indoor track.  In qualifying it was to be a dominant performance from Horne in 2WD as he topped all four rounds to secure the TQ from Lemieux, Japaneses visitor Kouki Kato and Spencer Rivkin.  In 4WD it was also Horne who claimed the overall TQ after going fastest in 2 rounds. Fastest in Q3, Lemieux was again his nearest rival with Schumacher’s Broc Champlin P3 ahead of Dakotah Phend’s Xray which topped Q2. In the triple finals it was Rivkin who took A1 of 2WD as Horne fell to the back of the pack at the start before recovering to P3.  In A2 Lemieux took a very close win over Horne which set up a three battle for A3.  This time Horne would get the win over Lemieux but on tie-break Lemieux got the overall victory.  In 4WD it was a more straight forward affair as Horne took the opening two encounters to seal the overall.  Winning A3 from Phend, Lemieux got second with his team-mate completing the podium in Arizona.

Image: Mod Live Media [Facebook]


March 3, 2025

Willspeed XB2’25 Osprey Body

British 1:10 Offroad conversion kit and after market parts specialists Willspeed has released its Osprey body shell for Xray’s XB2’25 2WD Buggy.  Manufactured from high quality polycarbonate, the low profile, sleek and stylish body design is available in Standard (1mm) and Lightweight (0.5mm) material options.

View more images here


February 28, 2025

1up Racing Lockdown Adjustable Bullet Plugs

US RC accessories brand 1up Racing has introduced the world’s first tool-free adjustable bullet plugs which they calling their Lockdown Bullet Plugs. The new connectors are designed to revolutionise power delivery and convenience and with a simple twist, racers can now achieve a secure connection in no time and without requiring tools.  Unlike other adjustable bullet plugs that require tools for adjustment, Lockdown Bullet Plugs feature an innovative compression system that ensures a tight, reliable fit in your choice of 5mm or 4mm battery socket sizes.  This not only eliminates the risk of loose connections, it also provides maximum efficiency and minimises resistance, giving you more power from start-to-finish of your run.  The Lockdown Bullet Plugs are available in 10 vibrant colours allowing you to personalise your electronics.

View installed here


February 28, 2025

Tamiya Championship Series at 180 Raceway – Report

180 Raceway in Maryland played host to the second stop on the 2025 Tamiya Championship Series Race Schedule last weekend with the race attracting 138 entries.  A track that has hosted TCS races since 2017, track owner Casey Young has been involved with hosting races for Tamiya on the east coast since 1997.  This year the track instituted closer motor tech, and the racing was fabulous with door to door racing in all classes.  With 2 qualifiers and a single main per class it was a packed program. In Novice Spec, youngster Gabby Nano overcame some early challenges and raced her way into a lead late she held to take victory.  In GT-2 Track owner Case Young and Manny F. had a great battle, then Manny donated his winning kit to a young racer.  From NYC Jone Kim won the very closely contested ProSpec, which was the class most effected by the new tech procedures, and this resulted in very close racing.

View more images here


February 28, 2025

MRO Racing secure design services of Gerd Strenge

MRO Racing, the company behind the radical ultra low profile design Inspire4 1:10 4WD buggy project has announced that well respected car design Gerd Strenge will join the project.  Strenge who is probably best known for his time at Durango and for work with top German offroad racer Joern Neumann.  Making the announcement on their social media MRO Racing, who started the Inspire4 project 6-years ago, posted, ‘We at MRO would like to inform you that there are now 4 of us in our team again. Unfortunately, we had to put you off for a while, which made some people smile, and rightly so.  We had an idea and after a brief discussion with our private investor, we realised that this could be the right way forward.  Through open and direct dialogue, we managed to win Gerd Strenge over for our MRO project.  We are convinced that with him we have another designer in the team who will help us with his experience and success with Durango and Serpent.  We will be realising our current ideas in the foreseeable future and then it’s back to testing, testing and testing again.  We will inform you about further news in the foreseeable future.  Thank you for your patience.’   In the photo for the announcement, Strenge teases a little the car which is displayed with a clear body shell.

View car image here


February 27, 2025

Nova Engines power for Vejrak & Phutiyotin

Italian engine manufacturer Nova Engines has announced a new partnership with Maxima Motorsports that will see top Thai racers Meen Vejrak and Charlee Phutiyotin powered by their engines in 2025.  Maxima is well known globally as a producer of nitro racing fuel and now becomes the official distributor for Nova Engines for Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.  Former 200mm World Champion Vejrak is one of Thailand’s most successful and versatile international racers with Phutiyotin also representing his nation well with a podium finish at the inaugural 1:8 GT World Championship and making the 1:8 Onroad World Championship final.

Source: Nova Engines [nova-engines.com]


February 27, 2025

D’angelo to lead Capricorn’s new Large Scale program

Following the news it was to enter the Large Scale racing market with the release of its GT5 back in October, nitro onroad chassis manufacturer Capricorn has confirmed Alex D’angelo will lead driver duties on the new project.  The 2023 1:8 GT World Championship Top Qualifier joined the Italian company’s 1:8 GT program last Summer, and as expected when the GT5 was launched, will now have double duties racing for Capricorn owner Patrizio Rossi.  On the announcement of D’angelo, Capricorn posted, ‘We can only be proud to announce that the official drivers of the Sport category will be Alex D’Angelo together with his teammate Damiano Giolitti!! Alex, after joining us in 2024 for the GT category, has always demonstrated impeccable commitment, his driving career is driven by great passion and we are sure that his talent will allow him to do well in this category too. Damiano Giolitti, our first 1:5 tester, is very happy to have such a strong teammate!

Source: Capricorn [capricornrc.com]