Red RC - RC Car News

After being with ARC the last two seasons, German frontrunner, Lars Hoppe has decided to return to his former sponsor Shepherd for the upcoming season. Lars will campaign Shepherd’s Velox V8 WC at events such as the ENS, the German Nationals and the IFMAR Worlds in France. Lars has the following to say:

At first I want to thank team ARC for great two years with the new R8 and wish them all the best. I am very happy to rejoin Team Shepherd and want to thank Patrick Schäfer for the great opportunity. For the 2017 season I will participate the whole Euro Nitro Series, the German Championship, some local races and for sure the World Championship in France. I look forward to work with this great team.

Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]

The 2nd Season of the California Touring Series is taking off February 25th to 26th. This year will have SoCal and CenCal tracks in the mix with the first three rounds being in Los Angeles. With a successful inaugural season in 2016, CTS2 will attract more racers and make racing exciting to watch. Modified Touring Champion and Team Yokomo driver Eric Albano will have his title to defend on some strong competition during the six rounds of the series.

Source: CTS [facebook.com]

Reds Racing have announced the addition of Chinese Champion, Hu Wei Ping to their factory team. Hu Wei will use Reds Racing’s line of nitro engines while attending events throughout Asia and Reds Racing are looking forward to a successful 2017 season and beyond.

Source: Reds Racing [reds-racing.com]

Round three of the Xray Racing Series Slovakia was held at the Hudy Racing Arena and with over 100 entries for a total of nine classes. The premier class of Touring Car Modified was dominated by Martin Hudy who took the TQ and overall win. Behind him, the race was on for the remaining podium spots and it would be Oliver Havranek, coming from the 4 spot on the grid, and Arkadiusz Smyk from P6 who grabbed the final podium spots.

Touring Modified top 5 results:
1. Martin Hudy – Xray
2. Oliver Havranek – Xray
3. Arkadiusz Smyk – Xray
4. Tom Krägefski – Xray
5. Michal Wojcik – Xray

Touring Stock, run with 13.5T handout motors, attracted the most entries. In qualification it was Tom Krägefski who took the TQ by a narrow 0.4s in front of Oliver Havranek and Ales Bayer in second and third. In the third A-main Oliver would take advantage of technical issues by Tom to take the win and with it the overall victory from Tom in second and Ales Bayer in third.

Touring Stock top 5 results:
1. Oliver Havranek – Xray
2. Tom Krägefski – Xray
3. Aleš Bayer – Xray
4. Arkadiusz Smyk – Xray
5. Filip Obora – Xray

The Formula class saw Martin Hudy out in front after the qualification with Igor Liptak and Dusan Bayer in second and third. All three drivers would finish in the same order after the A-mains, but Martin’s mistakes at the beginning of the runs made the finals exciting.

Formula top 5 results:
1. Martin Hudy – Xray
2. Igor Liptak – Xray
3. Dušan Bayer – Xray
4. Michal Milanowicz – Xray
5. Pawel Grzeskowiak – Xray

The 1/12th Modified class was dominated by Tomas Liptak, who had a huge lead in the qualifiers and he would also bring home the hardware after the A-mains but not without some drama in A1. Jiri and Vladimir would make up the remainder of the podium.

1/12th Modified top 3 results:
1. Tomáš Liptak – Xray
2. Jiří Rybak – Xray
3. Vladimír Viskup – Xray

1/12th GT saw Igor Liptak take an easy overall win from Jozef Bozo in second and Vladimir Viskup in third.

1/12th GT top 3 results:
1. Igor Liptak – Xray
2. Jozef Bozo – Xray
3. Vladimír Viskup – Xray

Racing in all three pan car classes it was Vladimir Viskup who was able to take the TQ and win in the 1/10th scale category from Marek and Miroslav.

1/10th Pan Car top 3 results:
1. Vladimír Viskup – Xray
2. Marek Helbich – Xray
3. Miroslav Hargas – Xray

Moving over to the off-road classes, in 2WD it was young Max Götzl who took the win from Peter Loncsar and Juraj Hudy after having trouble in A1 but coming back in A2 and A3.

2WD top 3 results:
1. Max Gotzl – Xray
2. Peter Loncsar – Yokomo
3. Juraj Hudy – Xray

The 4WD class was won by Max who was pretty dominant, leaving Lacko Toth, Peter Loncsar and Juraj Hudy fighting for the remaining podium spots. In the end it was Lacko who grabbed the runner-up spot from Peter while Juraj had to settle for fourth.

4WD top 3 results:
1. Max Gotzl – Xray
2. Lacko Toth – Xray
3. Peter Loncsar – Yokomo

Finally in the Stadium Truck class it was again Max who excelled by taking home the win from Juraj Hudy and Zsolt Bajusz Junior

Stadium Truck top 3 results:
1. Max Gotzl – Xray
2. Juraj Hudy – Xray
3. Zsolt Bajusz Junior – Xray

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

Sweep Racing have released a first teaser of their forthcoming carpet and astro turf tyres for 1/10th scale buggies. The front tyres feature a common split rip design with a connecting outer bar making them directional while the rear tyre sports a stubby pin design. It is understood that the tyres are being tested as we type and depending on the results they will hit stores soon.

Source: Sweep [sweepracing.com]

Xray have introduced universal centre driveshafts for the XB8 1/8th scale off-road buggy. Made from tough Hudy spring steel the parts are strategically machined for a low weight without compromising stability and durability. Due to their design the driveshafts free up the drivetrain while also improving traction at the same time. The universals are available separately for the front and rear.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

O.S. Engines have announced the return of Andrea Pirani to their racing team. After three year of collaboration Andrea returns to the iconic Japanese brand to continue the project born in 2014: Increasing the European market share while helping with product development. This year Andrea will participate at the 1/8th On-road World Championships in France, the ENS and the Italian Championship. In cooperation with Italian O.S. distributor Radiosistemi, Andrea will also offer technical support for O.S. on-road drivers.

Arrowmax have announced the signing of Felix Law to their factory racing team. The 2015 Reedy Race Touring Stock Open class and current China 1/10 EP off-road National Champion is well-known for his multi-class skills and his helpful and friendly nature. The Florida-native and current Hong Kong citizen will be helping Arrowmax to promote their line of products within the Asia region. Felix had the following to say:

With dedication and innovative in mind, Arrowmax is one of the most well-known brand in RC today. With brand-new line up of product range for 2017, Arrowmax will continue to grow. I will like to thanks Mr. Lau for giving me the chance to work with the team in order to build this exciting brand together. It is an honor for me to join this incredible team, looking forward to the great products for the upcoming year.

Source: Arrowmax [arrowmax-rc.com]

Tamiya let the good old times roll with more re-releases of already re-issued 1980’s kits as the Japanese company is set for a, from what is understood, limited and probably JDM-only re-release of the 2008 Boomerang, the 2011 Avante and the Novafox. The kits are meant to hit Japanese stores at the beginning of March but as they are not officially mentioned in Tamiya’s March release list and they are also not on show as re-issued items during this week’s Nuremberg Toy Fair, the “RC Special Items” declared kits may indeed not make an official return. Nevertheless they are soon up for grabs for everyone that wishes to complete his 1980’s icon collection.

Source: Tamiya [tamiya.com]

Exotek have introduced three new Flite-series topshafts the most popular 2WD buggies as well as a Flite ultra light direct spur mount. Starting with the topshafts, the parts have been drilled and the teeth narrowed for increased acceleration and a cooler running motor. Less than half the weight of the stock topshaft and slipper assembly and lighter still than Exotek’s standard spur mount set, when combined with the special light weight spur mount, the assembly weighs in at 9.5g complete with hardware and 72 spur. The topshaft is available for the Team Associated B6, Kyosho RB6.6 and the TLR 22 3.0.

As for the Flite ultra light direct spur mount, the slipper eliminator mounting hub is Exotek’s lightest system yet for increased acceleration and a cooler running motor. This spur hub is designed for use on the above topshafts, it utilises Exotek or Kimbrough spur gears and the 7075 aluminium parts are available in blue, black or orange anodising.

Source: Exotek [exotekracing.com]