THE Cub Report- 06.12.2011- Epic 4 Hour Montreal Battle
Jenson Button put in one of the most epic drives in motor-sports yesterday, surviving a marathon rain delayed race to take the win in Montreal at the Canadian F1 Grand Prix. Thus far the 2011 F1 season has been a bore, but last weekends Canadian GP more than made up for the lack of pizzazz of the earlier races. Hamilton tried a high speed hack on his teammate Button early in the race (after he had already hacked Webber), then Button served a drive-through penalty for speeding behind the safety car, then Button suffered a flat front tire after some dicey racing with Alonzo. Button was at the very back of the field half way through the GP yet meticulously worked his way through the field to finally pressure Vettel into a rare mistake at the end of the race. Kudos to Button and his McLaren team for a drive that will always be remembered as one of the best ever.
Oh, did I forget to mention Michael Schumacher nearly finished on the podium? 🙂 Nice to see Schu driving with a bit of fire again, and if he wins another GP I’m going to grab my giant Ferrari flag and wave it while standing my roof, all the while blasting a celebratory air horn. Ya, I’m a bit of a Schu fan…
So Traxxas is constructing a new mega-uber corp headquarters on 16 acres? Who would have thought that even possible a decade ago? Is it a bold statement to the rest of the industry to say “Ahem, we are kicking all your a$$es!” or is it simply the best use of the fruits of all their hard work? Who knows for sure, but I for one can’t wait to visit, and it’s incredible to see what can truly be accomplished with the right set of people in our little hobby.
Our Tuesday reviews should prove quite interesting (hehehe), I’m working on the Losi SCB (short course buggy) review, while Brian and Wrench are writing up a review for the STRC 2wd Slash LCG conversion kit. Interesting how I end up doing the Losi reviews around here even though I spent the vast majority of my rc life running Thunder Tiger/Associated products. To digress, the Losi SCB is arguably the most anticipated release of 2011, and it has its high points, and its low points, hopefully my review opens a few eyes here and there.
BSRC has an uber “Ole’ School” bash coming up this Saturday in the Chi-Town metro. What’s an old school bash? Well, the only thing organized about it is the venue, otherwise it’s all about just showing up and bashing to your hearts content. There are no trophies, no awards, no entry fees, it’s all about just hang’n and having fun with other guys that like to bash. Currently there are guys driving in from as far away as 6 hours, if you are on the fence about going don’t be! Just huck your gear in your car and show up, at the very least you’ll get to bust out a couple packs and get to chill for the day with other rc enthusiasts!
Brian, Wrench and Adam “The Intern” have been putting a lot of wheel time into the Axial Wraith before posting a review. Interesting how some people are head over heals in love with the thing (like Adam, Jeff and Evan), while others of us can’t really see what the big deal is. I’ve gotten in a bit of wheel time with the Wraith, and I gotta say its a fantastic looking truck, but I’m about as far from a crawler guy as they come so I’ve yet to see the appeal of driving it. Anyways, with any luck Brian will get the Wraith review up next Tuesday. Is it the most way-super-dope basher on the market, or just a scale crawler? Find out next week…
We’ve also been wringing out the new Firelands Group Helion Animus. Our test unit had a small glitch, so we’ve been waiting on a replacement before we can button up the entire review. With any luck we’ll have the Helion review finished up for next Tuesday. Gil Jr put his name behind this new truck, does it even come close to living up to the hype? Yup, you gotta wait till next Tues to find out. And ya, I know I’m such the tease.
Pro-Line has some uber new 8th scale shoes called “Blockades”. Ry-Cav used’em to pwn the field at the ROAR nats last weekend, so if you are in to having the fastest 8th scaler at the track these gotta be high on your wish list. Racing in any form is all about the tires, amazing how Pro-Line always has their fingers on the tip of rc tire technology. (Doesn’t hurt having Cavalieri wheel’n for ya either!)
What’s up with Trinity making a bunch of foam stands of late, did they get a new foam cutting machine or what? Their latest creation is a foam brushless motor stand, one that holds 5 motors and 5 rotors. Anybody besides me remember why we went to brushless technology- to get away from having a pit-box full of motors? Remember how brushless motors are supposed to work for years without any need for tinkering or rebuilds? Leave it to ROAR and the motor companies to convince consumers they need 5 motor and different rotors to race with…. just say’n!
Wasn’t HobbyKing supposed to have taken over the industry by now? I mean all the buzz was that they were some unstoppable force that was going to have a brick and mortar on every corner by now. They were supposed to have every suit in Champaign going to church every Sunday and all the big brass on the left coast hitting their psychiatrist 4 times a week instead of just 2. Instead, it seems the buzz is wearing off. Some say they tried to destroy the American market, but thankfully the American market seems to be thriving. Yup, I love America too!
That’s all I can come up with for this week ya bunch of rc junkies, tune in next week at the same Bat-time and Bat-channel. Till then, support your LHS, tracks and bash spots!
YOUR Cub Reporter
