Red RC - RC Car News

Coelho takes Q1 comfortably over Rheinard

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 12:26 PM PDT

Bruno Coelho has taken the opening round of qualifying at the season finale of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Germany. The Xray driver took advantage of the cooling evening conditions to set the pace by more 3-seconds from Marc Rheinard. Having topped the seeding practice, Ronald Volker completed the Top 3 having to give way to the faster Coelho who started the first of the 4 scheduled qualifiers behind him. Having scraped into the top heat Naoto Matsukura would finish a surprise 4th fastest with Freddy Sudhoff and Christopher Krapp completing the Top 6.

Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.

Coelho takes Q1 comfortably over Rheinard

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 12:25 PM PDT

Bruno Coelho has taken the opening round of qualifying at the season finale of the Yokomo Euro Touring Series in Germany. The Xray driver took advantage of the cooling evening conditions to set the pace by more 3-seconds from Marc Rheinard. Having topped the seeding practice, Ronald Volker completed the Top 3 having to give way to the faster Coelho who started the first of the 4 scheduled qualifiers behind him. Having scraped into the top heat Naoto Matsukura would finish a surprise 4th fastest with Freddy Sudhoff and Christopher Krapp completing the Top 6.

Commenting on his TQ run, Coelho said, ‘In the end we didn’t change anything from controlled practice and I just tried to control my first laps so as not to overheat the tyres. It felt really good and then I could begin to push a bit. Volker’s pace was not very fast so maybe he had a problem, but once I passed him I then just tried to manage to the end without any mistake’. The Portuguese driver added, ‘I am still missing steering but that the same problem for everyone as its a characteristic of the track but the Montech Racer body is helping a lot especially in the big corner’. Asked about tomorrow’s three rounds of qualifying, when temperatures will be much higher, he replied, ‘For sure it will be different’, and having experienced hot conditions at the Euro Nitro Series encounter at the track earlier in the month added, ‘the track takes in a lot of heat depending on the sunshine so it can get very hot so we will have to look at how we can change the car for this’.

‘I think it was not bad’ was Rheinard’s reaction. The Infinity driver continued, ‘I knew Bruno in cold would be fastest especially with that new body because it has a lot of downforce so to get second I am happy with this’. He added, ‘Its good that we got two cars in the Top 4 too’. Predicting tomorrow will be ‘completely different’ he said ‘I think in the hot Bruno will not be as fast, he hasn’t looked as good when it is warm so Q2 & 3 we should be closer’.

Volker was ‘a bit disappointed’ with P3. The only driver to beat Coelho for a win this season, he said, ‘it was completely different track conditions to earlier but I still expected better than P3’. Asked what the issue was he replied, ‘my car understeered too much, the track improved a lot (in terms of grip) and I could have run a harder diff’. Feeling he lost out on a potential P2 having to open for Coelho, the Yokomo driver concluded, ‘everything will be different the next two days (due to hotter weather) so that gives me a new chance’.

Matsukura described his P4 as ‘lucky’. Having claimed his first ever ETS podium last time out, the former World Champion said while removing the ARS from his Infinity IF14 made the car ‘pretty good’ it was ‘not quick but was easy to drive’. Having struggled in hot conditions, he said, ‘I checked the weather for tomorrow and it is to be maximum hot so I think I need to change my car and also my driving style’. With the track’s unique asphalt and banked corners working the tyre a lot more than normal, he predicts everyone is going to overheat tyres tomorrow and it will be down to who best manages their driving over the 5-minutes’.

‘Actually pretty good’ was Sudhoff’s response when asked how he felt Q1 had gone. The Awesomatix driver added he had ‘two big moments and almost lost the car’ and these cost him two places, himself, Matsukura and Volker only separated by 2/10ths of a second. He continued, ‘I’m happy as the pace is there so I just need to focus on myself. It will be hotter tomorrow and this is when the car is even better’.

Former ETS race winner Krapp felt he had better pace than P6. The Yokomo driver said, ‘to be honest I’m not too happy because it could have been better’. He continued, ‘On the 2nd lap I had a mistake and let Naoto by but then when I got back up to speed I couldn’t get back by him and he was a little slower than me. 6th is an OK start and I know the pace is there’. Asked how he felt his car would work in hotter conditions, he said, ‘I’m looking forward to tomorrow. The track changes every run so I have left the car the same all day and I attended the Warm-up race so know it’s good when it’s hot’.

In the Xray Pro Stock class Tom Krägefski took Q1 ahead of championship leader Christian Donath with Max Mächler completing the Top 3. In terms of the title contenders, the Pro Stock champion still to be decided, Jan Ratheisky got a P4 while the other challenger Olivier Bultynck played the strategy game and pulled off to save tyres. In the Scorpion Power Formula class former Pro Stock Champion Alexander Stocker took the TQ in the opening round from reigning champion & title contender Ratheisky with Tim Benson 3rd. Championship leader David Ehrbar would get a P5 ahead of the third of the title contenders Bultynck in sixth.

View the complete event results here.

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Video – Modified Qualifying Rd1

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 11:52 AM PDT

JConcepts J21 Javelin F6 formula body shell

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 10:30 AM PDT

Following a somewhat unofficial introduction of their first ever touring car body shell at the recent CETC round in Shanghai, JConcepts have now officially announced the J21 Javelin formula body for the Team Associated F6 1/10th formula car. The concentration of design aspects include a tight fit around the front suspension and main chassis shape. The J21 fits like a top-shelf race body including coverage over the motor and rear axle. The bottom-plate is inventive and helps rear down force in a way that lends itself to a 2017 design. The driver compartment is low-profile with the driver tucked away for the quickest stance possible. The driver helmet is formed separately providing a light-weight alternative to heavy injected moulded plastic used on other models. The design allows for easy painting and detailing of the helmet while the cockpit is accessible enough for decals. Behind the drivers helmet stands the upper cooling engine scoop which transforms into a large stabilising fin for added tracking ability. The side-pods feature under-cutting and recessed areas for vent cut-outs or adding included decals. The entire body packs one of the most sleek looks in class while bolstering a super low-profile design making it highly attractive as a racer and most comparable to the full-scale counterparts. A complete J21 Javelin decal sheet is included for maximum exposure and detailing for the ultimate in show and go.

Source: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]

Volker top seed at ETS Germany

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 10:20 AM PDT

Ronald Volker is the top seed for qualifying at ETS Germany. Having set the fastest 3-consecutive laps in the first of the two rounds of controlled practice, the Yokomo driver’s time would stand as Volker failed to improve on a slightly hotter track in CP2. Topping the final practice from Volker would be Bruno Coelho, the Xray driver breaking into the 42-seconds for his 3-laps following his tyre issues in CP1. Making a massive improvement on his opening time, Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp would post the third fastest time by just 1/1000th of a second in front of Freddy Südhoff, the Awesomatix driver also taking a chunk out of his CP1 time. With Volker the only driver seeded in the top 7 not having run their faster time in CP2, that ranking would be completed by Marc Rheinard, Naoki Akiyama and Loic Jasmin.

Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.

Volker top seed at ETS Germany

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 10:19 AM PDT

Ronald Volker is the top seed for qualifying at ETS Germany. Having set the fastest 3-consecutive laps in the first of the two rounds of controlled practice, the Yokomo driver’s time would stand as Volker failed to improve on a slightly hotter track in CP2. Topping the final practice from Volker would be Bruno Coelho, the Xray driver breaking into the 42-seconds for his 3-laps following his tyre issues in CP1. Making a massive improvement on his opening time, Infinity’s Jilles Groskamp would post the third fastest time by just 1/1000th of a second in front of Freddy Südhoff, the Awesomatix driver also taking a chunk out of his CP1 time. With Volker the only driver seeded in the top 7 not having run their faster time in CP2, that ranking would be completed by Marc Rheinard, Naoki Akiyama and Loic Jasmin.

Reacting to CP2, Volker said, ‘the sun came out so it was warmer and my car was a little difficult out of the start but it was still a decent run’. He continued, ‘I will leave (the car) unchanged for Q1 because it will cool down again but I will have to make some adjustments for Q2 tomorrow’ – a much hotter day being forecast at Minidrom Ettlingen. The World Champion added, ‘I noticed Bruno and Freddy are good on 5-minute pace, particularly Freddy. I think he has the best car for all conditions’.

‘Much better now’, was how Coelho summed up the final practice after a tyre came unglued in the first controlled practice. Suffering a mistake in the middle of the run when he ran wide onto the dust causing him to go off onto the grass, he said, ‘the track was hotter and already after one lap the tyres were overheating so it was very important to drive smoother in these conditions not to overheat the tyres’. Looking to Q1 which will run on a cool track, the back to back ETS champion said, ‘we need to increase traction but have to be careful to not overdo it and overheat the tyres’.

A very pleased looking Groskamp said, ‘I change a lot my set-up. I tried a lot of stuff in the earlier practices and put it all together for the final one’. The two time champion added, ‘the first three laps in particular improved which I couldn’t put together before’. Describing the set-up now on his IF14 as ‘pretty similar to Marc’s’ he said he will leave it unchanged for Q1. Having sat third fastest after CP1, Groskamp’s team-mate Akio Sobue would try to follow the direction of his team-mate’s set-up for CP2 and run no ARS but the Japanese driver said this left him with ‘super understeer’. Dropping to P8 in the seeding, he will revert back to his ARS car for Q1.

Südhoff summed up his strong pace by saying, ‘From the very first run the car has been good, its good in all conditions, hot or windy, and especially for 5-minutes’. The German continued, ‘The hot lap is missing a little but it is 5-minutes that is most important’. A driver on the positive side of the fence in terms of the track, he said,’I really like the track, it is different to all other tracks but the traction is really good and consistent’. Asked about Q1 he plans to leave his A800X ‘as is’ and ‘try to make no mistakes’.

‘So so, not bad’ was Rheinard’s thoughts on his CP2 run, the Infinity driver adding, ‘3 laps doesn’t matter it’s more over the full run thats important’. The German continued, ‘my problem right now is the right rear has more toe in the left one and that’s causing me to lose at lot at the end of the straight’. With this problem traced to a difference in the rear hubs, he will fit a new pair for Q1.

Winner of the ETS Warm-up race run by the Ettlingen club in June, Akiyama put his improvement down to making no mistakes. Running in Heat 22 of 23 and running the same set up on his BD8 as team-mate Volker, he would make a mistake on his opening lap in CP1 preventing him from getting the best from the tyres. Admitting his Warm-up Race attendance is an advantage on the ‘difficult track’, the 17-year-old got a clean opening 3-laps on his second attempt to put himself in the top heat for qualifying. Currently 11th in the overall season standings he is targeting his third A-Main appearance of the season as he tries to round out his first full ETS campaign in the Top 10.

View our event image gallery here.

Highest RC BLP650 & BLP680 low-profile servos

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 09:02 AM PDT

Highest RC have released two new high-performance low-profile servos for 1/10th scale applications. First up is the BLP650 (0.06s/12.2kg-cm), the updated version of the popular DLP650. The servo is equipped with a high-performance brushless motor and an all-aluminium case with the bottom case now also being made of alloy. Also new is the BLP680, the dual mounting lugs variant of the BLP650 with the 680 having the lower servo mounting points removed for a snug fitment in the Yokomo BD8 touring car. Both servos are high-voltage compatible and they are available now.

Source: Mibosport [mibosport.com]

VPR Tekno-specific XV3 shock pistons

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 07:58 AM PDT

Coming from VRP and made for all Tekno RC vehicles are specific XV3 4-hole shock pistons. By working with Tekno team members, VRP have developed a lineup of pistons that suits the Tekno geometry the best. Available will be 4-hole 1.9, 2.0, 2.1 and 1.9/2.0 split pistons all of which use the popular XV3 piston technology.

Source: VRP [visionracingproducts.com]

Volker fastest in first controlled practice at ETS Finale

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 07:44 AM PDT

Ronald Volker is the early benchmark at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series Season Finale in Germany. Having topped free practice at Minidrom Ettlingen, the Yokomo driver remained top of the timesheets in the first of the two rounds of controlled seeding practice as he continued to get the most from his car on the track’s unique asphalt and banked corners. Closest to Volker, as he had been in Free Practice, would be Bruno Coelho albeit it by half a second – the Xray driver having a tyre issue and only completing half of CP1 before pulling off. Infinity’s Akio Sobue made it three different manufacturers in the Top 3 followed closely by team-mate Rheinard with Yannic Prumper and Meen Vejrak rounding out the Top 6.

Continue reading this report here or view our complete event coverage here.

Volker fastest in first controlled practice at ETS Finale

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 07:41 AM PDT

Ronald Volker is the early benchmark at the Yokomo Euro Touring Series Season Finale in Germany. Having topped free practice at Minidrom Ettlingen, the Yokomo driver remained top of the timesheets in the first of the two rounds of controlled seeding practice as he continued to get the most from his car on the track’s unique asphalt and banked corners. Closest to Volker, as he had been in Free Practice, would be Bruno Coelho albeit it by half a second – the Xray driver having a tyre issue and only completing half of CP1 before pulling off. Infinity’s Akio Sobue made it three different manufacturers in the Top 3 followed closely by team-mate Rheinard with Yannic Prumper and Meen Vejrak rounding out the Top 6.

‘The event is going pretty good’, was Volker’s reaction to topping the times. The World Champion added, ‘this track is very special and needs a different set-up and it definitely was a help testing here a few times before the race. That testing has made it easier for me because unfortunately I don’t have Umino at my side this weekend’. With Yokomo designer Yukijiro Umino and Volker one of the best known partnership in touring car racing, unfortunately Umino was unable to travel to the Season #10 finale due to his children taking ill but Volker had good news from Umino that they have now been released from hospital. Looking to CP2 and the opening qualifier which takes place this evening, Volker said, ‘Q1 will be nice and cold but tomorrow and Sunday’s weather will change to warmer so this will change things and I just hope I am prepared for that’.

While having a tyre come unglued in CP1 causing his car to struggle in left turns, overall Coelho is happy with where he is at in terms of car set-up. Having already successfully defended his ETS title, he said, ‘I had a problem with the tyre after the second lap. I tried to do some more laps but it was undriveable so I stopped, but from the free practice I know the car is working really well’. Having raced at Minidrom Ettlingen earlier in the month when he TQ’d 1:10 at the Euro Nitro Series and finished 2nd in 1:8, he said the track is equally a completely different challenge for electric as it is for nitro compared to any other track in the world. He said the traction levels are ‘more than normal and the banked corners make it challenging to find the perfect set-up’.

Fresh from being crowned Japanese National Champion last weekend before flying out to Europe, Sobue said, ‘At the beginning my car is not so bad but after 3-minutes the time drops’. With the car becoming ‘loose’, he said he struggles with ‘no traction on power’. With this race weekend his first time to run on the track, he said ‘I don’t like the track, you need a special set-up because of the traction’. Having run a hard diff in CP1 he said he might change this for CP2.

‘We made a little bit of step forward by taking out the ARS but I still have no steering and have to lift early to make a turn’, was how Rheinard summed up the first seeding run. He continued, ‘I messed up my first lap which cost me a few tenths on my 3-laps but overall I don’t think I’m that far off. Ronald is a little faster than everyone because he did a couple of tests before but I’m still not familiar with the track yet, not the layout but the surface’.

Summing up his P5 pace, Prumper said, ‘the day started out not so good as yesterday but the last one (CP1) was good after we went back to the set-up I came to the race with. It wasn’t good yesterday but somehow it works now’. Another driver not a fan of the track the VBC Racing team driver said, ‘the layout is OK but I think the surface is already damaged from the nitro cars’. With his car developing understeer over the run he plans to try a harder geardiff in CP2 to try and make the car ‘more solid over the 5-minutes’.

Reacting to setting the 6th fastest time over 3-consecutive laps, Vejrak said, ‘It’s getting better & better every run’. The Yokomo driver continued, ‘the track is special, we have nothing like this Bangkok. It doesn’t look difficult but when you drive it while it’s fun it’s pretty difficult. You need to learn a lot especially how to manage the tyres so they don’t overheat’. Behind Vejrak, team-mate Nicholas Lee was 7th fastest with Christopher Krapp 9th, sandwiched between the two Awesomatix of Freddy Südhoff and Viljami Kutvonen.

View our event image gallery here.

VS Racing VSB01-DLC limited edition off-road engine

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 07:22 AM PDT

VS Racing have introduced their limited edition VSB01-DLC 3.5cc nitro off-road engine. The long stroke power plant is based off of the VSB01 and received a diamond-like DLC coating for the crankshaft in order to reduce internal friction and increase the life span of the crankshaft pin. Also included is a VS Spec combustion camber insert and the engine is limited to 50 pieces world wide.

Specifications:
– 16.8mm long stroke
– Specific 3-port design
– CNC machined flat piston
– 14mm Bi-Turbo crankshaft, balanced, lightened and silicone-filled,’Rody’ + DLC treatment
– Competition conrod
– Turbo combustion chamber VS Spec.
– 14mm high-speed main bearing
– 7mm high-speed front bearing with rubber protection
– VS Spec lightweight cooling head
– VS crankcase
– VS Spec aluminium lightweight slide carburettor with double adjustment
– 6.5mm aluminium venturi

Source: World Champion Products [worldchampionproducts.com]

Chassis Focus – Robert Pietsch

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 06:59 AM PDT

Chassis – Mugen MTC-1
Motor – LRP X20 4.5T
ESC – LRP Flow X
Batteries – LRP 6400mAh LCG Stock Spec
Tires – Volante (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa
Bodyshell – Montech Racer
Remarks – Former 1/8th scale World Champion Robert Pietsch is giving his own touring car creation, the MTC-1 its international race debut this weekend in Ettlingen ahead of the car’s August release. With only 3 cars currently in existence, the other two in the hands of Eric Dankel and Atsushi Hara, the car has some nice features such as the easily adjustable front caster that uses a top A-arm in place of traditional linkages and which uses a C-hub style front steering block that has an interesting lower pivot pin mount to allow the hub to angle to the new caster setting. Other features include the easily adjustable steering system through the use of inserts and the aluminium diff casing that removes any friction in the outdrives by eliminating all flex around the bearings. In terms of setup, since coming to the track Robert has moved weight more to the centre of the car, from the front, in an attempt to gain more steering and chosen for the stiffer top deck, where the flexible top deck is better on most other tracks. Having tried both the Protoform LTCR and the Montech Racer, he has picked the latter saying it is faster and easier to drive especially on the corner at the end of the straight.

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Capricorn introduce new T-shirt

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 06:10 AM PDT

Capricorn have introduced a new T-shirt sporting their distinctive logo. The black colour tee is made of high-quality cotton fabric and it comes with an all-new design for the front and back and it is available in all common adult sizes.

Source: Capricorn [capricornrc.com]

Track Focus – Minidrom Ettlingen

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 03:45 AM PDT

Track Name – Minidrom Ettlingen
Club – Mini Car Club Ettlingen
Country – Germany
Location – Ettlingen (SW of the country)
Direction – Anti-clockwise
Surface – Asphalt
No. of ETS Races hosted – 0
Other major races hosted – ENS (2015, 2016, 2017), 2015 1:8 Onroad European C/ship, 2011 Onroad European C/ship, 1:10 2001 1:5 World Championships

The ETS wraps up it’s tenth season with a new venue as drivers descend on the Minidrom Ettlingen track situated in the south west of Germany. A track familiar to nitro racers, it a fixture on the Euro Nitro Series calendar for the past three years, the track is a lot less known to electric racers. Incidentally Ettlingen is the 10th different outdoor track the championship has visited since its creation – this being the 57th ETS race to be put on by Uwe Rheinard and Scotty Ernst. The track is run by the predominantly nitro Mini Car Club Ettlingen who built the track 27-years ago on land owned by the local city which has a population of almost 40,000. The first major change to the track layout over that time was done in 2014 when during a resurfacing of the track it was extended to 265-metres with the addition of a new 25-metre section. It is the asphalt used during that work that has become one of the track’s main features. A very fine/smooth surface, it creates a one of kind unique feeling between the car and track. The other key feature of the track is the banked corners, the end of straight sweeper one of the key points to a good lap time./i

With mixed views from drivers on the track layout/feel, Ronald Volker is a fan saying, ‘I like it but I know others don’t’ – Marc Rheinard one of those who doesn’t. The Yokomo driver described the track as ‘quite special for electric’ adding, ‘I don’t know if that is because of the asphalt or the banked corners but it’s definitely different to what we normally race on’. A driver who has been to the track four times in preparation for this weekend, the World Champion said, ‘if the weather gets hot it’s going to get very challenging’, something drivers experienced on the finals day at the ETS Warm-up race hosted by the local club in June. While Day 1 is proving a cool day, the weather forecast is showing much warmer conditions tomorrow. Asked about the biggest challenge of a lap, 13.9 seconds the fastest Modified lap times so far, he said, ‘the beginning of the straight through to the loop (positioned in the centre of the track directly out of a tight corner). You have to get the banking right and then from the sweeper to the chicane its easy to get it wrong and catch air or go off’.

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Muchmore Fleta ZX V2 10.5T Drift brushless motor

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 01:24 AM PDT

The latest in the line of Muchmore’s all-new Fleta ZX V2 brushless motors is a drift specific 10.5T variant. It makes use of the same Flow-Max 2 motor can and high-power stator design as the recently introduced modified and stock variants but it includes a special rotor whose fan not only further increases cooling but it also makes for a more realistic sound effect. The Drift motor is available in the 10.5T variant only and it will hit stores very soon.

Source: Muchmore [muchmoreracing.net]

Yeah Racing 5x7mm stainless steel shim set

Posted: 28 Jul 2017 12:58 AM PDT

Yeah Racing have introduced a set of 5x7mm stainless steel shims. Coming in 0.1mm, 0.15mm, 0.2mm, 0.25mm and 0.3mm thickness the shims are ideal to adjust the axial movement of driveshafts and other 5mm axles on a range of vehicles. The 50-piece set includes ten shims of each thickness and it is available soon.

Source: Yeah Racing [yeahracing.com]