Nitro Challenge

Hello all.

so last weekend was the 10th annual nitro challenge at the nitro pit in az. The week went ok for team losi. we had by far the most vehicles in both the pro finals with 5 buggie and 6 truggies and also winning the open buggy class. As for my weekend, it ended in alot of heartache for me both my cars were running awesome and i ran into a string of bad luck with both in the finals causing me to bow out early :( in buggy with only a few minutes left while leading. Even though i did not come away as i would have liked to i am still very happy with both my cars and engines knowing that i had one of the cars to beat out there. Unfortuantely this is a part of racing that we all sometimes have to deal with and keep our heads high when it happens. I am taking from this nothing but good thoughts and will be there at the upcoming silver state ready to go out there and see if i cant take the buggy title for the third year in a row :) Thanks for all the support from all. It really means alot to me.

Nitro Challenge

Just wanted to stop in and share some pictures of my vehicles for this years Nitro Challenge. They are freshly painted and stickered up and ready to hit the track tomorrow. This race marks the start of the season and has done so for 10 years or so. I am looking forward to doing my part to help Team Losi be successful once again this year. Hope to see you out there!

Happy Racing

Thanks to Gary from Vinyl Graphics Unlimited for the awesome decals and wraps and
Greg's Grafx for the sweet paint work

Smart Diff

Hi fellow Losi enthusiasts! I just wanted to report on the Smart Diffs that we have just released. After running the diffs back to back with standard diffs it was hands down more consistent around the track with the Smart Diff. With this test I just ran the stock Smart Diff setup as it comes and they felt great with no getting use to feel except for consistent lap times. I ran the diffs in the center of both buggy and truggy. My next test is to run them in the front which I think will be very good for that low speed steering! This is something we have all been waiting for and the best part is that it's affordable. I'm heading out to the Nitro Challenge Tuesday and can't wait to get out there and mix it up and have some fun!

Phillip Atondo

Hello race fans,
2009 has started off pretty good for myself and team losi. Adam and myself just returned home from the Psycho Nitro Blast in Atlanta Georgia. The race went very well for both of us with Adam Top Qualifying and winning truggy and myself doing the same in buggy. we both equipped our cars with the new smart diffs and they proved to be very very good. They just make it that much easier to pick apart the track as needed to go fast. I am very happy with the results not only we are getting with the diffs but now that i have seen the general public run them they seemed to be more thrilled about them than us. We have all been running this whole week preparing for the Dirt Nitro Challenge next week. stay posted and hopefully we will have some good things to bring home for Team Losi and GRP engines

Race filled start to 2009

The CRCRC Midwest winter Champs was the beggining of a race filled 2009. Since that race 3 weeks ago, Matt Chambers and I had the Rumble in The Rockies this past weekend, Tqing all 3 classes between the two of us and winning 2 out of the 3 modified classes. Matt posted a more detailed report about the race below. It has been a great beggining to the season, and now currently hard at work getting 1/8th scale stuff ready for the Dirt Nitro Challenge next weekend in Arizona. This will be my first gas race of the season and looking forward to the event.

ONE Hobbies

The recent opening of One Hobbies in Surprise AZ came at a perfect time to host ACS award ceremony. It also gave all of the local Nitro Pit racers a chance to see the newly opened store.

ONE Hobbies is the brain child of Nitro Pit partners; Kenny Broch, Todd Jonas, Ross Deny, Kevin Stees, Bill Massey, and hobby store man Chris Stavros. The partners have realized the need for a shop to support the existing racers in the area as well as to support growth in all of the remote control hobby segments.

The partners collectively created and presented World renowned race director / announcer Kenny Brosh with an award for all of his hard work in what he does for the nitro racing scene in AZ. Kenny was surprised with a specially made "Announcer of the Year" trophy with all of the large events in which he has taken control of the mic. These include The Nitro Challenge, The Silver State Nitro Challenge, Roar Buggy Nats, Roar Truggy nats, The Nitro Cross, and most recently the highly coveted IFMAR World Championships. Wow what great accomplishments. In front of all of Kenny's Arizona racing "family" he humbly accepted the awesome award. It was an emotional event and left the outspoken Brosh some what speechless.
Then with out a moment to reflect on the events of our concluded Arizona Series Kenny was surprised by another plaque which was presented to him by the nitro novice racers of the series. In the words of Chris Allen thanks for putting up with us new guys and gals. The Novice class has grown out here and is a great sign for racing in general. With out new people we will never grow the hobby to where we all hope it can be.

So congrats to Kenny from us at Team Losi, I for one am proud of what you do for us out here in AZ!!!!

2009 Arizona Championship Series Rd. 7 (Finals)

This past weekend the Nitro Pit hosted the finale of the 2009 ACS. Some big names were in attendance to get some last chance practice for next weekend's Dirt Nitro Challenge.

For the series finals, the program is a little different than the first 6 rounds. The top 6 in the point standings are automatically in the A-main and will grid up how they stand in points. The remaining drivers must qualify into the A-main to have a shot at moving up in the standings. Team Losi had the lead in the 3 most prestigious classes entering the finals, including 1st place in Intermediate Buggy (Cody Rothe), 1st & 2nd place in Expert Truggy (Billy Fischer & Casey Peck), and 1st-5th in Expert Buggy (Billy Fischer, Chris Wheeler, Casey Peck, Mike Friery, and Ricky Gaynor).

In the Intermediate Buggy class, Cody Rothe only had to finish 8th or better to lock up the championship. In the main event, Cody drove smooth and smart on his way to yet another dominating performance to win the final race and lock up the overall championship win with his 8ight 2.0. Congrats Cody!

In the Expert Truggy Class, I had to finish 5th or better to secure the championship. In the main event I was able to come away with the race win as well as the overall victory with my 8ight-T 2.0. Teammate Casey Peck had a few problems but was still able to come home in the 2nd spot in the main as well as in the overall standings. This goes to show just how good the new truggy is, and it's right out of the box! Same EXACT setup!

Finally, in the Expert Buggy class I needed to finish 10th or better to lock up the championship. In the main event I was able to finish 2nd and secure the championship win. Fellow teammates Wheeler, Peck, Friery, and Gaynor finished in the same order overall giving Losi the 1-2-3-4-5 sweep with our 8ight 2.0's with the standard "Truhe" setup. Congrats guys!

I would like to thank Kenny Brosh for directing yet another successful Arizona Championship series, your hard work is much appreciated. Also a big thanks to all of the series sponsors that help make the ACS possible, including Losi and Spektrum.

14th Annual Rumble In The Rockies

This weekend saw the running of the 14th Annual Rumble In The Rockies (Naomi Brockman Memorial Race) hosted by my hometrack MHOR R/C Raceway. This was a great event that sold out for the 8th year in a row; proving that electric off-road racing is still going strong. I have attended this race for a number of years and plan to for many more. The racing action was very close with the fastest drivers in the mid to low 12 second range. The weekend went well for Team Losi drivers. Dustin Evans ended up Top Qualifier of 2wd and 4wd modified while I was Top Qualifier of Truck modified. After some exciting Triple A-mains the results were as follows:

2wd Modified:

TQ & 1st Dustin Evans Losi/Xcelorin

2nd Matt Chambers Losi/Xcelorin

5th Brandon Steele Losi

Truck Modified

TQ & 1st Matt Chambers Losi/Xcelorin

3rd Dustin Evans Losi/Xcelorin

5th Chris Marsh Losi

6th Brandon Steele Losi

4wd Modified:

TQ & 2nd Dustin Evans Losi/Xcelorin

5th Matt Chambers Losi/Xcelorin

2009

2009 is here and the racing season is underway. Two weeks ago was the first race of the year. The Airtronics Winter Nationals hosted by Revelation Raceway. This was our first big race with the Losi 8ight T 2.0. We qualified 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8. In the pro buggy final Losi had 10 Losi 8ight 2.0's. Mike Truhe won pro truggy and I finished second. In the pro buggy class Mike and I had an awesome battle until Mike ran out of fuel. I was able to win the buggy class and Mike finished third. All in all it was a great weekend for Losi / GRP / Nitrotane.

This week Mike and I leave for the Psycho Nitro Blast in Atlanta GA. This race should be a lot of fun, it's going to be difficult to get sleep. 24 hours of practice, 24 hours of qualifying, and Sunday is all the mains. 1 hour A Mains! Mike and I get home on Feb. 9th and Darren Bloomfield arrives from the UK on Feb. 10th. Darren, Mike, and I are going to do some testing before we leave for The Dirt Nitro Challenge on Feb. 17th.

See you at the races!

Adam