After a drought of mini tyres that has affected mini racing in Victoria, I am pleased to say that it is now indeed broken. ABC Hobby and Tamiya 60D's are starting to appear in stores.

For more info click here

For the initial release of the A210SS we have chosen the LOTUS Sports Exige body to compliment this revolutionary chassis design. Noted for its extremely low front end - the LOTUS Sports EXIGE represents the ideal silhouette for the A210SS.

Making full use of the latest CAD software we have refined each line and curve to represent the EXIGE with true and proper detail. Accessories on the car such as mirrors, wipers, wing posts, fuel cap, number plate and emblems have also had the same exacting attention in their creation.
The headlights and tail lights make full use of plastic chrome moldings and are ideally suited for the fitting of high intensity lighting kits.* In addition, the implementation of a rear spoiler enhances both the look and performance of this superb body design.

Each part supplied with the A210SS has been designed to allow a full range of adjustability. Drivers can change variables such as roll centre to the Ackerman steering angles with ease. Chassis stability is controlled with the inclusion of long span suspensions arms with suspension pin widths measuring 43.2mm (front) and 46.8mm (rear). The ingenuity of these elements eliminates any preconceptions about this mini chassis not being capable of competitive race performance.

Developing the symmetrical steering bell crank led to the design of the front belt being placed under the entire steering assembly. Testing of materials resulted in the main chassis and the upper shock tower being constructed in C-FRP. This material is superior in strength and flexibility and well suited to the A210SS chassis.

The development for the A210SS is on track for release at the end of December and we will be lifting the veil off the final design next month.

* NOTE: lighting kits are not supplied with the A210SS

Discussion is here

Active Hobby Products Japan is proud to bring you these scoop images of the A210SS Chassis.

Our original concept when developing the A210SS kit was that it must feature aspects that make this car a genuine driving pleasure for the RC enthusiast.

We designed the chassis to be small and light, and also focussed on creating the lowest center of gravity seen in an RC car. This overall strategy equips the A210SS with performance characteristics and handling seldom seen in cars of this scale.

Chassis Features:

• Ultra-low center of gravity
• Fully adjustable suspension with extended suspension arms.
• Ability to change the roll center
• Dual belt AWD system including eccentric adjustable tensioning
• Aluminium motor mount and F & R bulkheads
• F & R CVD universal drive shafts
• F & R adjustable ball diffs
• Adjustable Ackerman steering system
• Choice of 2 front shock towers
• Adjusters come complete with turnbuckles and ball cups
• Shocks include high quality low friction oil
• Chassis accommodates both ladder and stick packs
• Includes Sports Body
• Includes Scale Rims and Rubber Tires 54mm size
• Includes 540 motor
• Includes Tamiya M03 bodies post sets
• Includes full ball bearings

* Does not include ESC, receiver or servo

Chassis Specifications:

• Chassis Full length: 282mm
• Chassis Width: F/163mm R/163mm to 169mm
• Chassis Wheel Base: 208mm to 210mm

When complete with body, the unique design of the A210SS makes full use of the 3D CAD elements and combines sports performance with a feeling a scale seldom seen by sports car fans.

In addition, the A210SS is intended for use as an unrivalled, high-performance chassis for RC racing.

We will reveal additional details concerning the chassis and bodies on November the 4^th.

For more pics - click here

Continuing the great form from Team Associated, Factory Team Driver Jared Tebo powered his brand new B44 to a dominant TQ and World Championship Title. Read on...

In the 4WD event, it was a hotly contested affair with more manufacturers then ever coming to the party with amazing backing. At this very track earlier in the year the recently crown 2WD World Champion won the title with the prototype version of the Hotbodies Cyclone D4. This has now come into full production and with the event being held in Japan and with success already, hopes were running high for a strong result. Tamiya also have a new belt driven offroad car, the TRF 501X which Hupo Honigl expertly took to the European Titles win only a few months ago.

Team Associated also had a new car which has been long awaited. This was being debuted at this World Championships and is based heavily on the previous design from JConcepts, the BJ4. The Factory Associated drivers who had been using the JConcepts car have now moved onto the new B44 and it is certainly an impressive car. JConcepts are again featured strongly with the BJ4 and no doubt will have many drivers running very quickly! Add into the mix Kyosho, Serpent, Yokomo (with Masami!), Team Academy, Team Losi and you have a very competitive World Championship!

Much was expected of a tough encounter, but Jared Tebo made it look easy! Him and his new B44 were like a marriage made in heaven, fast everywhere on track and literally on top of the world. He had locked down the famed TQ position after 4 rounds of qualifying such was his dominance. After qualifying had finished early on Sunday morning, there was a good mix of chassis as expected. The B44 was well represented throughout the field with 4 cars running in the Top 10, and the Big 3 of Tebo (TQ), Maifield (Q2) and defending champion Ryan Cavalieri (Q4), the other B44 being Rick Hohwart in 9th Position. Yokomo was represented twice with Masami sitting pretty in 3rd place, and Naoto Matsukura sitting in 10th place. The Hotbodies D4 filled out the 3rd row of the grid with Atsushi Hara lining up in 5th place and newly crowned 2WD World Champ Hayato Matsuzaki slotting into 6th place. Serpent rounded out the manufacturers with 2 cars in the A Main. Joern Neumann lines up in 7th place with new Serpent driver Billy Easton 1 place back in 8th place for the A Main Series.

Into the A-Main series and Tebo continued where he left off in qualifying again taking control of the field in A-1. Maifield tried hard to keep up and push for an error but in turn made and error of his own by rolling his B44 in the last few laps of the race. To his surprise though, Tebo followed only moments later by rolling his car, and both drivers were set with 1 lap to go of pressure filled wheel to wheel off road racing. After a few tense moments, Tebo held it out to take the win from Maifield, with Cavalieri finishing on his own 7 seconds down the road.

A-2 was all about controlling the race for Tebo. Maifield got off to a great start and was mounting the pressure straight away as if this was a continuation of A-1! However, Maifield's charge fell foul to a roll at the end of the main straight on Lap 2, thus ending his chances of victory in A-2. Masami was next in line to tackle Tebo and while he caught up and kept pace with Tebo, he had a small roll which gave Tebo the breathing room he needed in such a tense race! This brought Masami into the clutches of Cavalieri who after a hard fought battle, passed Masami to take 2nd place. All the while though, Tebo was in command and took A-2 by 2 seconds from Cavalieri and Masami. Team Associated had a new World Champion - Jared Tebo and the B44!

4WD IFMAR Off Road World Championships - Final Results