Red RC - RC Car News

Xray have released a first teaser for their forthcoming XB4 2017 4wd Buggy. No details are available yet but expect photos and information on the successor to the 2015/16 Euro Offroad Series winning buggy to surface shortly.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

RC Zone in Middelburg, Mpumalanga played a host to the 4th and final round of the SARDA Onroad Gas National Championship. It was always going to be an exciting weekend with some of the championship podium positions still up for grabs, and the imminent threat of rain throughout the weekend. Also, the participation and technical support of Xray Factory driver, Tom Kraegefski, sparked a lot of interest.

200mm Nitro Qualifying
With the 2016 Sprint Championship already clinched by Conrad Liebenberg (Capricorn), you’d think that this would be just another runaway victory. It turned out to be quite the contrary. With Tom Kraegefski (Xray NT1) in the field, Liebenberg would have to be at his best. They did not disappoint and this was most certainly the highlight of the weekend. In the end, Kraegefski edged out Liebenberg to take TQ. Another dark horse this weekend was Willie du Plooy (Xray NT1), who managed to put in some solid runs, and qualify 3rd. He also clinched 2nd in the Sprint Championship with this result.

1. Tom Kraegefski (Xray NT1)
2. Conrad Liebenberg (Capricorn)
3. Willie du Plooy (Xray NT1)

200mm Nitro Finals
The much anticipated race lived up to its promise….for a while. Once Tom Kraegefski (Xray NT1) managed to get into his groove, he streaked away and left everyone in his wake. Willie du Plooy (Xray NT1) and Conrad Liebenberg (Capricorn) has a proper scrap, until they made a contact and sent Liebenberg’s crew rushing to repair a loose shock. This put Jonathan Wilken (Xray NT1) into 3rd. Kraegefski comfortably increased his lead, while Du Plooy suffered a flame-out. This put Wilken into 2nd. Du Plooy slowly caught up, and managed to pass Wilken to take 2nd. The closest battle however, was between Wilken and Liebenberg. With Liebenberg really turning up the pace after his unfortunate incident early on. In the end, Wilken managed to hold on to 3rd place by 0,3 seconds over Lieberberg. This also gave Team Xray their first podium lockout in recent times.

1. Tom Kraegefski (Xray NT1)
2. Willie du Plooy (Xray NT1)
3. Jonathan Wilken (Xray NT1)

1/8 Nitro Qualifying
This was set to be a tightly contested affair with Wayne Joelsen (Mugen), Jacques Liebenberg (Capricorn) and Antonio Caroli (Xray RX8) being the early front runners. Joelsen was very quick throughout the Sprints and managed to secure his 8th National Sprint title, and claim TQ for the Endurance race the following day. Liebenberg wasn’t far behind, but had to settle for 2nd place and also clinched 2nd in the Sprint Championship. Antonio Caroli suffered a little with a very nervous car, but still managed to secure 3rd place on the grid and also 3rd in the Sprint Championship.

1. Wayne Joelsen (Mugen)
2. Jacques Liebenberg (Capricorn)
3. Antonio Caroli (Xray RX8)

1/8 Nitro Finals
With the threat of overnight rain subsiding, and track conditions remaining very much the same as the day before, most of the drivers were confident with their setups and tuning. Unfortunately, Antonio Caroli (Xray RX8) had 2 major incidents in the 10-minute warm-up prior to his race, destroying most of the car in the process. Luckily, he had a spare chassis available and with some spectacular work by his pit crew (Tom Kraegefski and Willie du Plooy), they managed to build and set up the 2nd car within 45 minutes, just in time for the start of the 45-minute race. It turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened to him, as the car looked better than it has been the entire weekend. Not long after the start, Caroli managed to pass Liebenberg and Joelsen, and stretched away at the front. Then a tragedy struck, again. He suffered a mechanical issue while leading and was forced to stop twice while his pitcrew changed what was remaining of the gearbox. This put him right at the back of the field. Meanwhile, Liebenberg managed to pass Joelsen, and was now leading the way around. Caroli got back on track, and although he was lapping faster than the leaders, he was too far behind to stage any sort of threat to the top 3, and finished 5th. This also bumped Harold van Eeden (Capricorn) to 3rd, having also been quick the entire weekend. In the end, Liebenberg had a comfortable victory, Joelsen 2nd, Van Eeden 3rd.

1. Jacques Liebenberg (Capricorn)
2. Wayne Joelsen (Mugen)
3. Harold van Eeden (Capricorn)

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

ARC have announced the signing of top Italian racer Andrea Pirani to their team. The former long time WRC driver and ENS font runner will race the Taiwanese company’s R8.0 and joins a team that includes European Championship runner up Toni Gruber, Lars Hoppe, John Ermen and Cristiano Sartor. Expect to see the quick Italian during the entire ENS & Italian National series as well as next year’s World Championships in France.

Source: ARC [arc-rc.com.tw]

Novarossi have introduced their new Mito 12 World Champion engine, as used by Dominic Greiner to win the 1/10th 200mm World Championships earlier this year. The new motor is slightly lighter than its predecessor, while the crankshaft has slightly reduced rotational mass and greatly improved fuel flow for improved performance. The package is completed with the updated cooling head that sports the WC Italy tag.

Tech Specs:
Displacement: 2,1 cc
Bore x stroke: 13,70×14,25 mm
Sleeve: 3 ports
Rear ball bearings: ceramic
Front ball bearings: ceramic
Crankshaft: 11,9 mm – turbo – tuned
Carburettor: aluminium – 6,5 mm – slide
Glowplug: Turbo (C6TGFB)
Exhaust position: rear
Weight: 230 g

Source: Novarossi

T-Works have introduced their new line of 64 Titanium M4 Hex socket UFO head screws. Available in a variety of different lengths from 6mm to 22mm the newly designed screw provides a marginally larger surface area for better fitting while also being very light weight.

Source: T-Works [rc-tworks.com]

Following yesterday’s announcement regarding Lee Martin leaving Mugen, Team Infinity have today confirmed that the British driver will be joining their International team. A World class off road driver, a former multiple European champion and multi time Worlds finalist who has been competing at the highest level for many years, he joins the Infinity team, which up until this point has focused on onroad, to help work on the company’s upcoming 1/8th offroad project. Lee had the following to say about the deal:

It’s a pleasure to be joining the Creation Model / Infinity team. The team infrastructure and their desire to succeed at the highest possible standard not only excites me but inspires me. Assisting in the development stage of the new 1/8th off road range is an opportunity that I could not miss, having the chance to work with Miura San to produce the most competitive vehicles we can with no compromises. Thank you to Kenji San for the chance to be apart of something special. Work starts now!

Source: Creation Model [creationmodel.net]

It’s finally here, designed to take advantage of today’s faster-than-ever tracks, the long awaited RC10B64D Team Kit from Team Associated offers increased durability, all new suspension geometry, a wider tuning window, improved weight distribution, and easy maintenance. Excelling on high-traction surfaces, the B64D’s adjustable axle height and roll centres result in a stable yet nimble platform. With a new and improved centre differential, the B64D rewards the driver with maximum drive out of all four wheels on dirt and clay surfaces.

– Robust suspension arms with multiple shock mounting positions
– 7075 hard-anodized narrow aluminium chassis with lightweight plastic side guards
– aluminium floating motor mount allows consistent torsional chassis flex
– aluminium/carbon fibre floating servo mount offers a tweak-free assembly
– Easy access to differentials allow quick tuning and maintenance
– Front and rear anti-roll bars provide flat cornering
– Centre gear differential maximizes drive out of the corner
– 12mm aluminium drive hexes in both front and rear
– Stiff and lightweight 4mm thick carbon fibre shock towers
– Fully adjustable aluminium front and rear suspension arm mounts
– Precision-made aluminium caster blocks for added durability
– B6 generation ball cups and turnbuckles for precise adjustments and durability
– All metric hardware
– V2 12mm big bore threaded aluminium shocks with TiN shock shafts
– Option to mount rear shocks on either the front or rear of the rear suspension arms
– Factory Team upgraded ball bearings
– Team Associated clear body and screw-mounted wing by JConcepts
– Factory Team aluminium Shock Bushings provide a stable shock mount base

Source: Associated [teamassociated.com]