This year was the fifth annual RC X-Fest (formerly known as RC X-Games) in Cambridge, Minnesota. The event is put on every year by Mike Fisk of Fisk Hobby Farm. Each year the event grows, with turnout this year reaching about 200 entries. RC X-Fest is the essence of everything that is RC, showcasing everything from helicopter demos to a "spud run," with the main event being a full off-road race program on the massive X-Fest track. Pros in attendance this year were Cody King, Ryan Lutz, and Ryan Maifield, all of whom ran pro 1/8 buggy and truggy. Saturday morning brought the first round of quals, with 10 minute qualifiers for each class, including electric 1/8th and 1/10th. After my first qual I was seeded in the second position, five seconds off of the TQ, which is where I remained qualified for the remainder of the event. The first round was by far the fastest for most. By round two, even after repairs, the track was completely blown out. Sunday was mains day. The mod truck A was in the last half of the lineup so the track was blown out again by the time we got to run. The TQ and I had been running closely all weekend, so I knew it would be a race. From the time we left the starting gate to about the eight minute mark we were only about three seconds apart at any given point on the track. Coming into the last two minutes of the race the gap had widened slightly in my favor. The guy running second wasn't liking this situation so he put the hammer down and started closing the gap, little by little. Going into the last lap he was only a few seconds back. We made our way around to the back side of the track; here is where the race would be decided. The back side of the track held the giant plywood triple known as "Mt. Fisk." I took it easy as it was the last lap and I had the upper hand; he went for it and overshot, going over the back side and giving me the victory. I ran the Redline 8.5 with the RS pro. I actually ran the 198 software for this race. I used Randy Pike’s starting setup for 8.5 2wd set when I ran practice and liked it so I didn't even go to the v200.

Good racing,
Brandon Alveshere

Download Randy Pike's mod buggy 8.5 RS setup sheet