Red RC - RC Car News

The opening round of the 2016/17 ETS marked the end of an era with Marc Rheinard unofficially announcing his departure from long-term sponsors Tamiya during the event. Having won three IFMAR Electric Touring Car World Championship titles, an ETS title and countless major event wins for the Japanese manufacturer, Marc has released an official statement regarding his time with Tamiya, the stopping of their TRF team as well as what the future holds for the super quick German:

I have often heard the saying ‘all good things must come to an end’ but now that I am faced with such a situation I really don’t know what to say. After 22 great years with Tamiya, it is time for it come to an end. It is really hard for me as Tamiya is and will always be in my heart. I started in 1994 with the Tamiya Euro Cup and since then I have used only Tamiya cars. We had many ups and luckily not so many downs and overall achieved lots of titles and had always a good friendship with all the great people who make up the Tamiya Company.

Winning 3 X World titles with Tamiya makes me happy & proud and I want to give a BIG THANK YOU to everybody at Tamiya, especially to Mr.S Tamiya. Without his help and trust in me I wouldn’t have been in the position to enjoy these truly great moments. Special thanks goes out to TAKAYUKI KONO, KIYO SUZUKI and SATOSHI MAEZUMI for being my mechanics and for their help with everything not just on but also off the track.

Also the team-mates I had at TRF over the years (Surikarn, Viktor Wilck, Jilles Groskamp, Christopher Krapp, Akio Sobue, Naoto Matsukura, Lee Martin) made all this possible as we worked really well and hard together. Just a big thanks to all of you.

Last but not least I want to thank my wonderful family for all the support from the beginning until now. Without them, i wouldn’t be where I am now. It is sooooo important to have a good working family, who always stands behind you, in good and most important in bad times. THANKS!

Here some of the victories I could achieve proudly representing Tamiya over the years –

– 7 times Indoor and Outdoor German National Champion TC ( 2002, 2003, 2004, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2015 )
– 3 times European Champion TC
– 1 time European Champion 1/10 4wd Buggy ( 2009 )
– 3 times World Champion TC ( 2004, 2008, 2010 )
– 1 time ETS Champion ( 2010 )
– 5 times LRP Master Winner ( 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 )
– 1 time TITC Bangkok Winner ( 2005 )
– 2 times DHI Cup Winner ( 2006, 2009 )
– 5 times Reedy Race of Champions Winner ( 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015 )

I still can’t believe after such a long time with Tamiya I am faced with driving for a different company, but in 2017 I will go on with a new company where I hope on this new adventure I can add some more titles to my list.

I depart Tamiya with tears in my eyes as it wasn’t my decision to leave this iconic RC company. Unfortunately I had no choice and I hope a statement from Tamiya will follow soon.

An announcement on my 2017 plans will come early in the New Year but for now I want to take this opportunity to wish all of my friends and fans around the world a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Coming from JConcepts and made for the Team Associated B6 and B6D are a carbon fibre battery brace and a 3-D-printed rear thumb bumper. Starting with the battery brace, the part is CNC-machined from 2.5mm carbon fibre and it is a direct replacement for the stock part. Running different battery positions is possible while maintaining the necessary terminal clearance and providing a healthy holding force to keep everything intact even in the most demanding conditions or the inevitable crash. The brace includes hardware for fitment to each battery possible with four 3x10mm button head screws and four plastic locknuts.

Also new is a 3-D-printed replacement rear bumper for the B6 and B6D vehicles. The bumper is unique in shape, offering a thumb space which makes picking up the vehicle easier or generally a little more user friendly. The tucked design still maintains a minimal drag area and is positioned as close to the D-mount as possible. Tested by Jason Ruona, the new bumper took all the thrills and spills on a vicious triple-jump at a recent Indoor National Series Final in Mooresville, North Carolina and it available through JConcepts’s Shapeways store here.

Source: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

Available now from Kyosho are two new Le Mans 240S brushless motors. Both mimic the company’s iconic Le Mans 240S brushed motor that was a popular choice in the 1980’s with the modern brushless variant sporting the same red anodised front plate, silver main can and even the sticker design of the original brushed motor. The brushless motor is available in a 15.5T 4WD and a 19.5T 2WD variant all of which feature a side-mounted sensor port and heavy duty solder tabs.

Source: Kyosho [kyosho.com]

Serpent have announced the signing of veteran racer and living RC legend, Barry Baker to their team. “The Fabulous” will be representing Serpent at national events and races around the West-Coast of the USA. Barry will focus on 1/8th and 1/10th off-road racing and also select on-road events, campaigning Serpent’s Project 4X touring car. The multi-time national and Reedy Race champion has the following to say about the deal:

I am so proud to represent such a legendary brand. Serpent produces some of the best quality products on the market. I will do my best to promote and build the brand throughout. Thank you to everyone at Serpent for this opportunity. Looking forward to the 2017 racing season. See you all at the track.

Source: Serpent [serpent.com]

Coming from HRC Distribution are the HRC Racing Pathfinder 1/10th monster truck tyres. They sport a multi-surface tread and a special rubber compound to provide very high grip on a range of surfaces. The tyres come pre-glued on 5-spoke rims with 14mm hex adapter, making them suitable for a range of trucks including Team Magic’s E5.

Source: HRC Distribution [hrcdistribution.com]

Coming from SWorkz and made for the S35-2E 1/8th E-buggy are two aluminium centre driveshaft dog bones. Machined from high-quality aluminium and coming with a hard-anodised surface for wear, the dog bones have an increased 4.7mm diameter that makes for improved durability while the alloy material reduces the rotating weight of the drivetrain, resulting in quicker spool up and improve braking performance.

Source: MW RC Cars [mwrccars.at]

Round three of the 2016/17 RugRacers series, and the final round before the Christmas break, saw a full capacity entry – along with the popularity of GT12 an extra heat was put on taking the entries up to 44. Touring 13.5 Open saw Zak Finlay back and in dominant form again, but Ashley Wiffen was on hand to keep him honest. Zak would take the A-main legs one and two with Ashley very close behind. Leg one third place went to Jon Seals, with Dale Burr making third his for leg two but overall the ranking would see Jon taking the final podium spot.

Touring 13.5 Open final results:
1. Zak Finlay
2. Ashley Wiffen
3. Jon Seals
4. Damian Giddins
5. Dale Burr
6. Liam Hammond
7. Ben Eastmead
8. Matthew White
9. Jason Coe
10.Douglas Campbell

Touring 17.5 saw Billy Fletcher out in front in every heat with his closest competitor being Matthew Worton from the top heat, however Gary Jones made it up to second from the next heat down so Mr. Worton was to line up third.  Both legs saw a break away from the top 3 meaning they finished with the status quo of Billy top of the tree from Gary and Matt.

Touring 17.5 final results:
1. Billy Fletcher
2. Gary Jones
3. Matthew Worton
4. Mark Young
5. Aaron Rose
6. Jamie Hickin
7. Dani Young
8. Michael Ball
9. Malc Hall
10.Andrew Walters

Formula once again found Luke Lee in totally dominant form leaving everyone else in his wake and to fight over the other spots. Luke would take both final legs leaving Martin Southall to come home second in both with Lee Hedges third in leg one and Javier third in leg two.

Formula final results:
1. Luke Lee
2. Martin Southall
3. Remo Casadei
4. Michael Cook
5. Javier Jimenez-Pradillo
6. Lee Hedges
7. Tony Archer
8. Alan Chipolina

Racing however started with the GT12s. First out and a stellar start for Andy Murray making his RugRacers GT12 debut alongside current European Junior LMP stock Champion Ollie Payne would ensure Tim Hancock was going to have an even more difficult day. The A-final would see Andy Murray take leg 1 from Tim and Niall while leg 2 went to Niall Cochran from Andy Murray and Ben Elliott.

GT12 final results:
1. Andy Murray
2. Niall Cochran
3. Tim Hancock
4. Ben Elliott
5. Owen Smith
6. Mark Deacon
7. Chris Wilkinson
8. Neil Mottram
9. Carl Beecroft
10.Ollie Payne
11.Stuart Barber

Source: The RC Racer [thercracer.com]

Muchmore have introduced a high current charging tray for AAA batteries. The machined aluminium tray will help dissipate heat created during the charging process, reducing stress on the batteries while the screw-type battery terminals allow for easy and secure cell mounting. The tray measures 54x70x25.8mm, it weighs in at about 80g, comes pre-wired with an Ultra 2P connector and it is usable with one to four cells.

Source: Muchmore [muchmoreracing.net]

Coming from Motiv are the 2017 Defy LiPo battery packs for a range of applications. First up is the Defy V6000 2-cell pack, especially made for stock racing the chemistry will hold higher voltage at the top of the discharge curve, equalling more power at the end of the run. The pack weighs in at about 306g, making it also ideal for modified applications. Also new is the V4000 Shorty, a 2-cell offering that weighs in at 206g and that is intended for both stock and modified racing. Last but not least come two 1-cell batteries of 6000mAh (150g) and 7800mAh (155g) with the first being ideal for stock racing thanks to its special high voltage stock racing chemistry while the latter is intended for demanding modified racing with its high capacity of 7800mAh.

Source: Motiv [motivrc.com]