Author: Randy Pike

Last weekend was race 6 of the infamous FSEARA series that has been running here for 33 years strong. Race 6 being the second to last race of the points series had the racers around the pits calculating finishes and putting together game plans for the race. The Punta Gorda track is located in the Port Charlotte area on the southwestern region of Florida. The weather was perfect with practice getting underway Saturday we no chance of rain with a slight breeze from the ocean.

On Sunday the weather stayed perfect as the drivers prepared for qualifying action. The largest class would be 17.5 Touring Car and it would show some of the tightest racing of the season. Round 1: Team Tekin driver Cory Parsons would set the early TQ setting the only 21 lap run of the round, Bruce, Morris , and Harrison were all in tow. With some of these guys testing setups for the Reedy Race, Cory switched from his Tekin RSX to a Tekin RS Gen 2 for the second round proceeding to reset TQ on used tires and a hotter track. Needless to say Cory was very happy with his Tekin RS Gen 2.

In the Modified Touring Car class Team Tekins TJ Bradley would take his Tekin RSX & Gen2 Redline 4 turn equipped Xray to battle with hot shoes like Scotty Gray, Jeff Brown, Mike Bruce, Robert Cooper to name a few. After qualifying was over Scotty would wrap up TQ in mod with a tight field rounding out the A final. Cory Parsons would secure the 17.5 TQ.

Finally it was time for the mains and the first A up would be the 17.5 Touring. From the tone Tekin’s Cory Parsons would get the jump from TQ with Austin Harrison giving him pressure and Michael Bruce rounding out the top 3. As the race progressed we saw great battles for the lead between Cory and Austin and a epic fight for third between Bruce and Morris. As the race was coming to a end Cory managed to hold of Harrison and Jimmy Morris snuck by Bruce for the final podium spot. Congrats Cory Parsons for the TQ and Win.

In Mod TC Tq Scotty Gray got a clean start with Bruce and Bradley getting together bunching up the battle for second. For the first 2 minutes Bruce, Bradley, and Copper diced while Scotty pounded out laps. At the halfway mark of the race Bradley would get inside on Bruce entering the straight and pull away for the duration of the race securing second with Mike Bruce rounding out the top 3.

Team Tekin wins big at the final round of JConcepts Super Cup series in Sarasota Fl. For Tekin powered JR Mitch, Chris Viesins and Peyton MacDonald it capped a very successful spring series.

JR Mitch would win the final round followed by his Tekin teammate Chris Viesins both running the Tekin RSX esc in their 22-4’s. The 4wd class championship came down to a 3 way tie(wow that’s close) in the finals.

JR wasn’t done winning. He would go onto battle once again with his Tekin teammate Chris Viesins in the 4wd SC Class. Both drivers using the ultra reliable Tekin RX8 Gen2 esc to battle it out, swapping positions multiple times during the main. Viesins would be running the Pro4 4600kv with JR running a Trinity motor proving the Rx8 Gen2 esc can run them all fast!  JR would take the win followed by Chris in 2nd.

Peyton’s Tekin’s RSX in locked spec mode and Redline Gen2 17.5 motor would power his AE Sc10.2 to victory where gearing and timing were crucial. Peyton’s SC10 ran at 22 degrees timing and 27/75 gearing. Peyton would wrap up the points series with an overall Championship with his Tekin powered SC10 truck.

Peyton MacDonald wasn’t done however. Once again he would he would take the win with his Tekin RS Gen2 Redline Gen2 powered T4.2 truck wrapping up the points Championship! Way to go Peyton!(RP) Peyton’s T4 was happiest at 27 degrees of timing and 26/75 for gearing.

Tekin factory drivers converged for Rd3 of the 2014 JBRL series hosted at Rainman’s Hobby & Raceway.  This facility may be “new” to the racing scene but the experience all the racers took away from the event was it was yet another great facility to add to the JBRL Series!

Tekin would sweep the podium in the 4wd mod buggy class with Matt Pages taking the win over Tekin teammates Ryan Dunford in 2nd, and Doug “Casper” Nielsen in 3rd.  All 3 Tekin team drivers chose the Tekin RSX esc and Redline Gen2 motors to sweep the competition.

Ryan Dunford would take the overall Tq and win with his Tekin Rx8 Gen2 esc and T8i powered TLR 8ight 3.0e buggy.

In the hotly contested 4wd SC class Ryan Dunford would take a hard earned 2nd place overall running his Tekin Rx8 Pro 4 4600 powered TLR Ten SCTE 2.0.

Traction Raceway hosted their 3rd Annual Traction Showdown out of Reno, NV. With drivers from all around the region attending the competition was good in all classes. Tekin drivers as well as team manager Randy Pike were all in attendance to help support Tekin users as well as show the way around the fun and technical layout!

Qualifying was Ifmar best 2 out of 4 rounds. 3 rounds on Saturday and one on Sunday following a cool 24 hour practice schedule meant there were no excuses for lack of track time!  Tekin powered Jason Moberly would Tq the Pro2 Mod 2wd SC class and Justin Moon would Tq the 2wd Mod ST Truck class as well. Tekin was found in nearly every single class at the top of the qualifying boards.

Tripe A-mains would kick off after the last round of qualifying. Justin Moon would start from P5 in A-1 of the 2wd Mod buggy class and put in a great run for a 2nd in A-1. A-2 taking 4th battling it out with Tekin teammate Jason “Mo” Moberly. A-3 would give Moon another 2nd chasing down AE’ Chris Jarosz. Justin Moon would take a well deserved 3rd on the podium. Just chose the Tekin RSX and Redline Gen2 7.5 in his Serpent mid motor buggy.

Justin would start from P1 in the Mod Stadium truck class using Tekin team manager Randy Pike’s TLR 22T “rent a ride” taking A-1 and A-2. The truck was powered by a Tekin RSX and 8.5 Redline Gen2 motor.

The 2wd Mod SC Class was dominated by Tekin powered trucks in the A. From his Tq position Jason Moberly would begin to check out early with clear track in front of him. Randy Pike would push hard from his P4 position forcing a few errors from Kyle Layton and Terry Wickum making the needed passes to take 2nd position. With lap traffic becoming a factory as early as Lap 3 Pike would push hard setting the fastest lap of in A1 but a few last lap bobbles fighting through traffic he’d run out of time settling for 2nd behind Tekin teammate Moberly. A-2 would be just as exciting right from the tone! Once again Moberly would try to checkout early on but Pike would make an aggressive move on the start tone to slip inside Wickum for 3rd. Layton would run wide opening the door for Pike who would waste no time taking the position. Pike would make an aggressive push pulling right up to the back of Moberly. Moberly was taking a different line up the step up section tapping the top where as Pike was clearing the section. This gave Moberly a nice tight line into the 180 corner but allow Pike a pass attempt however Pike would have the door shut on him! This however left to the two trucks body tucked together(Sorry Mo! RP) The two would work the trucks from each other not losing a position and continue on racing where once again Pike would attempt a pass this time over the top of Moberly on the step up. It would go wrong for Pike who would flip off the track requiring a marshal. This let Moberly cruise to another A win taking the overall!  A-3 would once again be no easy task. Tekin power still starting 2 3 4 and 5 meant everyone had the power to win. Pike’s start tone pass wouldn’t’ work this time as  Wickum was ready  for it closing the door immediately on Pike. Pushing hard again though Wickum would bobble allowing Pike by getting onto the straight away. Pike would be pushing hard to catch up to now P1 Kyle Layton with Wickum in tow never going away.  Pike’s push to catch the leader would only last another 2 laps once again setting the fastest lap of A3 coming around the high speed sweeper where a back marker would be marshalled right in front of the high speed trucking 22 SCT! Yup you guessed it, COLLISION!  Clean up in aisle 2, Pike would pop a ball cup going a lap down during the repair attempt. Layton would cruise to a victory with Wickum taking 2nd. Tekin would fill the podium with Moberly 1st, Layton 2nd, and Wickum 3rd. Moberly chose the Tekin RSX and Redline Gen2 9.5. Layton and Wickum both running RS Pro’s and Redline motors also.

Kyle Layton would also have success in the Stock Stadium Truck class with his Tekin powered AE truck. Kyle running a Tekin RS Gen2 and Redline 17.5 Gen2 motor.

Sanford and Son RC headed out to IERC Raceway in San Bernardino, CA on April 26th for Round 8 of the JConcepts Top Notch Winter Series.

There were 175 entries for this final round of the series. Factory drivers in attendance included Hobby Pro USA’s Andrew Smolnik, Tekno RC’s Rudy Rico, TLR’s David Jenson, Brian McDuffy and Brian Sullivan, Jimmy Wright from Trackstar RC, Pres Ilog from AKA, and a number of fast local drivers, including Kevin Kasten and Scott Wagner. There would be two rounds of 5 minute qualifiers, followed by 6 minute A Mains.

1/8 Scale eBuggy

Tekin powered Lucas Sandford would run the first qualifier mistake free taking the TQ. A quick car change would have his lap times in round 2 .7 seconds per lap faster allowing him to better his TQ time significantly giving him P1 on the grid for the A Main.

In the A Main, Sanford got a great start and quickly pulled out to about a 2 second lead. A mistake free giving Sanford the A Main win. “My Tekin Rx8 Gen2 T8i Gen2 powered Kyosho MP9e TKI was fantastic all day!” Lucas

1/8 Scale eBuggy Final Round Results: 

1. Lucas Sanford (Tekin)
2. David Jenson (TLR)
3. Chris Burling

2wd Mod Buggy

In the A Main Sanford would start from his P2 position would spin his wheels on the start allowing McDuffy and Rico to get by.  However, Lucas drove well the rest of the race and would finish fifth overall. Fortunately, his finish would give him enough points to win the overall series.!

“My Tekin RSX with the Redline Gen2 7.5 powered RB6 equipped with AKA clay Typo tires was very good.” Lucas Sanford

2wd Mod Buggy Overall Series Results:

1. Lucas Sanford (Tekin)
2. Andrew Smolnik (Hobby Pro USA)
3. Cameron Bash

Mod Truck

Lucas Sanford would win all five races he competed in taking the TQ in four of the five. Sanford chose his Tekin RSX and Redline Gen2 6.5 powered RB6T on AKA clay Typo tires with DE wheels in this class.

Mod Truck Overall Series Results:

1. Lucas Sanford (Tekin)
2. John Schultz
3. Mikey Bustamante (Tekin)

“I would like to thank all of my sponsors for making it happen: Sanford and Son RC, Kyosho, AKA, DE Racing, Tekin, TTN Racing and Upgrade RC. Thanks also to JConcepts and DE Racing for sponsoring this series, and IERC Raceway. Last but not least, I would like to thank all of my fellow racers for coming out to this series, all the track owners and track crews, and the TNS organization. A special thanks goes out to Neobuggy for their continued support throughout the series.

Without the dedication and support of everyone involved, we would not be able to enjoy this passion of ours.” Lucas Sanford

Tekin teammates JR Mitch, Peyton MacDonald, Chris Viesins and Jamie White race to the podiums at Newred Hobbies 10 year anniversary race in Ocala Fl.

The one day event started early at 6 am and the facility filled to capacity quickly with 140 entries on the single day event with 2 rounds of qualifying and triple A mains. RC legend and pioneer Brian Kinwald was in attendance for the celebration.

Tekin powered Peyton MacDonald would pull the hat track on the day running 3 classes consisting of Stock 2wd Buggy, Stock Stadium Truck and Stock Short Course. Peyton used the Tekin RS Gen 2 and Tekin RSX ESC’s in locked spec mode and 17.5 Gen 2 Redline Motors. After setting TQ for all 3 classes of stock, he would never look back as he lead ever lap of his Amains but 1. Gearing and timing for his B5M were 33/72 at 25 degrees, both his T4.2 and SC10.2 sat at 26/75 at 20 degrees of timing for the T4.2 and 25 degrees on the SCT.

JR Mitch TQ’d both of his classes of Modified 2wd Buggy and Modified 4wd buggy, both utilizing the Tekin RSX ESC.  JR wrapped up the 2 classes as he doubled down in A1 and A2 of the modified classes. Tekin teammate Chris Viesins gave JR a run for the top podium of 4wd buggy running a close and tight 2nd place overall finish.

This past weekend saw the running of the second leg of the South African 1/10th Electric Off Road National series. The series is made up of 5 events with the best 4 to count towards the national ranking.

Tekin team driver Jonathan Ment and his son Jarod were in attendance for the 2nd round.

Jonathan was running the TLR 22 2.0, TLR 22-4 and TLR SCTE 2.0, while his son drove the older TLR 22 and TLR 22 SCT. Both of powered by Team Tekin ESCs and Tekin motors.

Saturday qualifying and Jarod chose to run both Spec 17.5 2wd buggy and 2wd Mod with the same car proved to be a good decision as he was lapping the entire field in Spec and  amongst the top drivers in the Mod class. Jarod’s Short Course was also awesome taking TQ in both 2WD Spec SCT and 2WD Mod SCT on Saturday. Both cars running the RSPro with a 17.5 for 2WD Spec or a 13.5 for the SCT Class.

Jonathan’s runs during the day on Saturday resulted in a 10th place in 2WD Mod, a 6th in 4WD Mod and TQ for 4WD SCT. Jarod on the other hand was TQ for 2WD Spec, TQ for 2WD SCT and a solid 8th in 2WD Mod (ahead of his dad!) But the important thing here is that all through qualifying he ran Blinky mod on the car even in the Mod class. So an 8th was a great accomplishment!

Mains day…..
Round 1
Jarod was up first with a clean run needed in 2WD Spec which he did including lapping the second place man! Another clean run in the 2WD SCT, giving him a win in each! I went on to place second in the 4WD SCT and a 5th in the 4WD Mod.

Round 2
Again another clean run from Jarod in both Spec 2wd buggy and SCT giving him the overall win in both classes! Another second place in the 4WD SCT with Jonathan making way too many errors to catch the leader.

Round 3
4WD SCT for me this time Jonathan took the win putting in a more consistent run this time (overall 2-2-1). 4WD Mod again 4th – putting me 4th overall. The 2WD Mod race this time Jarod managed a second in the main – giving him an overall (6-4-2) solid 4th for the weekend due to our points system.

“The weekend overall was awesome – my son was awesome taking home plenty of silverware between us. Him with the TQ and Win trophies for 2WD, and 2WD SCT, me with the TQ for 4WD SCT and 2nd for the main. Great weekend for Team Tekin, with their RSPro, RSX and RX8 Speedos and various motors showing the way!” Jonathan Ment

Tekin powered Shay Brand attended Round 1 of the Southern Off-road Series. A new series starting up this year with the first round being held at Dalton RC Raceway. With a total of 137 entries, it looks as if it is going to be a great series with a bunch of fast competition.

In Pro E-Buggy, Shay Brand was able to get the TQ overall after winning each round of qualifying. In the main it was a close battle at the start but Shay was able to separate himself from the pack and come away with the win with around a 25 second lead over second place. My Tekin Rx8 Gen2 T8 Gen2 powered MBX7-Eco was on rails all weekend long, it was super consistent and very comfortable and easy to drive for me.

“Just wanted to thank all of my sponsors for your help and support over the years, I couldn’t be doing what I am without your help. Thanks again guys!” Shay Brand

Maximus R/C Raceway in York, ME was hosted a 6 race points series called the Iron Maximus. The event kicked off on March 1 and ended on April 5 consisting of six consecutive weeks. You would collect points at each event for your overall finish for the day and dropping your worst score. After the 6 week series they would tally all your points, drop your lowest score, and crown a champion on April 5, 2014. The Iron Maximus series averaged 100 entries at each race.

Tekin powered Scott Furtado competed in all 6 races running 3 classes at each of them. Furtado entered 4wd mod buggy, Pro4 SC, and 1/8 E-buggy. Furtado had great success at these events accumulating many TQ runs and many 1st overall scores. At the end Scott was crowned Iron Maximus Champion in all 3 classes!

“I want to take this opportunity to thank all my sponsors for their continued support in 2014. It is now time to head outdoors.” Scott Furtado

Scott chose the following in each class:

4wd buggy was equipped with an Tekin Rsx / 8.5 Redline Gen2
Pro4 SC was equipped with an Tekin RX8 Gen2 / Pro4 4300 HD
1/8 E-buggy was equipped with a Tekin RX8 Gen2 / 1900kv T8 Gen2