November 24, 2007

Greg Hodapp Joins Team Kyosho

Greg Hodapp Joins Team Kyosho

World class driver, Greg Hodapp has joined Team Kyosho for the upcoming race season. This return to racing for Greg will also be the second time that he has been able to work with Gil Losi Jr.

I spoke with a few other interested manufacturers, but when given the opportunity to work closely with Gil Losi Jr once again, the choice was simple.  Gil has always been able to bring out the best in me and I’m very excited about the direction this team is taking.

Greg will be driving both of Kyosho’s RB5 and ZX5 for the upcoming season. His Kyosho buggies will be powered by Slingshot Batteries and Novak Brushless systems. Look for Greg to be attending major events throughout the 2008 race season.


November 23, 2007

Team Associated RC12L5 prototype

Team Associated 12L5 prototype

RC50.com are in Cleveland at the moment for the US Indoor Champs and have managed to bag themselves the exclusive first photos of the prototype RC12L5 from Team Associated. Featuring lots of one off parts, including a completely new front end, central shock absorber as well as new carbon and aluminium parts, it seems that this car is completely new. The rear end is now very different looking much stiffer than the RC12L4 and with space for a BL motor, while the T-bar configured chassis sports a single laterally mounted centre damper, in addition to the conventional inline shock absorber. The cells also now sit in line with the direction of the car, while there is so much new on the front end it is hard to pinpoint exactly what is different.

Go to RC50.com for high resolution images.

Source: RC50 [rc50.com]


November 23, 2007

Mugen Seiki Alu Servo horn

 Mugen Seiki Alu Servo horn

As seen on the Mugen MRX-4X of Rick V. at the 1/8th scale World Championships in Argentina, Mugen have now released this aluminium servo horn. Much stronger than the original plastic version, the new servo horn is suitable for all the cars in the Mugen range as well as on other manufacturers cars, and comes supplied with multiple composite inserts to make it suitable for all makes of servos.

Source: Mugen [mugenseiki.com]


November 23, 2007

Schumacher 1/8th buggy Wheels & Tires

Schumacher 1/8th buggy Wheels & Tires

Schumacher have released a new range of 1/8th scale buggy tires following many months of testing by their team drivers along with their in house R&D team. Based on their extensive competition racing knowledge, they have designed 2 new tires, the Spiral and the more traditional Mini Pin, both available in yellow and silver compounds. The Mini Pin is suitable for degraded surfaces such as grass/soil mix, dirt and astro turf, while the Spiral is designed for surfaces that need more penetration of the ground to gain grip, making it perfect for grass surfaces. All tires are available separately and also pre glued on the company’s new white rally dish wheel. The new wheels are also available separately in white, yellow and black.

Click more to see the new wheels… content


November 23, 2007

KM Racing release more NT1 options

KM Racing release more NT1 options

More new releases from KM Racing, and yet more parts for the Xray NT1, with the release of more aluminium options for the Slovakian company’s 200mm chassis. First up is this aluminium rear back plate that replaces the original plastic part and helps increase strength to the structure of this area in the event of a rear impact. Also new from KM is a set of 4 spring cap bottoms that have been made from gun metal anodised aluminium and further lightened through holes and extra machining. Finally, for the clutch of the NT1, is a new aluminium spring cup and aluminium clutch shoe plate that are very light and as such provide a performance advantage over the original parts.

Click here to see the other parts… content


November 23, 2007

GRP Gadgets trousers

GRP Gadgets trousers

The GRP clothing line up is already very complete but to finish off that branded fanboy look, you can get yourself a pair of these work trousers. Made from a hard wearing, yet comfortable material they come in a wide range of sizes and sport a large number of pockets to carry everything you may need to have on your person when at the track. Available in black, they sport orange highlighting throughout and have GRP logos on both the front and rear.

Source: MID [mid-mugen.de]


November 23, 2007

KM Racing Clutch bells

 KM Racing Clutch bells

Following on from the release of the lightweight clutch bell housing for the Xray NT1 back in September, KM Racing have now released a similar product for both the Kyosho V-One RRR and Mugen MTX4. Designed to be super lightweight, with the maximum amount of material removed without sacrificing strength, both bell housings has been made from a new hardened steel material for extra durability.

Click here to see the Mugen bell housing… content


November 23, 2007

Joelsen & Kotze win African Cup

Joelsen & Kotze win African Cup

Hosted at the TRAP venue in Pretoria South Africa, the African Cup is now the toughest and most prestigious race in Africa. In the 200mm Nitro Touring Class Taki Dermatis was top qualifier with Christian Fourie 2nd, with all drivers running a 10 minute qualifying format. The grueling 45 minute final saw Henri Kotze take the lead early on and continue to lead throughout the tough race, held under very hot conditions. Kotze took the win by 5 laps, followed home by Mugen team mates Taki Dermatis in 2nd and Christian Fourie in 3rd. The hour long 1/8th scale final saw most drivers do a tyre change at the halfway mark, with Top qualifier Wayne Joelson & Jacques Libenberg having an early battle, with Hein Kotze close behind. Jacque ran into mechanical problems which allowed Wayne to cruise to victory, finishing ahead of Jacques Liebenberg in 2nd and Hennie Kotze in 3rd.

Source: MID [mid-mugen.de]