April 16, 2024

Thurston wins 1:8 Onroad British Nationals opener

Alex Thurston enjoyed the perfect debut with his new Mugen Seiki MRX6 at the opening round of the BRCA 1:8 Onroad British National Championship taking the TQ and setting a new lap record on the way to victory over reigning Champion Tim Wood.  Over the four rounds of qualifying Thurston was the only driver to run 18-laps, securing the overall TQ ahead of the Shepherd of Wood and Vice-Champion Karl Dransfield.  In the half hour final an opening lap incident involving hitting a pitman delayed Thurston but worse for Dransfield resulted in the end of his race.  This allowed Wood to go to the front but losing 8-seconds with a slow first pitstop, he dropped back to second as Thurston took over a lead.  Once out front Thurston held station winning by 11-seconds from Wood with the Shepherd of fourth place qualifier John Carr completing the podium.  While a great day for Thurston, unfortunately after 20-years racing at the Cotswolds track this was to be the last race before it is permanently closed down due to the site being developed for commercial use.

Image: Alex Thurston [Facebook]


April 15, 2024

2024 Speed King Tour Rd1 – Report

The opening round of the Speed King Tour 2024 was held recently at Super RC Omiya indoor tarmac track in Saitama prefecture Japan with Infinity driver Jin Sawada taking the main win from Axon’s Hayato Ishioka.  The popular and competitive electric touring car series is now in its 11th year sand consisting of six rounds travels to circuits across Japan.  Host of Round 1,  the Super RC Omiya track is known for its high bite and the Speed King Tour specific rules specify controlled tyres and prohibit the use of tyre warmer, which are highly favoured by racers in Japan.  A major boost for the series was the participation of RC legend Atsushi Hara at the controls of soon to be release limiteds edition Xpress Execute XQ11 Hara Edition.

Continue reading report here


April 15, 2024

Ishikawa joins Yokomo

Yokomo has officially announced that young Japanese talent and reigning Stock Touring Car Japanese National Champion Mahiro Ishikawa has joined its Racing Factory team.  A former IRIS driver, the 14-year-old will campaign the Japanese manufacturer’s new MS1.0 that is due for general release at the end of this month.  A race winner in TC1 class of the popular & competitive Japanese based Speed King Tour, Ishikawa has stepped up to the top level TC0 class making his debut for Team Yokomo at the recent 2024 season opener held at Super RC Omiya indoor tarmac track in Saitama.

Source: Yokomo [teamyokomo.com]


April 14, 2024

Orlowski takes back European 1:12 title

Schumacher’s Michal Orlowski has taken back his 1:12 EFRA European Championship title in Sicily, Italy.  Having lost his 2022 title to 8-time Champion Alexander Hagberg last year in Great Britain, the reigning World Champion put in a pretty dominant performance at the Paradise RC Arena securing the TQ ahead of team-mate Ollie Payne as Hagberg’s Xray lined up third for his title defence.  Winning A1 by a convincing margin over former World & European Champion Marc Rheinard, Orlowski wrapped up the title with another win in A2, this time over Hagberg.  With A3 a battle for the other two podium placings, it initially looked like Hagberg would finish runner-up ahead of Rheinard as he crossed the line first but an earlier incident in the race with Payne was reviewed with race officials handing Hagerg 5-second penalty that promoted Rheinard to the A3 win and demoted the Swede to third on the overall podium.  In 1:12 Spec, Simon Lauter secured the TQ with his Awesomatix from Payne and Jan Ratheisky.  In the finals, Ratheisky’s Xray took the first 8-minute encounter.  Lauter was able to convert his pole position into a win in A2 but it was then Payne who won the decider.  In the end, Lauter got the title on tie break from Payne with Ratheisky completing the podium.

View 1:12 Spec podium here


April 12, 2024

PN Racing Mini-Z V2 Tire Gluer Pro

Mini-Z racing specialists PN Racing has released its all new v2 tyre gluer.  Designed to work with Mini-z 2WD & AWD wheels in 8.5mm/11mm/14mm width, the V2 Tire Gluer Pro offers an easy and efficient tyre gluing solution for the 1:28 scale category.

View more images here


April 12, 2024

Xray GTX8‘24 1:8 GT

Xray has just presented the latest version of it 1:8 GT competition chassis with the new GTX8’24.  The 2024 iteration get a complete aluminium front & rear suspension sets included in the kit in addition to the standard composite suspension parts. These front aluminium c-hubs and steering blocks increase overall steering and improve consistency while the rear alu uprights increase stability on- and off-power. Larger super-lightweight ventilated brake disks significantly improve brake cooling and ensure vibration-free operation while reducing rotating mass without sacrificing strength or durability. A graphite horizontal body backstop set reinforces the rear section of the body and provides additional protection in a crash.

View the full GTX8’24 presentation here


April 12, 2024

ProTek RC 1:10 & 1:8 Onroad Starterbox

ProTek RC has released its brand new “SureStart” Professional 1:10 & 1:8 Onroad Starter Box.  The new starter box can also be used to power up 1:10 offroad nitro trucks.  The starter box is equipped with a 775 size motor which generates ample power to conquer even the most stubborn engines.  Featuring high-quality 16awg silicone shielded wiring, factory pre-installed T-Style connectors, and quick-change connectors, it is easy to maintain and ideal for vehicle start up and to break-in new engines.  The wiring and battery tray is compatible with two 7.2V NiMH stick packs, or two 2S LiPo pack in series.  A convenient quick access cover release tab unveils the inner workings of the box without requiring tools – just press and lift.

Source: ProTek RC [amainhobbies.com]


April 12, 2024

Xpress Execute XQ11 Hara Edition announced

Xpress has announced that it is to produce a limited run Hara Edition of its Execute XQ11 1:10 Competition Touring Car.  Making a return to the TITC this year, legend of the sport Atsushi Hara ran the Hong Kong company’s new Execute XQ11 with his example featuring some custom parts that were anodised in the onroad & offroad World Champion’s trademark purple.  The first car we featured from the TITC as part of our Chassis Focus, the car generated huge interest and now Hara & Xpress have teamed up to produce a limited run of 300 kits.  Each kit will get have special serialised aluminium bumper plate marking the kit number out of 300.  As well as all the aluminium parts in purple, there will be some upgrades over the standard XQ11 including a redesigned chassis plate, lowered shock mounting, new upper bulkhead and graphite suspension arms.  Kits are expected to arrive with dealers in July.  To view Hara’s TITC Chassis focus click here.

Source: Xpress [rc-xpress.com]