Author: Randy Pike

2013 USOWC (Us Open Wheel Championship) is over and Tekin Team driver Eric Salvas recaps his successful weekend.

4WD mod late model class. Tq’d round 2, but qualified 2nd overall. I would win the dash which gave me the top starting spot in the A-main.  The A-main kicked off and I managed to dodge all the bullets to WIN the fastest class of the week!  I used a Tekin RX8 Gen2 along with a Redline Gen2 4.5. Others would suffer from heat or shut down but my Tekin powered CW dominator was strong all week.

Sprint car 17.5. Car ran great…had a bad draw for the dash (6) (dash were 2 min race that determined the starting positions for the mains)…came back from behind to grab 3rd place to start from there in the main. In the main had a crash early…but rallied back to a close second 0.3 behind the winner…a couple more laps but time ran out.

Late model 17.5. Again had a bad draw for the dash (5) and again came back to second in the 2 min race to start outside pole in the main. Had to deal with traffic in the main that cost me some the top spot. Pushed hard and fast at the end to finished less than a car lenght of the winner just 0.1sec back so another close 2nd place in the A final!

EDM 17.5. Got the TQ just in front of brother and teammate Steve!  A bad car in the dash gave me a 6th starting position in the main feature. Car back to its normal performance allowed me to rally back to a real close second behind the winner 0.3 second. Had the car to win it…but the error in the dash cost me a win in the main!

The Pay it Forward race at Outback Raceway in Chico, CA was held right before Christmas week. Racers from all around the region converged for some good racing and to support a great cause.

Tekin factory driver Jason Moberly qualified 2nd in 2wd Open Short course and won the A main with my Tekin RSX Gen2 7.5 powered mid motor TLR 22sct. “The new RSX’s smooth power and brakes help me keep it clean for the entire 8 minute main event. ” Moberly

The JConcepts Nationals Series is comprised of five races at different tracks around the country with 3 out of 5 races counting towards the overall Championship. Tekin Factory driver Matt Olson talks about his Series Title:

“I was able to come full circle on this years JConcepts Nationals Series Championship in 4×4 SC, powered by Tekin/MIP/JConcepts. With the help of my main sponsor and employer MIP I was able to make the required amount of races each of which was located in different states, these were Smactrac (St. Louis, MO), A Main Hobbies Outback Raceway  (Chico, CA), and the finals at Hobby Town / Hobby Plex  (Omaha, NE). At each event I battled out for the top spot and came away with Two TQ’s, Two Wins, and one second place finish to clinch the overall championship.

Throughout this 2013 National event I was using all Tekin products comprising of the RX8 , RX8 Gen2, Pro 4 4600KV 4 Pole, and Pro 4HD 4300kv 4 Pole. All of Tekins products preformed flawlessly without a failure the entire year, and if anyone knows how I drive you can be assured that the equipment was definitely put though the ringer. I can safely say that when I have Tekin under the hood I will be rolling past that finish line with all four tires blazing. Thank you Tekin for the continued support and looking forward to a successful 2014! ”  Matt Olson

Rain Man’s RC and Hobbies hosted the Rc-Insider race on the 14th.

“40+ stock buggy Patterson simply checked out and had a flawless run. Wayne Ashmore would finish some 10+ seconds behind. Lap times were low 16’s. My Tekin RS Spec and Redline Gen2 17.5 motor gave me constant fast lap all day long in both classes and my top 5 / top 10 were the best also out of everyone. ” Patterson

Stock Buggy A Main Patterson would have P2 open in front of me with Rogers having sat out due to ESC issues. So starting basically in 2nd, the tone would go off with Patterson following Wesson through the sweeper and then passing him just after the first double double to hair pin corner when he spun out over shooting the landing. Patterson then was able to completely get away from the pack by well over 35 feet going into the center jump section. All of a sudden race director Notch Johnson announces “RE START……RE START”. Apparently there were a few guys who collected each other in the sweeper and he thought it best to restart the race.

Patterson a bit frustrated having to give up his commanding lead calmed down lined up with the rest to get started again. A few mistakes throughout the beginning of the race placing Patterson in a chasing situation this time around. Patterson was able to get to P3 with 3 laps to go but was cleaned out by some back markers in the jump section and fell to 4th where he finished when the tone sounded.

My Tekin RS Spec esc ran flawlessly along with my Gen2 17.5 Redline motor. Geared 72/31 with endbell timing set to 34 degrees. Motor temp was only 110 degrees.

“Special thanks to Craig Patterson for helping out many Tekin customers and showing off the new Android app. Patterson also updated the hobby shops software to the current hotwire version.” Randy Pike

A 4wd SCT with Tekin power produces track records and lap records in the latest AE master on the Gold Coast with team driver Darren Lord. Using the Rx8 Gen 2 and the Pro 4 4300kv motor this package was unbeatable with TQ in all 4 heats and winning both finals.

Darren also TQ’d and won both stock buggy classes with the RS Pro and 17.5 gen2 motors proving all the way through the Tekin lines up of electronics is top class.

“The power and smoothness of the current range of Tekin electronics is on another lever I believe.” Darren Lord

December 1st  kicked off the Left Over Turkey Race at Redneck Hobbies in Baldwinsville NY just north of Syracuse.  With a total of 97 entries it was a great day for racing!

Mike O’Brien Jr was up against a stout field of 31 other drivers in the 17.5 Super Truck Class. O’Brien Jr. would go onto to Tq by 3 sec and win the a main!  At the young age of 9 years he’s already taking it to the field. O’Brien chose a Tekin RS Gen2 just like his father.

Hosted at IERC Raceway in San Bernardino, CA on December 7th for Round 1 of the JConcepts Top Notch Winter Series. The Top Notch Series (TNS) is an 8-race points based series, run at various tracks throughout Southern California. Last season, TNS averaged 230 entries per round and features race announcer “Notch” Johnson. Over $10,000 in prizes and cash payouts were given out last season. IERC Raceway is one of Southern California’s largest indoor RC tracks.

Top drivers from all the main race team such as  TLR’s Brian Sullivan(Tekin), Shawn Blackwell and Ronda Drake(Tekin), Tekno RC’s Rudy Rico and Chad Panek, Hobby Pro’s Andrew Smolnik, Tamiya’s Jimmy Wright, Mugen’s Scott Wolf, Kyosho’s Cody Turner and Lucas Sanford(Tekin), and a number of very fast local racers. There would be two rounds of 5 minute qualifiers, followed by 5 minute A Mains. Announcing would be handled by Notch Johnson and Aaron Wilming. There were approximately 240 entries.

Tekin pilot Lucas Sanford recaps:

1/8 Scale E-Buggy:

“We arrived at the track at 6:00AM, hoping to get in a few practice laps, and to break in some tires. After one battery pack, I powered up the laptop and connected the Tekin RX8 Gen2 ESC to the HotWire and bumped up the current limiter a bit. I ran another battery pack, and the extra speed was noticeable. It took less than two minutes to hook up the ESC and make the change. The car was ready for racing. The first round of qualifying went well, as I took the TQ over Sullivan making only one mistake. In the second qualifier, I made no mistakes and managed to better my TQ time from the first round. Sullivan ran a near-perfect race in his heat, but my TQ held up. I knew Sullivan would challenge me in the A Main, as this was his home track. My thinking proved correct, as Sullivan was right on my rear bumper for the first half of the race. Sullivan tried an inside pass thru the S-section, but hit a corner-dot and flipped. This allowed me to extend my lead and go on to win the A-Main by about 7 seconds. My Tekin RX8 Gen2 ESC and Redline T8 2050kv motor equipped MP9e TKI with DE Racing SpeedLine wheels, AKA clay Wishbones) was consistent and fast the entire day.

 1/8 Scale E-Buggy finishing order:

1. Lucas Sanford (Tekin/Kyosho)
2. Brian Sullivan (Tekin/TLR)
3. Rudy Rico (??/Tekno)

Mod 2wd Truck

In the first qualifier, I made a few mistakes, and finished second behind Tamiya’s Jimmy Wright. For the second round, I changed to stiffer front springs to make the truck more stable, and went on to make a perfect run, taking the overall TQ by 11 seconds. In the A Main, I quickly got out to a commanding lead. I made only one mistake in the race, and almost lapped the field when time ran out. My truck was equipped with the new Tekin RSX ESC and Redline Gen2 6.5 turn motor.

Open 2wd Truck finishing order:

1. Lucas Sanford (Tekin/Kyosho)
2. Jimmy Wright (Tamiya)
3. Matthew Pages (Associated)

2wd Mod Buggy

Starting right behind teammate Cody Turner for the A Main, I stayed behind him for the first few laps until Cody myself and Shawn Blackwell all made a mistake over the big triple, landing on our lids. I got marshalled third, and was now trailing both Cody and Shawn. I caught up to within 2 seconds of Cody when time ran out, and finished on the third podium spot. My RB6 equipped with the new Tekin RSX ESC and Redline Gen2 7.5 turn motor worked well, and allowed me to capture a spot on the podium.

2wd Mod Buggy finishing order:

1. Shawn Blackwell (TLR)
2. Cody Turner (Kyosho)
3. Lucas Sanford (Tekin/Kyosho)

I would like to thank all of my sponsors for making it happen: Sanford and Son RC, Kyosho, Tekin, AKA, DE Racing, TTN Racing and Upgrade RC. Thanks also to JConcepts and DE Racing for sponsoring this series, and to IERC owners Debbie and Larry, the IERC track crew, and race announcers Notch and Aaron for putting on this Top Notch event. I am looking forward to round 2 of the TNS Winter Series at Coyote Hobbies on December 28.

Delta RC hosted their 1st Annual Arenacross race this past weekend. The racing was close, tight and plentiful over the weekend. Tekin team drivers Jacob Haas, Curtis Door and others would be in attendance.

In 2wd Mod Buggy Haas would take advantage of P1 and P2’s mistakes and take the lead never to look back. Jacob chose his trusty Tekin RS Pro and 7.5 Gen2 Redline motor to take the top spot. Joining him was Tekin teammate Curtis Door in 2nd running the new Tekin RSX and Redline Gen2 7.5 also.

L-R: Curtis Door, Jacob Haas, Cody Turner

In the 1/8 Pro E-buggy class Tekin  power would sweep the podium. Tyler Vik would take 1st followed by Tekin factory drivers Curtis Door 2nd, and Jacob Haas 3rd. All 3 drivers chose the Tekin Rx8 and T8 motors to power their cars to the podium.

L-R: Curtis Door, Tyler Vik, Jacob Haas

A very exciting race were instead of the traditional trophy you win food, Winner gets a Turkey, ham for second and Sausage for third. This has always been a well attended event and was looking to have some of the best in the region out to race. Not disappointing with 110 entries converged on MMR to see who was going to take home their supper on the holiday weekend.

Tekin team driver Andrew Mowery recaps:

“I was feeling really well when I got to the stock buggy A. Tone went I death gripped the throttle. Holy #$%^  I just back flipped my stock blinky buggy on the line! Lucky I landed back on my wheels and pulled into traffic in the 4th spot. Ok 8 minutes to hunt the leaders down. I fought hard working through traffic. My Tekin RS Gen2 esc Redline Gen2 17.5 powered C4.2 converted B4.2 was working perfect. Balance was stellar and the super smooth Tekin power was allowing me to put the car in the table in the middle quad every lap. I managed to get up to Clayton’s bumper and start applying pressure. Small mistake and I got inside pulling into the lead. While he tried to make a run back he got loose in the wagon wheel and the crash/marshal gave me enough space to get comfortable and drive out the rest of the race… A very nice hard race with a excellent result and A main win.

4 wheel mod A-main was next. The horn blows I head into the jump up table, feeling like I don’t have enough to clear I goose it a bit to much and lawn dart the far tube, over jumping by 6 feet…  ok got my head back car is good. Mid pack running with some great drivers lets just calm down. 8 minutes to get it done still.
I work my way up to the 4th or 5th spot and nose to tail with Joe we come up the jump up table, down the staircase. Nose to tail weaving are way through the field working up to the front. The car is stellar and the Tekin power is super smooth but my focus is a bit off. I got a bit of a groove and I seperate just a bit from the field. We are down to just a couple of laps and I miss the landing again but this time am even less lucky as the marshal is busy with another car. Coming out second I have given up too much space to get another run at Ice so I finish in second. Still a great race and a great car. Tekin you have really given is some nice tools with this new RSX and I can not wait to use it again.