Truggies are going to be big

Just had a couple of new truggies into the shop, and I have to say that I think that truggies are going to be big news.

Truggies are a cross between rallycross buggies and monster trucks. They have the same agility as a buggy, but also have the same insane 'unstoppability' of a monster truck. On top of all this they usually have a .28 or .30 engine - so huge power.

This week the HPI Hellfire arrived into stock. For HPI fans, this was the truggie to wait for. First impreessions are that it is a real competition machine and will do well. I have already sold the first two which came into the shop, so we should see them pounding round J28M1.

Kyosho are also taking this market seriously, and are releasing two truggies based on the MP777. The first to arrive is the RTR version - the Kyosho Inferno ST Readyset - and this looks really good, and yet is at a nice entry price. The out-and-out racing version should be arriving soon.

Kyosho Test Week-end

The start of the 2006 racing season gets closer with the opening race scheduled to be at Tibshelf at the end of March.

With this in mind, I decided that it would be a good idea to hold a 'shake-down' meeting before the start of the season so that my team drivers could 'debug' their new cars and engines and get everything working just fine. Kyosho Europe have been really supportive and will be coming over from Paris to help at the event, with top driver J-C Berron attending to give tips.

Thanks to Dave North and the 'Tibby' team, we will be holding the two-day event on the 25-26 February at Tibshelf track, near Mansfield. Tibby is a really high-speed track and is everyone's favourite.

After I had settled the deal with Dave North, I decided that it would be a little mean to just open the track to Kyosho drivers, so I have decided to open the event to all drivers, no matter which brand of car you run. So come along and have some fun - we will be having open practice, timed practice and race heats, with plenty of time to experiment with set-ups.

By the way, if you are looking for dates for the 2006 1/8 and 1/10 IC meetings, take at look at the BRCA website

Virtual RC becomes Real RC (sort of)

I had this great idea the other day, and I think that it will be very popular with the local racers. I have decided to put a Virtual RC system into the shop. I will be offering a prize to whoever puts in the fastest lap over the month.

Why do I think that it is a good idea? Because it's great fun when you get a bunch of racers together and give them an opportunity to claim that they are the fastest! i am sure that it will create a real buzz in the shop.

So if you fancy proving that you really are the fastest - pop into 125 Newgate Lane, Mansfield, Notts., NG18 2LG, UK, the coffee is always on!

A Visit to the Master

I drove to France a couple of days ago to visit Jean-Paul Calendreau, master engine-builder and owner of JP Racing.

The care and precision that goes into building his engines is amazing! He has tools for checking the roundness and the taper of the liner. He is so careful checking that all of the components fit so well. However, the thing that amazed me was that every one of his engines is hand-built, and when I say hand-built, I do mean had built. All of the modifications are done by hand, and are checked again and again to ensure that they are correct. No wonder that they look like Swiss watches inside.

Whilst I was there I picked up my new racing engine for my Kyosho V-One RRR - the FX12 t03M. I asked Jean-Paul what had changed on the engine, and it appears that the changes include changes to the timing, a change to the piston, and new porting. The engine is much more powerful. I cannot wait to try it!

Jean-Paul also had more news about the NovaRossi engines. JP will be producing a range of NovaRossi modified engines and BenRacing will be distributing these engines in the UK. More choice for the racer.