Category: Race Team News

Tekin factory driver Shawn Bricker attended the 5th Annual Firecracker Shootout hosted at Lawton RC Raceway’s outdoor banked oval. 93 entries  total for the race was a good turn out. Bricker ran SC Modified and 10.5 Midwest Modified.

In SC Modified Shawn used an Tekin RX8 Gen 3 with 258 update and a Pro4 4600 motor tuned by the new Hotwire 3.0 and iPhone Hotwire app. He took advantage of a lower torque control setting along with a higher throttle frequency to manage power on a loose dirt track that had low to medium bite. Shawn managed 2nd place finishes in both heat races and 3rd qualifier overall while looking for added steering. Shawn made some big changes for the main and by lap number 10 had made it into the lead. Shawn lead for the remainder of the race while fighting off two very good young drivers.

In 10.5 Midwest Modified Shawn used the Tekin RSX, Gen 3 10.5 with the 12.5 torque rotor, Hotwire 3.0 and iPhone Hotwire app. Shawn won both heat races with only going up 1 tooth on the pinion and secured the TQ spot by 2 laps. Bricker started the main in the front and lead the race from start to finish while lapping the field and completing the sweep.

“I am very proud to run Tekin products. I have never once had a failure. I have been able to help solve a number of problems that other racers have encountered with info provided by you and experienced that I have gained. Thank you for your support.” Shawn Bricker

The Alabama Manufacturer’s Shootout is one of those bucket races that you should think about hitting up. Hosted in an agricultural center in Cullman, Alabama it’s a great venue with a laid back atmosphere and always seems to have consistent grip one year to the next. The dirt is a red clay that starts off a bit slippery but quickly builds grip on the race line as the laps are put down on it.  The layout has some huge elevation changes and some technical jumps as well as some high speed sections making for quick lap times and plenty of areas to make up time if you were good enough to do so.  RaceTime has done a great job of setting up manufacturers all in a row providing a great opportunity for the average racer to swing by and ask a few questions, get some setup tips or technical help from their favorite brands.  Tekin was in attendance and had quite a few team drivers on hand as well. With nearly 300 electric entries as part of the 475 total entries there was plenty of people looking for the latest Tekin tips at this race. Our team manager Randy Pike was in attendance to personally assure that anyone choosing to run Tekin would have full factory support available to them.

One of the fiercest classes of the weekend was Pro E Buggy. Tekin factory pilot Joe Bornhorst would be the overall Tq going into the triple A’s. Joe would lead nearly tone to tone in A1 but would make a small mistake on the closing laps to give Ryan Lutz the win in A1, Joe 2nd. A2  Joe would again start from P1 but would be pressured right away by Spencer Rivkin which would allow Cole Ogden to battle in that fight as well. Joe would fight back getting around Ogden and force an error out of Rivkin to retake the lead never to give it back. Lutz would be in this battle as well with Rivkin, Tebo and Ogden. A few position changes going back and forth for the remainder of the race. Lutz would take advantage of Tebo and Rivkin battling and put the move on Tebo to take 3rd in A2.  A3 would be the last race of the night running around 11:30pm.  Bornhorst would lead tone to tone gaping the field  handily to take the overall win. Ogden would take 2nd.  Once the triple A’s were totaled Joe Bornhorst was your overall winner followed by Ryan Lutz 2nd, Rivkin 3rd, Cole Ogden 4th, Tebo 5th. Notable A-main drivers also using Tekin were JR Mitch and Tyler Hooks.  With over half the field using the award winning Tekin Rx8 Gen3 and or Tekin T8 Gen2 motors it’s clear Tekin is the choice of fastest guys in this class.

pic courtesy of JConcepts

Tekin factory driver Martin Harrison would put on a show in 4wd SC taking the overall Tq and taking A1 and A2. Nathan Harrison would take a 2nd overall after a great battle in A3. In this class Tekin was the clear choice with 90% of the entire field the award winning products. Both Martin and Nathan chose the Tekin Rx8 Gen3 and Pro4 HD 4300kv motor in their TLR SCT’s.

pic courtesy of JConcepts

Harrison and team manager Randy Pike would qualify 1-2 in the 40+ E Buggy class. With over 30 entries in this class the racing was close and competitive.  Harrison would have a mechanical in A1 allowing Pike to get away. Mark Moon was in the hunt also and after a few laps Pike would make a bobble over the right side hip jump allowing Moon to run away. A2 would be a similar story with the right side hip jump giving Pike a hard time(I sucked on that jump! Randy).  Moon would take the win in A2, Pike 2nd, Harrison 3rd.  Moon sitting out A3 would have Harrison starting from pole , Pike 2nd.  This is where they’d finish the main as well. Harrison would win the tie breaker with a 1-3 compared to Pike’s 2-2.  Harrison and Pike both chose the award winning Tekin Rx8 Gen3 ESC and T8 1900kv motor. Seth Rippee father of Brad Rippee would finish 5th also running Tekin!

pic courtesy of JConcepts

Open E Buggy was heavily contested this year. Going deep in to an E-Main this year at AMS 8.0!  Team manager Randy Pike would manage to qualify 7th overall in this competitive class. The up and coming young guns were out for blood.  A1 allowed Randy to be patient and let the top 5 take each other out getting up to 3rd on the 2nd to the last lap battling out with Grayson Thompson, the two swapping positions on every other turn on the last lap. Thompson would get Pike on the sweeper drag race to the line. A2 was as similar story with Pike getting up to 3rd on the 2nd to last lap battling out with James Calhoun and John Carrio on the last lap taking 5th. A3 was a bit of a crash fest.  Pike would suffer a mechanical half way through taking 5th overall.

pic courtesy of JConcepts

All of the team driver setups can be found HERE

This is the first competition held by Johor Crawler Team (JCT) in conjunction with a festival held by a local institution. Hosted in the southern most part of Malaysia, the competition had 2 categories; 1.9 and 2.2 sized wheels. In total there were around 50 contestants from all over the country including a few contestants from Brunei and the Borneos.

Tekin Racing team driver Mohammad Shahrin Mandalam won 1st Place in the 2.2 category and 2nd place in the 1.9 category. Shahrin used the same rig in both category which was powered by Tekin’s T30 Pro brushed hand wound motor and FXR ESC!

Tekin factory driver Simon Moss recaps the most recent BRCA Nats round:

“Telford played host to the first round of the BRCA Nationals and with 120 entries it would be close all day. Once again, my Tekin equipment worked perfectly, giving me smooth power delivery and great control through the high grip conditions. After qualifying 6th in 2wd, a 4th in leg 2 and a 2nd in leg 3 was enough to finish 3rd overall!” Simon Moss

Simon Moss 2wd 7.5 BRCA Setup

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Carson & Jonathan Yeung would attend the opening 1/8 Buggy race held at the XMG Racing Track in Dongguan, China.  With just over 60 entries due to the looming weather conditions the event offered 1/8 E Buggy as well as 1/8 Nitro Buggy.

Jonathan would take the overall E-Buggy Tq position with his father Carson sitting P4 for the Amain.  Jonathan would cruise to a victory with father in two taking 2nd overall! Both drivers were using the latest Tekin Rx8 Gen3 ESC and T8 Gen2 motors both electing for the 1900kv variant. Carson and Jonathan commenting that “The new RX8 Gen3 ESC with V258 firmware working perfectly in all conditions! We are happy with the performance of Tekin Motor and ESC as the weather conditions on that day with high humidity, rain and muddy conditions that increase power units loading a lot.”

Tekin powered Darren Bloomfield looks to retain his 2016 BRCA E-Buggy National Championship title with a solid win at round 2 held at Kent raceway. He recaps below:

“The weekend before the annual Neo buggy race, here in the UK we were delighted with the warmest and sunniest weather we’ve seen this year, which was a perfect time to open up our E buggy national series with what was meant to be round 2 at kept however with the earlier bad weather the official Rd1 at NDOR was cancelled and rescheduled to 23rd April.

We were greeted upon arrival of a beautifully re-sculptured surface with a mix of new jumps and options but still representing the well known Kent layout. With the day format set out as 2 5 minute practices, 3 rounds of qualifying with your best 2 to count and single leg 12 minute mains.

Practice 1 went well for me, the track being very very dusty as newly laid and a lot of track markers moved here and there so essentially the same layout but with the markers in different places it is unreal how different a track can feel. With a bunch of the fastest laps in P1 and a very consistent run in P2 i would hold myself 1st after practice.

With round 1 of qualifying coming round fast all eyes were on the track to see if a possible change of tyre was the thing to do as more cars circulated the track started to clean up and a race line was becoming obvious. I chose to go with the same tyre as practice as i knew what to expect, unfortunately for me this was slightly a too safe option, i drove a very consistent run but just lacked a small bit of pace but second in the round narrowly missing out on TQ is definitely a score to carry forwards under my belt.

So around came round 2 and i had switched to our MS medium soft compound of Freeride pattern, this tire is iconically known for its super safe side bite and immense forward traction, this round I would catapult myself back up the top into the lead where i left off in practice, pulling out all the stops a turning the fastest laps on the track of the day with a handful of them into the 40’s and take one for the round with a new fastest time of the day.

Round 3 was up and all the pressure was on, with Elliott and I both scoring a 1 and a 2 each from the first two rounds this was going to be the deciding round for TQ honours. I had yet another flawless round matching my round 2 time and gaping second place for the round by almost 10 seconds.

With just a 12 minute main to decide the winner, I knew i had the speed and the consistency to hold my own and bring home the win,with an ever cleaner track the racing line had got wider and wider and my aims to keep it on its wheels and drive to the flag, I did just that from flag to flag and took the WIN on the day by 5 seconds.

I am pleased and grateful to all those involved supplying me with great products to achieve my goal, TQ and WIN what a start to attempt to hold on to my 2016 E buggy championship, I couldn’t do it without said products so underneath I have added link for you to check them out!” Darren Bloomfield

Tekin RX8 Gen3 ESC

Tekin T8 Gen2 2050kv Motor

Tekin Hotwire using v258 software

The 2017 RC Mania race is a unique event as it is molded after a wrestling survivor series, two days on two different tracks, no podiums, just an overall champ of that class!  The champ of course, is awarded the belt.  After two rounds of qualifying Tekin team driver Scott Robert had set TQ in both Mod 2wd buggy and Mod 4wd Buggy!  A huge boost of confidence going into the main events.  Scott  concentrated on making clean consistent laps and while he didn’t have the hot lap, he was able to win both A main events on the turf.  This would put him in good points standings heading into the second day.

After the first round of qualifying Scott Robert was TQ in 4wd mod buggy and 4th in 2wd mod buggy. Scott would make a few changes and take TQ in Mod 2wd buggy as well.  The 4wd A main would be the first class I would be up. Scott would lead the race with a decent lead until I would hit a pipe pin on the drop down on the left side of the track breaking an arm limping around the track to finish second, but would retain overall champ for that class!  In 2wd, Scott focused again on clean consistent laps not crashing once the whole race which gave him a cushion to drive clean and win from the start!

Scott chose the Tekin RSX ESC and Redline Gen3 series of motors to power him to the RC Mania Belt!

Tekin factory driver Hupo Hönigl reports in from his big win at the 2017 1/12 Efra Euros:

“I’m super happy with the result at the 2017 efra euros 1/12th scale – finished 2nd in “mod” and won 13.5! My Tekin powered Xray cars had huge power and handled amazing on H-Speed c35 tires all around protoform AMR was my choice for down force. it was a great event at the racing arena Limburg, with the best referee and commentating job Bjarne Høllund ever beside Scotty Ernst. It also showed that 6.5 blinky is the right decision for this class, because the cars are drive able, without being slow, and racing and overtaking was possible.”  Hupo Hönigl

Hupo chose the Tekin RS Gen2 for his 1/12 13.5 car and the Tekin RSX for his 1/12 Mod car. Both were equipped with a Tekin Redline Gen3 motor.

Hupos ESC Setups:

Hupo Honigl 1-12 13.5 Setup 2017 Efra Euros

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Hupo Hönigl 2017 Efra Euros 6.5 1-12 Setup

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The 29th Annual April Fools race should be a “must attend” race for anyone what can manage the trip. With over 370+ entries the race was stacked with competition. Factory drivers from all the car brands were in attendance as well as many factory reps in house ready to offer assistance to anyone that needed it.  Calling the race was none other than world famous Jimmy Babcock.  The facility was in tip top shape and ready for racing with a very fun, fast and technical track that would be sure to separate the fast from the fastest.

Tekin was in attendance with Randy Pike offering help to anyone who needed it. Lots of v258 software updates were made and many tweaks helped anyone running Tekin go that much faster. Team Drivers such as Matt Olson and local boy Joe Eaton would take full advantage of the resources offered to stamp their names on Tq in both 17.5 2wd Buggy, and 4wd 13.5 Buggy for Matt Olson, and 13.5 2wd Buggy for Joel Eaton.

Matt Olson would dominate all 4 round of qualifying in both 17.5 2wd Buggy and 4wd 13.5 Buggy running his Tekin powered AE vehicles. Supporting a full host of MIP parts some yet to be released Olson was focused on clean consistent qualifying.

One of only a small handful of drivers successfully clearing the triple on the track in 4wd running the Tekin RS Gen2 and Redline Gen3 13.5 RPM motor equipped with a yellow high torque tuning rotor. Starting from the Tq position Matt would make an uncharacteristic bobble on the first turn allowing P2 Charlie Cavalier to take the position. The two would make contact putting Olson over the pipe into another lane. Matt would wait and give up not only the 2 positions gained, two additional positions to solidify doing the “right” thing and continue racing. Cavalier would make a mistake also over the right corner table top allowing Olson and the field to catch up. Olson would get by and simply check out on the field to claim the overall win!

Olson would sweep qualifying in the 2wd 17.5 Buggy class as well. Again running the Tekin RS Gen2 ESC and Redline 17.5 RPM motor and yellow rotor.  From the Tq position Matt would run a great race making only a few small bobbles while the racing behind was simply intense. Jimmy Babcock had his hands full calling this race and did a phenomenal job doing so allowing Matt to get through traffic unharmed to take the overall win!

Matt Olson April Fools RS Gen2 13.5 4wd Buggy Setup

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Pic courtesy of IRCR

Tekin factory driver and local fast guy Joel Eaton, also the owner of Addiction RC would take the overall Tq in the 2wd 13.5 Buggy class. Joel’s Tekin RSX Redline Gen3 13.5 RPM motor was equipped with a yellow rotor.  Joel would make an early mistake in the single A main format but would never lose sight of the top 2. Joel pushed causing errors in front of him. Cavalier would make a mistake and Eaton would sneak by with only 1 minute left. Eaton would put his head down tripling with only himself and Cavalier in chase even attempting this late in the race. Eaton would clear it fine with Cavalier spinning the tires and casing it on the last lap allowing Joel to cruise to the line winning the overall 13.5 2wd buggy title!

Matt Olson April Fools 17.5 RSX Buggy Setup

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Matt Olson 13.5 4wd Buggy Motor Setup

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Tekin’s very own team manager Randy Pike would also have some success over the weekend. Tq’ing the last round Pike would start P2 in the single A-main of 17.5 Racing Truck. Running the RS Gen2 Spec and Redline Gen3 17.5 RPM motor and  yellow rotor. Tq  Cliff Nicholson would make a first lap mistake opening the door for Pike to take the lead. Pike would have no problem taking the lead opening up a gap for the next few minutes over the field. 3 minutes into the main, Pike would get into some back traffic at the end of the straight and be off the track giving up his lead. This allowed Ron Reid to take over the lead. Both drivers managing to get through traffic for the most part. Pike would simply run out of time chasing Reid down and would have to settle for second overall.

Joel Eaton RSX 13.5 Buggy Setup

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Joel Eaton RSX 7.5 2wd Buggy Setup

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pic courtesy of IRCR

Randy Pike 17.5 Racing Truck Motor Setup

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Tekin pilot Mason Eppley would also have a great weekend finishing up 3rd in the 4wd Mod Buggy triple A’s! Mason running a Tekin RSX and Redline Gen3 6.5T motor in his Xray buggy.

pic courtesy of IRCR

Mason Eppley 6.5 4wd Buggy ESC Setup

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The entire team was running the latest v258 software which is available here.

A ton of pictures can be found here.

“I would like to personally thank the entire IRCR crew for hosting such a great event. The Tech was ran professionally and efficiently which was awesome.  Jimmy Babcock called some great racing and ran a tight on schedule program which was refreshing and fun to watch along with.  The track was in top form every single day and having owned my own track, I can appreciate the amount of work that went into this race.  If you were at this race let’s all do them a favor and get onto Google or Facebook and leave a 5 star review for this crew and facility. I know I’ll be back for the 30th annual event next year.”  Randy Pike

Randy Pike v258 2wd 17.5 Buggy ESC Setup

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Randy Pike 17.5 RT Truck ESC Setup

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