Red RC - RC Car News

This past weekend the first round of the Swedish National Cup was held at the Green Hill race track with the event being hosted by the MHF Skarpnäck club. The cold weather made things slightly unpleasant but at least it stayed dry all days which was a plus. In the 4WD Buggy class local driver Niclas Mansson would take the TQ with young Alexander Landen lining up in 2nd.

In the opening A-main the top 3 cars broke away quite early, and they kept their running order until Niclas made a mistake, allowing Alexander to get into the lead only to have a mishap himself two corners later, which promoted Wilhelm Skjödebrand into the lead. Ultimately Wilhelm kept his cool despite being under pressure from Alexander in 2nd. In A2 Niclas made a small mistake going into the wall ride and Alexander took immediate advantage, passing him on the inside. Alexander than managed the gap on Wilhelm, bringing home the win in A2. Going into A3 only Alexander and Wilhelm were in the mix for the overall win but Wilhelm had to score a faster time than Alexander in order to grab the overall win. Ultimately Alexander was able to bring home the overall victory as the top 3 cars finished the leg in the starting order with Wilhelm Skjöldebrand and Niclas Mansson completed the overall top 3 results.

4WD final results:
1. Alexander Landén – Xray
2. Wilhelm Skjöldebrand – Team Associated
3. Niclas Månsson – Team Associated
4. Martin Johansson Nielsén – Xray
5. Elias Johansson – Team Associated
6. Hugo Bjurman – Xray
7. Marcus Lind – Yokomo
8. Filippa Plyhm – Team Associated
9. Stefan Johansson – Xray
10.Jesper Uvehall – Team Associated

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

Round one of the Swiss 1/10th Electric Off-road national championship was held at the Islikon track over the weekend. Team Associated’s Patrick Hofer was in control of things all weekend long, taking double TQs and wins in the 2WD Modified and 4WD Modified Buggy classes. In the 2WD Modified category, Nico Schmid (Xray) and Philipp Huber (Team Durango) would round out the top 3 result while the 4WD Modified podium was completed by the Xray duo of Nico and Florian Schmid.

Images: Patrick Hofer

The opening round of the Austrian 1/10th and 1/8th Nationals was held at the Sollenau track and it was Gerhard Kandelhart who took home the biggest trophy although it was his team mate Leonardo Varga who claimed the TQ spot after qualifying. In the main final Leo was in the lead for quite some time but a crash with a back marker forced him to get his car repaired in the pits. Gerhard Kandelhart took over the lead after Leo’s incident andhe  never looked back, crossing the finishing line in 1st position in front of Kurt Hubeny while Leo fought his way back to the front to complete the podium.

Source: Shepherd [team-shepherd.com]

Round 1 of the SIS Challenge was held at the SIS circuit in Jakarta and in the two classes of Touring Modified class and Mini. Bowie Ginting would take the overall TQ in the Touring Modified class by coming out fastest in Q2 and Q3 while Q1 belonged to Muhammad Izzah, which gave him the 2 spot on the A-main grid as Christian Mamesah lined up in 3rd. In the opening A-main disaster stroke for both Bowie and Izzah as they were struck by diff problems which promoted Peter Anthonijsz from 7th to 1st while Christian and Denny Pangestu came in 2nd and 3rd.

In leg two both Bowie and Izzah were able to open a gap on the field in the opening stages until Izzah had a mishap about half way into the race. Bowie also had a moment in the final lap which allowed Christian by and into the lead that he would hold onto until the flag. Izzah and Bowie would come in 2nd and 3rd. Right from the start of the decisive A3, Bowie and Izzah would again be able to open a gap but this time also Ronny was in the mix, coming from the 4th spot on the grid. Izzah again made a slight mistake while Ronny had to stop with a broken motor. Up front Bowie brought home the win from Christian and Peter but ultimately it would be Christian with the overall win from Bowie and Peter.

Touring Modified final results:
1. Christian Mamesah – Serpent/ORCA
2. Bowie Ginting – Serpent/Hobbywing
3. Peter Anthonijsz – Awesomatix/Hobbywing
4. Muhammad Izzah – Xray/Reedy
5. Haryo  – VBC Racing/Hobbywing
6. Denny Pangestu – Xray/Reedy
7. Ronny Suwarto – Xray/ORCA
8. Chandra Yosef – Awesomatix/Hobbywing
9. Nico Gani – Yokomo/Hobbywing
10.Yusuf Zulkarnain – Xray/ORCA

In the Open Mini class, young Ridhwan Suteja took a comfortable win from Christian and Haryo.

Open Mini final results:
1. Ridhwan Suteja – TOP
2. Christian Mamesah – Tamiya
3. Haryo – Tamiya

Source: Serpent [serpent.com]

The second round of the Belgian FBA Electric On-road national championship was held at the fast and flowing track of the MAC de Baanbrekers in Rucphen. The race attracted 55 drivers, divided over the classes of Rookie, Formula, Touring Stock and Touring Modified. The weekend started off with free practice on Saturday and thanks to the warm weather the grip level was excellent whereas on Sunday the track was damp with ambient temperatures of only about 11 degree Celsius, meaning Saturday’s setup was pretty much obsolete. In the premier Touring Modified class Ollie Ollie Buyltinck (Awesomatix) was had his first outing at the nationals and everyone was keen to see if up and coming Mitchell Van Ess (Awesomatix) would be able to challenge the veteran racer.

Olivier was then soon up to speed, taking the provisional pole despite having to run in a lower heat. His fastest single laptime came close to the track record while Mitchell set the fastest time in the top group, some 3 seconds behind Ollie. Nicolas Delisé completed the Awesomatix top 3, but he was followed closely as well by Athan De Witte’s VBC. 13-years old Liam Van de Wouwer completed the top 5 running a Yokomo. In Q2 it was again Olivier whi set the pace, but while Mitchell claimed P2, both Athan and Nicolas were victims of a DNF. The top 5 was completed by Rico Claeys (Xray), Liam and Robby Engelen (Xray). In Q3 it Mitchell who fell victim of the mechanical gremlins. Young Athan De Witte claimed P2 behind Olivier and succeeded Nicolas, Liam and Robby.

With Olivier dominating the event in the qualifying, the main focus in the finals would be on the battle for the remaining podium spots. In A1 Ollie was cheered on by his daughter Anais, and this motivated him to set a new official 1/10th electric track record with a 14.102s. Mitchell took P2, but he was closely followed by Athan, Nicolas and Rico. A2 again went Olivier’s way, but the battle between Mitchell and Athan started to take shape. Athan was following in Mitchell’s wheelmarks and positioning himself for an attack. Unfortunately for Mitchell, his rear hub carrier came loose and he scored a DNF. Athan took a great P2 in front of Rico, Géry Ledocq (Kyosho) and Pascal Delferiere (VBC). Ollie decided to sit out A3 after having already taken the overall win and this let the fight for P2 wide open. Mitchell took a convincing lead and held it to the finish. Athan was putting a lot of pressure on Nicolas but the latter’s car suffered from a major understeer and he had to nurse his car around the track. When everyone expected Athan to make his move, he got his by a back marker and had to settle for P3. Nicolas later checked his car and found that his front stabiliser came loose, which caused the erratic behaviour of his car. Rico followed in 4th ahead of Liam who made a fine drive to 5th. The overall top 5 positions were Olivier Buyltinck (Awesomatix), Mitchell Van Es (Awesomatix), Athan De Witte (VBC), Nicolas Delisé (Awesomatix) and Géry Ledocq (Kyosho).

Touring Stock was the strongest class of the weekend with 24 drivers. Because of the fast and flowing nature of the track, the racing would prove to be very competitive and exciting in this class where the top speeds are virtually identical. Once again it became clear that racing and free practice are two different things. During the free practice in the warmer conditions, Florian Joos’s Tamiya was the car to beat. With a laptime of 17.34 he was clearly faster than the other drivers. Sunday however, in the colder conditions, Vincent Van Gansen (Xray) set the pace. The young driver lead the way but he was followed on a shoe-string by Florian Joos, Stefan Rommens (Team Magic), Peter Degrande’s VBC and Christophe Charlier (Awesomatix). Q2 was a disaster for Florian as his mechanic fried his car’s speed controller before the start. Vincent took a blistering start but rolled his car at the entry of the pit straight. This let Stefan Rommens in the lead, and Stefan tried to claim P1. Vincent however was having none of it and started to claw back to the top, but in the end Stefan took Q2. Q3 proved to be a thriller. Vincent took off in P1, and he was followed by Stefan and Christophe Charlier. Because of his DNF in Q2, Florian had to start in the last position. The four drivers exchanged the lead over and over again and in the end it was Florian who claimed P1 by 0.15 in front of Vincent, Stefan, Peter and Christophe.

All drivers had the utmost respect for each other and this was clearly visible during the finals. There were some great passes but zero contact. It was a great showcase for our sports. In A1 Florian took the early lead and Vincent followed him closely. The latter had to fend off the attacks from Stefan and Peter however and this gave Florian the opportunity to open a gap. Stefan made a great move in the esses after the straight and took P2. Vincent however was keen to take his P2 back and made a great move when entering the straight to claim P2 in front of Stefan, Peter and Christophe. A2 was a thriller as Florian, Vincent, Stefan and Peter followed in each others slipstream for five minutes. They finished in the same order as they started, but the crowds really loved watching this final. As Florian already bagged the overall victory, he went for a more conventional setup, which made his car a bit easier to drive but slower as well. Florian and Vincent were able to break away from Stefan. When Florian took a different line entering the hairpin corner, Vincent was unsettled and ran too wide over the kerb. This let Stefan close the gap again and soon he was on Vincent’s rear bumper. Stefan took a slightly tighter line entering the main straight and was able to pass Vincent for P2. He soon started to put pressure on Florian and when Florian made an error Stefan took over the lead. Vincent followed in Stefan’s slipstream but Stefan kept his cool and claimed A3. This gave the final top 5 ranking of Florian Joos (Tamiya), Vincent Van Gansen (Xray), Stefan Rommens (Team Magic), Peter Degrande (VBC Racing) and Christophe Charlier (Awesomatix).

The Formula class attracted 11 drivers. Despite the lower turnout, the quality of the drivers is quite high, as the grid was filled with three ETS A-main finalists – Olivier Buyltinck, Steve Deblaere and Nicolas Delisé. Local drivers Patrick Jongenelis and Marc Martens were however keen to exploit their track advantage to the fullest. Because both Steve and Olivier missed the first race, they had to start in the second heat. Steve Deblaere (Serpent) was however unaffected by this and set the pace in Q1. He was five seconds clear of Florian Joos (Shepherd) and the outsider Bjorn Frederickx. In A2, Steve went even faster and recorded a 16 lapper in 505, some five seconds faster than his first run. Florian Joos recorded almost the same time and found himself in P2, in front of Patrick Jongenelis (Serpent) and Olivier Buyltinck (Shepherd), who was struggling with the tyre prep in the colder weather. Steve took Q3 as well, and with a time of 16 in 503 he took P1 on the grid. He was followed by Florian Joos, an outstanding Bjorn Frederickx, Olivier Buyltinck and Patrick Jongenelis. The top 5 were covered by only five seconds, so the finals would prove to be interesting.

The start of A1 was quite eventful as the drivers weren’t able to do a warm-up lap and had to line up on the grid immediately. The biggest victim was Florian, who went sideways in the first corner and was passed by the entire field. To aggravate the situation even further, he couldn’t defend his chances as his battery wasn’t fully charged. Meanwhile, Steve took the hole shot, but Olivier proved his skill and passed Bjorn for P2. He started challenging Steve, but Steve claimed A1 in front of Ollie, Patrick, Frans Engelen (Xray) and Florian. A2 was a bit more eventful as Olivier was whipped out at the start and had to attack from the back of the field. Steve was leading dominantly in front of Florian and Patrick. Patrick passed Florian for P2 and Olivier claimed P4 in front of Frans Engelen who drove a very solid A2 as well. A3 then saw yet another victory of Steve in front of Olivier, Patrick and Bjorn who finally had an event-free final. Frans claimed a strong P5 again. The final results were Steve Deblaere (Serpent), Olivier Buyltinck (Shepherd), Patrick Jongenelis (Serpent), Florian Joos (Shepherd) and Frans Engelen (Xray).

In the supporting Rookie class the six drivers finished in the following order: Alexandre Van Gansen (Junior), Rony Claeys, Marc Joosens, Herman Van Gansen, Lorenzo Vandepoele and Rebekka Masschelein.

Thanks to David Joos for the report.

Raw Speed have introduced a wing drilling jig for their own 1/10th buggy wing. Featuring mounting positions for the Team Associated B6-series buggy, the jig allows for centred and square mounting positions, doing away with the need to hand-fit the positions every time. The 3-D-printed jig is available for Raw Speed’s wing only, with more variants for the TLR 22, Kyosho RB6.6, Xray XB4 and Yokomo YZ coming soon.

Source: Raw Speed [rawspeedrc.com]

The opening round of the North German Nitro On-road regionals was held at the AMC Hildesheim track over the weekend. In the premier 1/8th on-road class Serpent’s Merlin Depta took the overall TQ some 2.6 seconds in front of Shepherd’s Lars Hoppe and Timo Schröder. In the opening stages of the 30-minutes A-main Merlin and Lars would battle for the lead but Merlin held the upper hand especially after the tyre stops, allowing him to take the win with a 1-lap margin from Lars in 2nd and Timo in 3rd.

Image: Lars Hoppe

The second round of the BRCA Nitro Buggy National Championship was held in Kent. Team Associated’s Neil Cragg was the man to beat all weekend, taking the TQ after the qualifiers and bringing home the win with a massive 39 seconds margin from Kyosho’s Elliott Boots in 2nd. Infinity’s Lee Martin would round out the podium result in 3rd.

Source: BRCA [brca.org]

Arrowmax have introduced their new cleaning putty, a special gum to get rid of a multitude of residues. Developed to clean chassis and suspension parts from tyre debris, the putty also removes other remains like dust, dirt and oils thanks to its tacky surface, leaving a nice and clean surface. The reusable product comes in handy 80g jars.

Source: Arrowmax [arrowmax-rc.com]

For the final stop on a week long promotion and racing tour through Japan, Ryan Maifield headed to Osaka to attend RC Maniax Arena’s monthly club race. Featuring a hard-packed clay surface and a challenging layout, the dirt track was something Ryan felt at home on and so he picked up a win in 2WD and 4WD to close out the trip that started off with a double win at the Golden Week Championships.

Source: Ryan Maifield [facebook.com]